Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio -Preseason

[pfloyd]

... It's time! High School Hoops Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... there just isn't a better time of the year imo... the 2010-11 basketball season has the potential to be one of the best regular seasons in recent memory - quality TEAMS, potential regional finalists, potential state final four teams, yes! the talent of some of these teams IS that good ... I say it every March - who will be the athletes that will stand out NEXT year - surely they won't be as good as those we just watched THIS PAST year ... every year it never fails that we have student athletes who have worked hard in the off season, teams that have developed the closeness that is needed to be a TEAM, coaches who have found the right words to motivate THEIR teams to put the extra work to get them to that NEXT LEVEL where they will be able to compete on the district, regional, and state stage ... Southern/Southeast Ohio has some of those TEAMS who ARE capable of performing on the STATE stage - the potential is there, it is up to these "next level" teams to reach the expected potential - should be fun to watch! looking forward to the opening tip as I know all of you are as well ...

... I think ALL of us could/can sit down and come up with the top 7/8 teams Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line for the preseason... we might disagree on the order but the class of Southern/Southeast Ohio is there for all to see ... does that mean these are the teams that WILL in fact hold onto the top spots during the season? on paper- yes BUT (and there is always a but as you well know) the old cliche' "games aren't played on paper" comes to mind ... the Treehugger Teams are a curious lot this season - will be looking to see what kind of teams the usual "program" schools will put on the hardwood - Coach Combs/Vinton County, Coach Persin/Oak Hill, Coach Caldwell/Reedsville Eastern, Coach Young/North Adams ... we have many new faces court side this season Coach Helber/Logan, Coach Moore/Gallia Academy,Coach McKinniss/Jackson - those are only in the SEOAL ... the equation for this season adds up to an extremely exciting 2010-11 season of high school basketball Below the Line ...



Pfloyd's Elite 8 Southern/SouthEast Ohio Preseason Edition

1. Chillicothe ... the Cavs will have the ability to go both inside/outside with Malik London and UTEP bound Jalen Ragland as the nucleus of a TEAM that will be able to get it done on offense and defense. Add to the mix of quickness,scoring,defense move-in "the Trans-Serbian Orchestra" Mr. Djacic who will add depth/solidify the inside/out game for Coach Kellough's troops ...

2. Ironton ... the Fighting Tigers of Coach Lafon are right in the mix for the top spot on the Elite 8 ... IHS may have the deepest lineup in Southern/Southeastern Ohio ...Tommy Waginger, Malcolm Morton, Zac Carter, Trey Fletcher, Travis Elliott will lead the first "wave" of Tigers ... Coach LaFon's MO is to play "in your jersey" defense while scoring in transition off the defensive pressure... if I-town has to play the half court game Waginger/Fletcher make up what I see as THE best 1-2, inside/outside threat Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ...

3. Chesapeake ... the Peake on paper look exactly like last years CHS squad for Coach Davis - Colin Kennedy, Nathan Copley, Austin McMaster, Jason Thompson, and PG P. Hintz ahhhh but this year pg duties are handed over to PATRICK Hintz brother of Peter Hintz from last seasons Panther squad ... add in Spring Valley transfer Eric Kennedy, a very talented underclass group from last season - you have the recipe for high expectations for Peake fans ...

4. Portsmouth ... if I recall last year trojandave gave me a tongue lashing at the ZT Tip Off classic for not having his Trojans on the "radar" in Southern Ohio hoops ... NO MISSING the men from Troy this season LOL ... Coach Collin's boyz have as much talent as any team in Southern/Southeastern Ohio this season ... PHS fans are hoping to see the return of point guard Andrew Bendolph to the already talented group of Tre Underwood, Dion McKinnley and Wayne Evans ... the Trojans will be looking to climb the Elite 8 list AND battling the duo of Chillicothe/Warren for the SEOAL title in 2010-11.

5. Warren ... the Warriors of Coach Maddox will once again be doing battle for supremacy in the SEOAL - this season without Ironton in the equation The Warrior Blue will challenge for the title vs Chillicothe/Portsmouth ... Coach Maddox will be relying on Grant Venham/Austin Cunningham to lead the attack with support from role players Hilverding,Leffingwell, Hastie, Ward & Co. ... pressure defensively, hold opponents to one shot, scoring out of transition with a threat from the perimeter is the WHS modus operandi again this season - Warriors might just have the personnel to get it done this season ...

6. Piketon ... the Red Streaks of Coach Lisath are one of the quality teams in Southern/Southeast Ohio ... led by Rio Grande committed -Sr. Evan Legg - with the smooth pg touching the ball on every possession good things will happen, on the inside PHS has 6-6 Keenan Brush - last season Brush showed the ability to take his man outside the paint and hit the 15 foot jumper- Red Streak fans will be expecting big things from the big man in his senior year ... role players to watch Jared Vulgamore, Jamie Helton, Zach Farmer ...

7. Peebles ... the Indians will be the team to beat in the SHL this season with Manchester in hot pursuit... led by Blake Justice the Indians will need to find consistent second/third scorers from Andy Countryman, Jacob Daniels, Trent Arey, Tyler McFarland ... some BIG shoes to fill with the loss of Andrew Seaman/Eric Collier, Drew McFarland BUT look for TEAM Peebles to live up to their great hoops tradition and "git 'r done" on the hard wood again this season...

... as always there is some controversy in the Elite 8 LOL , my usually reliable Ouija Board "ain't" as reliable this preseason - may have to move up to the "8 Ball" - we'll see ... my committee of one - ME - has decided to "load up the 8 spot" force this group of teams to come out of the gate strong to stay in the top 8 ...in no particular order :

8. Waverly (Jake Kretzer), Washington Courthouse, Manchester (6-7 Blake Blevins), Logan Elm(Coach Stiverson), Athens (Coach Skinner) ... come out of the gates strong boyz to hold your spot with the elite 8 group ...


TreeHugger Wannabees

Oak Hill
South Webster
Huntington
Wheelersburg
Eastern Brown
Unioto
Jackson
Wahama
Circleville
Marietta
Hillsboro
Logan
Gallia
Fairfield Union
Lucasville Valley
WhiteOak
Federal Hocking
Vinton County
South Point
Belpre
Reedsville Eastern
Fairland
Greenfield McClain
Trimble
Eastern Pike
Symmes Valley
North Adams
Zane Trace

Teams on the End Table

Portsmouth Clay
Southern
Waterford
New Boston
Meigs
Green
South Gallia



... there you have the first installment of the weekly Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio ... as always feel free to agree or disagree... THAT is the purpose of the Elite 8 - promote informative discussion of hoops in Southern/Southeastern Ohio ... IF you pay close attention throughout the season you will get to know those who ARE "knowledgable" of their teams, the leagues they follow ... there are great hoops fans/coaches/players/players parents ALL ACROSS Southern Ohio - get out there, watch the games, support all of the teams/players/coaches - they work hard to give us - the Cheap Seat Fans - the best show around ... look forward to seeing those I have met - coaches/fans - during the season ... feel free to stop by the Cheap Seats, say hello to Pfloyd (just don't interrupt pfloyd and his collection of the all important Napkin Stats LOL) ... first stop as usual will be the Zane Trace Tip Off Classic Dec.3rd and 4th ...

[biggdowgg]

NOW,,,WE ALL KNOW,,,,ITS ROUNDBALL SEASON......BEEN WAITING ON THIS THREAD,,,,,THE BEST THREAD ON THE SITE DURING BASKETBALL SEASON...

[pfloyd]

... LOL ... I'm a little bias BUT I agree - we get the best information on the teams around Southern Ohio on this thread ... usually we don't have those that want to "bloviate" LOL ... we have those high school hoops folks that truly support their teams, those folks who give us good information about the teams/players around the leagues in S/SE Ohio ...

... look forward to seeing you- biggdowgg, Ozzie,trojandave and many,many others from all corners of Southern Ohio this season, as long as my health hangs in there ...

[biggdowgg]

looking forward to taking in a game or two with you somewhere down the road....

sent you a PM

[pfloyd]

... Andrew Bendolph WILL be in a Trojan uniform this season ... AB is being asked to sit out the first 10 games before playing in his first official game for PHS ... good news for AB/PHS ... as was being discussed on the Portsmouth thread - as much as Coach Collins would like to have AB in uniform from the get go - the delay in his game starts for PHS will allow for Seth Brachett/Lenny Collins to get lots of PT the first half of the season ... thanks for the info biggdowgg

[TribeManiac10]

Good list as always. This years log jam of talent in D3 should be exciting to watch.

[pfloyd]

TribeManiac10 I totally agree ... Portsmouth, Ironton, Chesapeake, Peebles, Piketon, Wheelersburg, Valley, Oak Hill ... these D3 teams will definitely be fun to keep an eye on this season 6 teams in the Elite 8 Preseason picks ... talent inside and outside on those teams ... good start for folks to list the players on these squads so we can see the names on paper ...

[jottings]

Outstanding list, Pfloyd...Only problem, GAHS is gonna have to play 10 games with those you named in the top eight, including Chesapeake on Dec. 10 at Chessy, Athens at home on Dec. 11,
Chillicothe at home on Dec. 28 and Ironton at home on Jan. 4.

I know Chilly will be tough, but I still think Warren Local is the team to beat for the 2010-11 SEOAL title.

[Eaglesnest]

Pfloyd,

great to see your list. Alot of quality teams in southern ohio. Not sure where you have Eastern Pike (not on your list), but heard they played with Webster even up in a recent scrimmage.

[pfloyd]

... good to read your input Jottings... hope you are doing well my friend ... you may very well be right about those Warren boyz of Coach Maddox ... the only concern I have for the Warriors ,as is the case almost every year, is their inconsistency from behind the arc ... it seems that "at times" the outside shot takes a vacation for stretches of games... can't afford these 3-4 minutes stretches of not being able to find the bottom of the net ... I look for Ward and others from last years JV squad to step up and fill the "from behind the arc" role this season ... IF WHS can get a consistent outside threat they will be able to play with/beat anyone on the list ...

...looking forward to crossing paths with you and gahs this season ... having some health problems BUT hope that I can still be out on the road this season ...

[datchillicav]

I think that list is about right. Good work as always. The only thing I may do is swap Portsmouth and Piketon. Piketon, I have heard, has looked excellent against some elite competition in scrimmages and I expect them to climb the list as the season progresses. Also, I am always hesitant on Portsmouth untill I see results on the court with all the talent that they have every year. Great list though.

[biggdowgg]

I think that list is about right. Good work as always. The only thing I may do is swap Portsmouth and Piketon. Piketon, I have heard, has looked excellent against some elite competition in scrimmages and I expect them to climb the list as the season progresses. Also, I am always hesitant on Portsmouth untill I see results on the court with all the talent that they have every year. Great list though.

I know Piketon is loaded with Legg back, Portsmouth played them in summer ball a few times , and the games was about even , Portsmouth beat them,they beat us, but it was always a close game, , it was fun watching Legg,and Bendolph go at it.......

[Hardwood]

How many of these teams did you see play over the summer, or are you basing it on last year?

[jchitwood]

Ah, it's good to see that purple hippo back in action.

[OZZIEOHIO]

Pfloyd dont forget about Whitley coming to Portsmouth from the Burg.

[trojandave]

Great to see your Preseason Elite 8, pfloyd.......and there won't be any sermons from me to you this year.......because as some have suggested, the Trojans need to commit on the defensive end of the court.......with that said, I don't think any team will put a better starting 5 on the court than Portsmouth when Andrew Bendolph returns vs. Waverly at the Wellston Hoops Classic.

Zaide Whitely coming to Portsmouth is a huge addition to the Trojans.......a very athletic kid (6-1) who can play the 1, 2, or 3........and give PHS yet another outside threat to discourage opponents from playing a lot of zone. He has quite a bit of varsity experience already, having played with the Wheelersburg varsity as a freshman.

[kram]

Chillicothe #1? That's kind of a mystery to me. What do they have outside of Ragland and London?

[bvmv4life]

Chillicothe #1? That's kind of a mystery to me. What do they have outside of Ragland and London?

Zach Johnson who started as a freshman,can go inside or outside...issac beverly a lock down defender...the Cavs have depth also...it wont be a mystery once the season gets started..Go Cavs....

[TribeManiac10]

Piketon will probably move up this list by season's end. At their scrimmage at Chillicothe with the host team and Ironton in attendance the streaks looked like the best team. Granted Ironton was missing a few players but Chilli was at full strength.

[Bronc21]

Piketon will probably move up this list by season's end. At their scrimmage at Chillicothe with the host team and Ironton in attendance the streaks looked like the best team. Granted Ironton was missing a few players but Chilli was at full strength.

how do you figure that? piketon was good, but chilli only played starting 5 for 3 min. first game and led 10-2 when starters sat...2nd game, no chilli starters played....BUT i do not think chilli is a #1 team as of yet..way too much work still needed.