The OVC in 2020-2021

[trojandave]

Here are my very early predictions on how the Ohio Valley Conference will turn out in 2020-2021, with each school's last 5 year OVC record:

1. Fairland (68-2)......the Dragons once again are the prohibitive favorite, with only 1 senior on their entire roster. FHS has won the OVC 5 years in a row, and with only 2 losses in those 5 years (Gallia Academy and South Point), it will be a major upset if they don't win the title.
2. Chesapeake (33-37).....the Panthers lose Austin Jackson and Josh Cox, but among the returnees are Levi Blankenship and 6-4 Ethan Taylor. The Peake's only 2 conference losses in 2019-2020 were to Fairland.
3. South Point (33-37)......the Pointers also have a lot coming back, but do lose Chance Gunther and Brody Blackwell. Austin Webb, Nakyan Turner, and Darryl Taylor give SP a strong core to build on.
4. Gallia Academy (40-30)...the Blue Devils should have the most size in the conference, with 6-5 Isaac Clary and 6-5 Loveday. They will have to replace Logan Bluoir, one of the OVC's best in 2019-2020.
5. Portsmouth (36-34)....the Trojans have 4 starters back, but do lose Matthew Fraulini (1,096 points in his career). Portsmouth will be athletic as always, but scoring looks to be a major obstacle to overcome. 6-1 SR Miles Shipp for his size is the best rebounder in the OVC.
6. Ironton (39-31)......the Fighting Tigers lose all 5 starters, but do have 6th man 6-1 Trent Hacker returning. The JV team was respectable, but it looks like a rebuilding year at IHS.
7. Coal Grove (30-40).....the Hornets lose 2 key players, Corey Borders and Evan Gannon. They look to be offensively challenged, but Coach Vanderhoof always has CG playing hard. CG's 8th grade won the OVC, so perhaps some freshmen may be elevated out of need.
8. Rock Hill (1-69).....it has been a hard 5 years for the Redmen, but they do have some talent coming back, including Owen Hankins. Over the last 5 years, scoring has been a challenge for RH. It's possible that with several teams rebuilding that the Redmen could move up in the standings.

Overall, I don't think the conference will be as strong as the 2019-2020 season with several teams on rebuild mode. It wouldn't be out of the question, though, to see another OVC school playing in the regionals as happened in the 2019-2020 season.

[Beergogglebluez]

I think top 3 stay the same with fairland being the favorite. Peake has a lot of sophomores so should be up top. Portsmouth I have no clue about. They do have 4 returning but how deep will they be. I’m very impressed with the ovc in this years tournament.

[trojandave]

I made my picks without figuring in any player movement that always seems to happen nowadays. I would be surprised if some schools don't get a transfer in or a transfer out. It's 8 months until the 2020-2021 season, so there's plenty of time for roster changes. Competitive balance is a reality in today's high school sports.

I would love it if someone 6-8 (or even 6-5) with basketball skills would show up at Portsmouth HS the first day of school. We have been starved for size for years.

FYI, Portsmouth and Chesapeake tied for the OVC title in 2015 with a 10-2 record. That was the last year that someone other than Fairland won the conference championship. The two schools split during the regular season, then Portsmouth defeated Coal Grove in the district semifinal and beat Chesapeake for the district championship.

[traf1]

Logan Hankins is a senior this year for Rock Hill. His brother Owen is a sophomore.

[trojandave]

traf1: Thanks for the correction. I will edit my post above.

[caliron]

Here are my very early predictions on how the Ohio Valley Conference will turn out in 2020-2021, with each school's last 5 year OVC record:

1. Fairland (68-2)......the Dragons once again are the prohibitive favorite, with only 1 senior on their entire roster. FHS has won the OVC 5 years in a row, and with only 2 losses in those 5 years (Gallia Academy and South Point), it will be a major upset if they don't win the title.
2. Chesapeake (33-37).....the Panthers lose Austin Jackson and Josh Cox, but among the returnees are Levi Blankenship and 6-4 Ethan Taylor. The Peake's only 2 conference losses in 2019-2020 were to Fairland.
3. South Point (33-37)......the Pointers also have a lot coming back, but do lose Chance Gunther and Brody Blackwell. Austin Webb, Nakyan Turner, and Darryl Taylor give SP a strong core to build on.
4. Gallia Academy (40-30)...the Blue Devils should have the most size in the conference, with 6-5 Isaac Clary and 6-5 Loveday. They will have to replace Logan Bluoir, one of the OVC's best in 2019-2020.
5. Portsmouth (36-34)....the Trojans have 4 starters back, but do lose Matthew Fraulini (1,096 points in his career). Portsmouth will be athletic as always, but scoring looks to be a major obstacle to overcome. 6-1 SR Miles Shipp for his size is the best rebounder in the OVC.
6. Ironton (39-31)......the Fighting Tigers lose all 5 starters, but do have 6th man 6-1 Trent Hacker returning. The JV team was respectable, but it looks like a rebuilding year at IHS.
7. Coal Grove (30-40).....the Hornets lose 2 key players, Corey Borders and Evan Gannon. They look to be offensively challenged, but Coach Vanderhoof always has CG playing hard. CG's 8th grade won the OVC, so perhaps some freshmen may be elevated out of need.
8. Rock Hill (1-69).....it has been a hard 5 years for the Redmen, but they do have some talent coming back, including Owen Hankins. Over the last 5 years, scoring has been a challenge for RH. It's possible that with several teams rebuilding that the Redmen could move up in the standings.

Overall, I don't think the conference will be as strong as the 2019-2020 season with several teams on rebuild mode. It wouldn't be out of the question, though, to see another OVC school playing in the regionals as happened in the 2019-2020 season.

Nice summary. Ironton doesn't lose all five starters unless Carrico sits out his senior season.

[Tri-StateYouthSports]

Nice summary. Ironton doesn't lose all five starters unless Carrico sits out his senior season.

From what I've heard Reed will graduate early and enroll at tOSU after fall semester .

[trojandave]

caliron: Thanks for the compliment. I was basing my projection of Ironton on what TriStateYouthSports had reported earlier.......that Carrico was going to graduate early. If he does return, I still have the Fighting Tigers in the 6 spot. Just too many starters lost to make a serious move into the top 3 of the conference. Best case scenario for Ironton is 4th or 5th, because I think Gallia Academy has to get good guard play to go with their size, and Portsmouth has a major scoring issue despite returning 4 starters.

Fairland, Chesapeake, and South Point will be clearly the best 3 teams in the OVC, and after that the remaining 5 teams will battle it out to see who can finish 4th--8th.

Of course, player movement can drastically change the fortunes of a team. We will have to wait and see what effect that has on the conference pecking order.

[RShifko]

Reid Carico is graduating in the fall. Will be starting at Ohio State for the winter semester in 2020. This year was his last year playing basketball in a Ironton uniform.

[fan of basketball]

Here are my very early predictions on how the Ohio Valley Conference will turn out in 2020-2021, with each school's last 5 year OVC record:

1. Fairland (68-2)......the Dragons once again are the prohibitive favorite, with only 1 senior on their entire roster. FHS has won the OVC 5 years in a row, and with only 2 losses in those 5 years (Gallia Academy and South Point), it will be a major upset if they don't win the title.
2. Chesapeake (33-37).....the Panthers lose Austin Jackson and Josh Cox, but among the returnees are Levi Blankenship and 6-4 Ethan Taylor. The Peake's only 2 conference losses in 2019-2020 were to Fairland.
3. South Point (33-37)......the Pointers also have a lot coming back, but do lose Chance Gunther and Brody Blackwell. Austin Webb, Nakyan Turner, and Darryl Taylor give SP a strong core to build on.
4. Gallia Academy (40-30)...the Blue Devils should have the most size in the conference, with 6-5 Isaac Clary and 6-5 Loveday. They will have to replace Logan Bluoir, one of the OVC's best in 2019-2020.
5. Portsmouth (36-34)....the Trojans have 4 starters back, but do lose Matthew Fraulini (1,096 points in his career). Portsmouth will be athletic as always, but scoring looks to be a major obstacle to overcome. 6-1 SR Miles Shipp for his size is the best rebounder in the OVC.
6. Ironton (39-31)......the Fighting Tigers lose all 5 starters, but do have 6th man 6-1 Trent Hacker returning. The JV team was respectable, but it looks like a rebuilding year at IHS.
7. Coal Grove (30-40).....the Hornets lose 2 key players, Corey Borders and Evan Gannon. They look to be offensively challenged, but Coach Vanderhoof always has CG playing hard. CG's 8th grade won the OVC, so perhaps some freshmen may be elevated out of need.
8. Rock Hill (1-69).....it has been a hard 5 years for the Redmen, but they do have some talent coming back, including Owen Hankins. Over the last 5 years, scoring has been a challenge for RH. It's possible that with several teams rebuilding that the Redmen could move up in the standings.

Overall, I don't think the conference will be as strong as the 2019-2020 season with several teams on rebuild mode. It wouldn't be out of the question, though, to see another OVC school playing in the regionals as happened in the 2019-2020 season.

Trojan u must not have watched a lot of Coal Grove games or you would know they started 4 sophomores and 1 junior in a lot of games this year with all the injuries they had through out the season

[trojandave]

fan of basketball: I watched Coal Grove 3 times, 2 of them without Corey Borders, and not having him definitely hurt the Hornets. CG may have a lot coming back, but to lose two of their top scorers is the reason I have CG preseason 7th. My Portsmouth Trojans started 3 sophomores, played 5 sophomores all season, and are losing a 1,000 point scorer, yet with 4 starters returning I have them only 5th......and the Trojans beat the Hornets twice, one with Borders healthy (29 points the second game). These are very early predictions, so much could change between now and December.

The OVC is very good basketball conference, and it won't be easy for Coal Grove, Rock Hill, Ironton, or Portsmouth to move into the top 4. There's a lot of scoring to replace among those 4 teams. Best case scenario for those 4 is probably 4th, because of two reasons......I don't think Gallia Academy is a strong preseason 4th, and Fairland, Chesapeake, and South Point will be clearly the 3 best teams in the OVC.

[JFLRADIO Big Mor]

Fairland has a ton of talent at the Sophomore and freshman levels. Junior High Ball is also loaded and has some size that will be coming. Speed and the Dragons are not going anywhere, anytime soon. Over the next 3 seasons, i see this team as the weakest of the next 3 years. However, thats why you lace them up and play the game.

[trojandave]

JFLRADIO Big Mor: Fairland has a great program, the best tournament record of any school in the SE district over the last 4 years, but in today's basketball, it's hard to project how good a team will be 3-4 years from now. With the common occurrence of transfers in and transfers out, a team can get really good in a hurry or fall into mediocrity. Junior high basketball is somewhat overrated because when those kids come up to the varsity level, the physical or skill advantage a team may have at the JH level may not be as prominent.

Fairland has been the beast of the OVC for 5 years, and they will win it again next year, but after that to keep it going at that level is a high bar to maintain.

[Geronimo]

It will be interesting how much better the younger Loveday will get over the summer for GA ?