Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio Week - Official Pre-Season Rankings

[bman]

Great list pfloyd. Look forward to some good hoops shortly.

New Hope applied to the OHSAA, but no dice from what I was told.

[Bud07]

... just read the Fairfield Union schedule :

12/2 ... FU taking on Columbus South (4pm game)
12/5 ... FU vs Watterson
12/9 ... FU @ Bloom Carroll
12/15 ... FU @ Logan Elm

Not a bad early season schedule lol.

[mattash]

Clay lose the entire team?

[LetsGoPSU]

and once again the world is right! Pfloyd is back, let the hoops season begin!

[wipala]

Pfloyd....football is great and and with the playoffs going on makes it even better,,,,,however,
having said that,,,,,BASKETBALL is KING!! I so look forward to your comments and those from all
the posters on this site. SEO basketball is the cats meow to a guy in Arizona!!
Keep up the great job and posters do not let Pink slip up on your team.......
Thanks,
Wipala

[Falcon01]

... just read the Fairfield Union schedule :

12/2 ... FU taking on Columbus South (4pm game)
12/5 ... FU vs Watterson
12/9 ... FU @ Bloom Carroll
12/15 ... FU @ Logan Elm

Their schedule is pretty brutal, but I think that's great. May mean a couple losses or more, but they'll be way better for playing that schedule.

[Killer Krossover]

PFloyd, been a while, but decided to get back to preps and following SVC basketball. Today, I had the pleasure making trip down to Piketon today to watch them scrimmage Harvest Prep. Great start to 2017-18 season!

Harvest Prep was/is a strong D4 team! Size, depth, and pressure all day long everywhere. Piketon, was game! Handled the pressure, and played well after the initial start. The Purdue kid is the REAL DEAL! He is going to be fun to watch in the SVC this year. Piketon also has a quick guard (Blanton) who can fill it up from outside. Going to be a nice 1-2 combo. My opinion, Piketon going to move up that list quickly! Harvest Prep going to be tough out in tournament, too.

SVC going to be pretty solid this year! Big games early! Piketon at Paint Valley 12/8, Paint Valley/Zane Trace 12/9, Unioto @Piketon 12/15. Unioto is the team to beat, Paint Valley, Zane Trace and Piketon have to be in the mix, too.

[93Bulldog]

Bulldogs will have a very interesting start to the season ... Gonna move up quick, or drop fast in Floyds rankings ...

12/1 at Gallia - season opener
12/2 at Bishop Watterson
12/5 vs Warren

3 good games in 5 days.

[indianabuck]

The annual Athens Shriners Preview

Friday Nov. 24

11am ... Alexander vs Trimble
12 ..... Athens vs Federal Hocking
1 ...... Wellston vs Miller
2 ...... Vinton County vs Southern
3 ...... Nelsonville York vs South Gallia
4 ...... River Valley vs Belpre

I wonder what will happen if NY wins this week and is playing football on Friday.

[pfloyd]

#1 Fairland

... The Dragons of Coach Speed HAD to be the Pre-season #1 ! as has been the case for the previous 3 years ALL of these players have been together on the hardwood for the Green & White of FHS ... if you watch the Dragons play the first thing you will notice is that these guys KNOW each other - they know where they are on the court, where they will be on the court, where they will be offensively & defensively ... the Dragons may be the most complete team in Southern/Southeastern Ohio ...

Key Players :

Ty Staten
Luke Thomas
Isaiah Howell
Gunner Short
Kollin Van Horn

Keedrick Cunningham
Joel Lambiotte
Matt Mondlak

... varsity experience, post season experience ... perimeter scoring, transition offense, ball handling on the perimeter all anchored by the Big Man in the paint Kollin Van Horn (6-8) ... Fairland moves up to D2 for the 2017-18 campaign ...

#2 Fairfield Union

... The Falcons of Fairfield Union enter 2017-18 as my #2 ... Coach Eversole's boys are loaded with talent as they bring all of the elements of TEAM to the court as they return 6-5 Colin Woodside, Brad Miller, Lucas Thompson, Evan Conley, Spencer Conrad, Bradley Lounsbury, Huston Harrah ... from discussing the Falcons with those in the know FU has more size that moved into the district for this season ... FU has strengthened the non-league schedule playing a wide variety of styles taking on Columbus South, Watterson. Beechcroft, St Charles, Unioto late in the season ...

#3 Vinton County

... just as Fairland, Fairfield Union put complete TEAMS on the court the Vikings of Coach Combs isn't far behind with this year edition of the Maroon & White ... VC enters the season without the services of the best PG in SEO Tristan Bartoe which leaves a major question mark for the coaching staff to find answers for - who will be the PG? who will run the offense? who will be that go to guy who can get to the rim, get that crucial trey down the stretch ? Bartoe did all of that while playing defense vs the opponent's PG - not many teams can find a play to fill THAT role BUT the Vinton County coaching staff has a full cupboard of talent to pull from ... returning for VC are Jake Speakman, Naylan Yates, Nevan Yates, Bryce Damron, Eli Griffith, Cameron Harmon, Shawn McCarty ... Naylan Yates is my pick for POY in the TVC & SouthEast District - the young man can do it all - score from beyond the arc, get to the rim, get boards, plays in your pocket D ... the Vikings will need Jake Speakman, McCarty & Nevan Yates to combine talents to get to the rim (Speakman does this as well as ANYONE in SEOhio) ... play the lock down D on the perimeter ... handle the perimeter pressure in the backcourt ... Damron/Hamon/Griffith will need to take care of play BIG in the paint ... Hamon is talented with size BUT has had trouble staying out of foul trouble at all levels ... VC will need all of the pieces to come together early on as VC takes on a good Logan team on 12/9 ...

#4 Unioto

... the Shermans of Coach Hoops keep rolling year after year - this season is no different as the U will put another quality TEAM on the hardwood ... led by PG Logan Swackhammer, Brandon Kennedy, Gabe Fisher & Peyton Hill ... 4 returning starters who happen to be the top 4 scorers from last year's Unioto squad "ain't" a bad place to start building another championship caliber TEAM ... size won't be a problem with 6-5 Nick Adkins, 6-5 Peyton Hill ... perimeter scoring and ball handling to go with solid D - the U will be tested early in the season Dec 1 vs Logan at the U ...


... the next 4 of the Elite 8 tomorrow evening ...

#5 Oak Hill
#6 Logan
#7 Chillicothe
#8 Waterford

[93Bulldog]

Your first four teams could very well be the DII final 4 at the Convo ... lol

[Crab's Brother]

After seeing Portsmouth on Saturday, they are way too low.

[Snowman]

Great list pfloyd. Look forward to some good hoops shortly.

New Hope applied to the OHSAA, but no dice from what I was told.

That's interesting about New Hope. I'm from Central Ohio and have a relative who plays in the MOCAL (most MOCAL teams play New Hope). I heard New Hope was trying to get into the MOCAL after they made it to OHSAA, but that most MOCAL teams don't want to drive 1+ hour to get there. The Statesmen have also developed a bit of a reputation among Central District teams as a bit obnoxious and not exactly the most friendly Christian school out there.

For being less than 5 years into having a high school, they sure are tough. This senior class has been dominating light and medium competition since middle school, so I'm curious to see how they do against a really good D3 Bishop Ready.

Also, someone mentioned Harvest Prep as a tough D4 school. That they were, but they are now a tough D3 school thanks to competitive balance. They had so many transfers that they might actually jump up to D2 next season (but I'm sure they've corrected their previous recruiting issues )

[bman]

Great list pfloyd. Look forward to some good hoops shortly.

New Hope applied to the OHSAA, but no dice from what I was told.

That's interesting about New Hope. I'm from Central Ohio and have a relative who plays in the MOCAL (most MOCAL teams play New Hope). I heard New Hope was trying to get into the MOCAL after they made it to OHSAA, but that most MOCAL teams don't want to drive 1+ hour to get there. The Statesmen have also developed a bit of a reputation among Central District teams as a bit obnoxious and not exactly the most friendly Christian school out there.

For being less than 5 years into having a high school, they sure are tough. This senior class has been dominating light and medium competition since middle school, so I'm curious to see how they do against a really good D3 Bishop Ready.

Also, someone mentioned Harvest Prep as a tough D4 school. That they were, but they are now a tough D3 school thanks to competitive balance. They had so many transfers that they might actually jump up to D2 next season (but I'm sure they've corrected their previous recruiting issues )

I believe the problem is they only offer a few sports - basketball, co-ed soccer and volleyball and just started cross country and track last season. OHSAA wants schools to have a minimum number of sports before they join.

New Hope would be a good fit for the Mid-State League's Cardinal Division, but they are full.

[pfloyd]

#5 Oak Hill

... the Oaks of Coach Persin are starting the 2017-18 campaign in the Elite 8 for the 1st time ever (preseason) ... the Oaks return talent from last years squad in Landon Carroll, Nolan Carroll, Mitchell Hale ALL can light up the scoreboard from downtown ... also returning is 6-3 starter Brett Long ... 4 out of 5 starters "ain't" bad BUT Oak Hill adds to this years TEAM even more talent & size as Rock Hill transfer Mason Darby will be wearing an Oaks uniform this season at 6-5 and putting up 19 ppg last season Darby gives OHHS a player who can play in the paint as well as get out on the perimeter as well - more talent & depth arrive with the addition of PG Jason Wright 6-0 and 6-8 Jackson Brate ( taken from a SEOPs post) ... The Oaks with all the talent, solid Defense and now a potential of 6-5, 6-8, 6-3 across the front court to go with the outside scoring of Landon Carroll & Mitchell Hale ... gotta like Oak Hill living in the Elite 8 during the regular season ...

#6 Logan

... the Purple & White enter the 2017-18 in the Elite for the first time EVER ... Coach Rider puts his most experienced varsity group on the floor for this season - the on paper "young" Chiefs will start 4 juniors and 1 senior BUT ALL 5 starters has at least one year of full time varsity experience under their belts - Juniors : Bo Myers, Caleb Bell, Coby Bell, Wes Brooks will complement 6-6 senior Caiden Landis ... a year older, a year stronger, a full year more experienced make the LHS starters one of the most talented in SE Ohio no matter the division ... the question mark for the Chieftains will be an inside presence at both ends of the floor ... there is no doubt about the athleticism but board strength remains to be seen as well as being able to keep an opponent with size out of the paint ... the Chiefs will have plenty of perimeter bench help with players coming up from last years JV squad - Landon Little, Layton Cassidy ... big man bench strength will be critical with Andrew Todd getting minutes in the paint ... the Purple & White will have a chance to move up the rankings early on taking on Unioto at the U to open the season on Friday Dec 1st , then traveling to McArthur to play Coach Combs' #3 ranked Vinton County Viking on 12/9 ...

#7 Chillicothe


... Coach Huffer & the Cavs enter the season with arguably the best basketball player in SE Ohio in Branden Maughmer , the smooth senior PG has signed to take his talents to the next level playing for Cedarville College ... with that decision off the table it free Maughmer to just play basketball ... with the elder B. Maughmer leading the play on the floor the Cavs return 6-3 bookends Will & Simon Roderick ... Jason Benson 6-3 will get inside help from transfer from Lucasville Valley 6-6 sophomore Branden Noel ... last years varsity experience will be joined by one of the better JV groups led by Maughmer "the younger" Jayvon and sharp shooting PG Tre Beard ... Coach Huffer has put together a demanding schedule where on a couple of occasions this coming season the Cavs will be pulling "back to back to back" games ... look for the Cavs to stay entrenched in the Elite 8 and making a move up the board ...



... #8 Waterford

... Waterford returns a "potentially" talented group for the 2017-18 season - the Wildcats will get back 6-5 Wyatt Lang who sat out all of last season with an injury ... experience will come from Bryce Hilverding, 6-3 Travis Pottmeyer , Cody Harris, & Noah Huffman ... WHS lost a lot off of last years team - Tyler McCutcheon, Jordan Welch ,Isaac Huffman Andrew Theiman, Riley Burns ... the committee of one - me - decided with Lang's return along with Hilverding/Pottmeyer the Wildcats deserved the opportunity to begin with the Elite 8 ranking in the pre-season ... Waterford will be putting it on the line early as they take on #1 Fairland in the first 2 weeks of the season at Fairland (12/9) ...



... there you have it - the back end of the Elite 8 in the preseason rankings ...

1. Fairland
2. Fairfield Union
3. Vinton County
4. Unioto
5. Oak Hill
6. Logan
7. Chillicothe
8. Waterford

[93Bulldog]

Cant wait for 12/16 ... A chance to knock #6 off the Elite 8 board.

[Johnstown]

The Athens High School Bulldogs will an interesting squad to watch.Seems like they were at the top at the Jackson summer league and did well at theconvo. First time I saw them was at the Belpre classic.A lot of size and experience. Could be a major contender.Good team mates No stars just winners

[LetsGoPSU]

preety excited to see what the Trojans will bring to the table,heard good things coming out of my home city

[VisionQuest]

preety excited to see what the Trojans will bring to the table,heard good things coming out of my home city

Athens will Scrimmage At Portsmouth this Saturday morning starting at 10 AM.

[Snowman]

New Hope would be a good fit for the Mid-State League's Cardinal Division, but they are full.

Good call! I wouldn't be shocked if Wellington isn't in that division for long. That's a long drive for most of their games and I would assume that they would be heavy favorites in most of their games (other than maybe Harvest Prep). Maybe if them or Prep ever move then New Hope would hop in.