2017-18 Season ... Who are the top teams in each league ?

[tvc_fan]

Meigs is at 204 and the bottom # for D2 was 185 this year, so I doubt that they drop back down.

I think the # will be closer to 195 at the lower end, which means that Fairland will likely be D2.

If Perdue transfers back to Piketon, bump them up to 3rd in my SVC rankings.

But none of us know what is gonna be the numbers for the Divisions, Especially with it being the first year of the competitive balance.

[bman]

Meigs is at 204 and the bottom # for D2 was 185 this year, so I doubt that they drop back down.

I think the # will be closer to 195 at the lower end, which means that Fairland will likely be D2.

If Perdue transfers back to Piketon, bump them up to 3rd in my SVC rankings.

But none of us know what is gonna be the numbers for the Divisions, Especially with it being the first year of the competitive balance.

True, but there will be a lot of schools in the SE sliding back due to competitive balance, along with Meigs, so unless you are right at the cutoff I would expect to remain in the same division.

[tvc_fan]

Meigs is at 204 and the bottom # for D2 was 185 this year, so I doubt that they drop back down.

I think the # will be closer to 195 at the lower end, which means that Fairland will likely be D2.

If Perdue transfers back to Piketon, bump them up to 3rd in my SVC rankings.

But none of us know what is gonna be the numbers for the Divisions, Especially with it being the first year of the competitive balance.

True, but there were be a lot of schools in the SE sliding back due to competitive balance, along with Meigs, so unless you are right at the cutoff I would expect to remain in the same division.

Regardless, I still see Meigs possibly sliding up in the Elite 8 at some point next season.

[bman]

But none of us know what is gonna be the numbers for the Divisions, Especially with it being the first year of the competitive balance.

True, but there were be a lot of schools in the SE sliding back due to competitive balance, along with Meigs, so unless you are right at the cutoff I would expect to remain in the same division.

Regardless, I still see Meigs possibly sliding up in the Elite 8 at some point next season.

The good news is that with several teams moving up to D2, the SE should probably have two out to regionals for the next couple of seasons, thus four teams advancing from each sectional. That should help Meigs in its push to get to the Convo.

[EagleNut14]

Eastern Pike will be moving up to D-3 this year and in the next 2-3 years will be moving up to the S.O.C. 2. I'm not for sure on what team will be moving down to the smaller division I've heard Webster and I've also heard Northwest.

[CavalierAlum05]

Can someone help me understand the division breakdown by students? I have heard rumblings of Chillicothe going back to D1 next year. Is it confirmed? If not, how is it determined and is it likely we will move back to D1? I want to stay D2!! I think we can make some noise next year at the convo.

[JEEPNATION]

The Jeeps only lost 3 to graduation but they were really good guards in A Blevins, S Zimmerman, and M Shonkwiler! Jeeps will be young next year with 0 seniors on the roster but lots of talent from the other 3 grade levels. Jeeps will be very big and have a really great player in Shiloah Blevins who really was a beast last year! I think Jeeps will start slow in season due to youth but by the end of the year they could be REALLY good!

These are returning kids listed on program roster

6'5" Shiloah Blevins JR *
6'4" Jacob Witter JR *
6'4" Josiah Edwards JR
5'9" Jacob Ruth JR *
6'4" Brayden Bockway SO
6'2" Levi Murphy SO
5'10" Devyn Coriell SO *
5'07" Andrew Smith SO
6'3" JJ Truitt FR *

* is who I'm guessing will start! BUt truly any of the ones listed may start, it's a deep group of young talented kids!

Blevins kid is a stud and the Truitt kid is a name you'll be hearing a lot the next 4 years! He'll most likely be a 4 year starter!

[danicalifornia]

Can someone help me understand the division breakdown by students? I have heard rumblings of Chillicothe going back to D1 next year. Is it confirmed? If not, how is it determined and is it likely we will move back to D1? I want to stay D2!! I think we can make some noise next year at the convo.

It would take a minor miracle or a major mistake for the Cavs to stay D2. Their initial number was 387 boys and the lower # for D1 was 342, so that would be well above it. I would guess that the new # would be 360.

I've heard that they have appealed that number that the state put out, but usually the state is within 10-15 even when they are incorrect. But, add in all of their competitive balance factors and I imagine that they will be D1.

[JEEPNATION]

I have lots of free time today so I'm going to copy/paste all the SE Ohio teams new enrollment count to get a look at how many teams will be in each division!

During the last count the enrollment breakdowns for divisions was the following (this number should go up when the competitive balance thing kicks in for each school, but we'll use these numbers just as an example)

Division Enrollment Schools
I 340 and more
II 185-339
III 109-184
IV 108 and less

Based off of the previous count (again, this will change due to competitive balance!) the new breakdowns would look like this.

D1 (340 and more):

Chillicothe 387
Logan 500 (WOW)
Marietta 344

D2 185 - 339

Alexander 204
Athens 318
Circleville 242
Fairfield Union 256
Fairland 205
Gallia Academy 234
Hillsboro 282
Jackson 289
Logan Elm 250
McClain 236
Miami Trace 274
Meigs 204
New Lexington 231
Portsmouth West 191
River Valley 198
Rock Hill 185
Sheridan 299
Unioto 253
Vinton County 253
Warren 294
Washington CH 262
Waverly 228
Westfall 211
Zane Trace 226

The new count would make 24 SE Ohio D2 teams... It was only 19 schools the previous two years! New additions would be: Alexander, Fairland, Portsmouth West, River Valley, Rock Hill, Westfall, and Zane Trace.... should pretty comfortably be 2 District winners!

D3 109 - 184:

Adena 152
Belpre 123
Chesapeake 186
Crooksville 134
Coal Grove 115
Eastern Brown 170
Eastern Pike 124
Federal Hocking 119
Huntington Ross 129
Ironton 155
Lynchburg Clay 136
Manchester 109
Minford 152
Nelsonville York 135
North Adams 132
Northwest 180
Oak Hill 167
Paint Valley 131
Piketon 174
Portsmouth 171
South Point 180
Southeastern 135
Valley 130
Wellston 165
West Union 131
Western Pike 113
Wheelersburg 175

The new count would have 27 D3 teams... it was 29 D3 teams the last 2 years! Western Pike, Manchester, and Coal Grove all hovering around the cutoff mark.. (competitive balance will change this for a few teams!)... Should be two district winners!

D4 108 and less:

Clay 68
Eastern Meigs 96
Fairfield Leesburg 105
Green 79
Ironton St. Joe 18
Miller 82
New Boston 39
Notre Dame 34
Peebles 99
Sciotoville East 81
South Gallia 80
South Webster 103
Southern 87
Symmes Valley 87
Trimble 95
Waterford 78
Whiteoak 102

The new count would have 17 D4 teams... there was 22 the last 2 years!! Unless a few other teams drop down, this looks like potentially only one district winner for SE Ohio!

[danicalifornia]

Thank you Jeep Nation!

[juanmorales]

My guess

FAC- Chillicothe
SVC- Paint Valley
SOC1 Eastern
SOC2 Waverly
OVC- Fairland
TVC-Hocking- Waterford
TVC-Ohio- Athens
MSL - Fairfield Union
PVC- Shenandoah

Looking Like Eastern Pike will be making the move to SOC2.

[pfloyd]

JEEPNATION ! Great "stuff" right there ... thank you for the leg work on that info ...

[trojandave]

JeepNation: Thanks for the enrollment info. Very interesting to see some schools moving up or down a division.

Here is my look at the Ohio Valley Conference in 2017-2018:

1. Fairland.......the clear favorite to win the title for the 3rd year in a row, and they will be trying to also go undefeated 3 years in a row.
2. Gallia Academy.......most of their top 8 back and a lot of size with 6-11 Loveday and 6-5 Peck
3. Ironton........has 4 starters back including Charlie Large from injury
4. Coal Grove.......all 5 starters back but could be hurt by lack of size
5. South Point......Tayshawn Fox back along with several others; did lose 3 starters
6. Portsmouth......lost top two scorers in Reynolds and Malone; return 3 starters but will be offensively challenged
7. Chesapeake......most of their roster is sophomores but Panthers could be the OVC favorite in 2018-2019
8. Rock Hill.........outstanding junior Mason Darby back but Redmen don't have the supporting cast

That's a very early look at the OVC which means I will be wrong and some surprises will happen........maybe my Trojans will be one......

I also predict at least 1 OVC school will make the regionals, very possible 2. Fairland can still make the regional at D2 but it will be tougher than it was this past season to make the Final 4.

[pfloyd]

Great information everyone! Lots of the info is reinforcing my 1st draft of the preseason Elite 8 ... I am making note of the teams who have not been in the top 2/3 of the rankings for a few years if ever ! Good stuff !!!

[art_vandelay]

The Jeeps only lost 3 to graduation but they were really good guards in A Blevins, S Zimmerman, and M Shonkwiler! Jeeps will be young next year with 0 seniors on the roster but lots of talent from the other 3 grade levels. Jeeps will be very big and have a really great player in Shiloah Blevins who really was a beast last year! I think Jeeps will start slow in season due to youth but by the end of the year they could be REALLY good!

These are returning kids listed on program roster

6'5" Shiloah Blevins JR *
6'4" Jacob Witter JR *
6'4" Josiah Edwards JR
5'9" Jacob Ruth JR *
6'4" Brayden Bockway SO
6'2" Levi Murphy SO
5'10" Devyn Coriell SO *
5'07" Andrew Smith SO
6'3" JJ Truitt FR *

* is who I'm guessing will start! BUt truly any of the ones listed may start, it's a deep group of young talented kids!

Blevins kid is a stud and the Truitt kid is a name you'll be hearing a lot the next 4 years! He'll most likely be a 4 year starter!

If JJ Truitt is as good as everyone is saying, Webster should be a District/Regional contender next year, and a Regional/State contender the following year. Webster lost 3 solid players, but will actually be deeper next year. Also heard some good things happening for Shiloah Blevins and Truitt this summer. Will be an exciting couple of years coming up for the Jeeps.*

[JEEPNATION]

The Jeeps only lost 3 to graduation but they were really good guards in A Blevins, S Zimmerman, and M Shonkwiler! Jeeps will be young next year with 0 seniors on the roster but lots of talent from the other 3 grade levels. Jeeps will be very big and have a really great player in Shiloah Blevins who really was a beast last year! I think Jeeps will start slow in season due to youth but by the end of the year they could be REALLY good!

These are returning kids listed on program roster

6'5" Shiloah Blevins JR *
6'4" Jacob Witter JR *
6'4" Josiah Edwards JR
5'9" Jacob Ruth JR *
6'4" Brayden Bockway SO
6'2" Levi Murphy SO
5'10" Devyn Coriell SO *
5'07" Andrew Smith SO
6'3" JJ Truitt FR *

* is who I'm guessing will start! BUt truly any of the ones listed may start, it's a deep group of young talented kids!

Blevins kid is a stud and the Truitt kid is a name you'll be hearing a lot the next 4 years! He'll most likely be a 4 year starter!

If JJ Truitt is as good as everyone is saying, Webster should be a District/Regional contender next year, and a Regional/State contender the following year. Webster lost 3 solid players, but will actually be deeper next year. Also heard some good things happening for Shiloah Blevins and Truitt this summer. Will be an exciting couple of years coming up for the Jeeps.*

I've seen Truitt a few times and he has a chance to be really good if he continues to grow! You never know how that works out though. Then the younger Zimmerman will be an 8th grader and he has a chance to be special! I think the Blevins kid is going to have a breakout year this year! With the league being so good I just think the Jeeps will take some time before they get rolling. They may head into the D4 tournament at .500 but there won't be a D4 team around they won't be able to compete with!

[art_vandelay]

jeepnation: thanks for the divisional breakdown above by the way....that took some time and effort on your part and saved a lot of legwork for the rest of us hoops junkies! As for junior high kids in general, like you said, you never know how their game will translate to high school basketball. Guards are easier to project though as opposed to the 6'0" post player in junior high who just got his growth spurt earlier than everyone else.

I also agree about Webster probably being around .500 next year but capable of a deep tourney run. With no seniors they will definitely have some issues early, but should get better and better as the year goes on.*

[VisionQuest]

I honestly believe that Meigs will win the TVC-OHIO this year and make a good tourney run.

I don't think VC will be as good this year without Bartoe or Jones and defenses can focus more on Naylan Yates and Speakman.

Athens loses Lutz, That is huge. Defense will just have to worry about Cozart, and we shut him down last year the 2nd time around.

We lose Musser (12ppg) Kennedy (8ppg) and Mahr (9ppg)
But we return Mattox, Bartrum and Baer and return a great group of bench players and also have a few from JV that will compete for plenty of playing time.

Although it's not a difference in Elite Eight....We could very well be dropping back down to D3.

Of course I have to disagree with your statement about Athens. Everyone knows Lutz is a rare talent and will be missed. However; with Lutz gone I honestly believe Athens will play more as a Team. When an offense is geared toward 3 players, other younger players simply assume their "roles" and simply don't tend to be aggressive or look to score. I think that will change and it will need to change. But to say they won't be competitive because they Lose Lutz gives no credit to the other players who are up and coming. Without hyping them up too much I believe Ath me will be highly competitive next year, especially with the new head coach going into his 2nd season and being more seasoned as well. Just my thoughts. Athens, Meigs and VC will be the front runners next year.

[ShooterFlatch]

Saw Rock Hill is replacing their head coach again? NBA style out here in the SE District.

[danicalifornia]

I have lots of free time today so I'm going to copy/paste all the SE Ohio teams new enrollment count to get a look at how many teams will be in each division!

During the last count the enrollment breakdowns for divisions was the following (this number should go up when the competitive balance thing kicks in for each school, but we'll use these numbers just as an example)

Division Enrollment Schools
I 340 and more
II 185-339
III 109-184
IV 108 and less

Based off of the previous count (again, this will change due to competitive balance!) the new breakdowns would look like this.

D1 (340 and more):

Chillicothe 387
Logan 500 (WOW)
Marietta 344

D2 185 - 339

Alexander 204
Athens 318
Circleville 242
Fairfield Union 256
Fairland 205
Gallia Academy 234
Hillsboro 282
Jackson 289
Logan Elm 250
McClain 236
Miami Trace 274
Meigs 204
New Lexington 231
Portsmouth West 191
River Valley 198
Rock Hill 185
Sheridan 299
Unioto 253
Vinton County 253
Warren 294
Washington CH 262
Waverly 228
Westfall 211
Zane Trace 226

The new count would make 24 SE Ohio D2 teams... It was only 19 schools the previous two years! New additions would be: Alexander, Fairland, Portsmouth West, River Valley, Rock Hill, Westfall, and Zane Trace.... should pretty comfortably be 2 District winners!

D3 109 - 184:

Adena 152
Belpre 123
Chesapeake 186
Crooksville 134
Coal Grove 115
Eastern Brown 170
Eastern Pike 124
Federal Hocking 119
Huntington Ross 129
Ironton 155
Lynchburg Clay 136
Manchester 109
Minford 152
Nelsonville York 135
North Adams 132
Northwest 180
Oak Hill 167
Paint Valley 131
Piketon 174
Portsmouth 171
South Point 180
Southeastern 135
Valley 130
Wellston 165
West Union 131
Western Pike 113
Wheelersburg 175

The new count would have 27 D3 teams... it was 29 D3 teams the last 2 years! Western Pike, Manchester, and Coal Grove all hovering around the cutoff mark.. (competitive balance will change this for a few teams!)... Should be two district winners!

D4 108 and less:

Clay 68
Eastern Meigs 96
Fairfield Leesburg 105
Green 79
Ironton St. Joe 18
Miller 82
New Boston 39
Notre Dame 34
Peebles 99
Sciotoville East 81
South Gallia 80
South Webster 103
Southern 87
Symmes Valley 87
Trimble 95
Waterford 78
Whiteoak 102

The new count would have 17 D4 teams... there was 22 the last 2 years!! Unless a few other teams drop down, this looks like potentially only one district winner for SE Ohio!

Just bringing this over to Page 2. The numbers were finalized and I believe there were minimal, if any changes. The divisional breakdowns will be released next Thursday, April 6th.