Portsmouth Trojans 22-23 Basketball

[trojandave]

I think one thing that would likely happen if Jeff were hired would be players who went elsewhere would come back and players who are at PHS but didn't play would play. With his credibility the participation numbers would likely increase.

4verts: I think I know who you're talking about......I won't mention his name, but he would have been a huge help to the JH this season. He played last year and was no doubt the best player on the team.

BBJunky81 makes a good point about the upcoming talent situation at Portsmouth and what the OVC has coming up at the same time. Patience will be required because there's a lot of work that last season's JV and JH has to put in to be competitive in the conference. Next year, though, I think the Trojans could be really good if they can keep the bulk of the roster returnees intact.

I would have much confidence that Jeff could absolutely maximize what he would have. He won at Unioto, Piketon, and Dayton Northridge. No reason to think that Portsmouth would be the exception. He's one of the few people in the entire state of Ohio that was a starter on a state championship team (1978 Trojans), and then coached a team (2009 Piketon) to the Final 4.

Prime Time: There are 2 games that come to my memory regarding the Trojans vs. Dayton Dunbar. In 1987, the Trojans beat Dunbar 62-61 when Kirk Taylor, who went on to play at Michigan, missed 2 FT's with virtually seconds remaining. Todd Kinskey got the rebound off the 2nd miss, and the game ended, with Trojan fans going crazy. That Dunbar team won the Class AAA state title that year at UD Arena. It was the last year that there was a 3 class system in Ohio. Another player on that Dunbar team, PG Mark Baker, started for Ohio State.

The other game I remember was in 1991 at PHS in the Wendy's Classic. Dunbar beat the Trojans 96-93 in 2OT when Portsmouth missed a game tying 3 pointer at the buzzer. The coach of both of those Dunbar teams......PHS graduate and 1961 state champion Mike Haley.

[PTrojan59]

I have no info to add to the coaching search. However I think Jeff Lisath would be a fantastic hire. Great guy, and great coach. Would be great for the kids and the community. Would he have to endure some rough years after next season? Probably, but maybe not as bad or many as we think. Maybe more kids would come out with him as the coach, maybe kids would move in with him as the coach. Maybe he would develop kids and turn what many, myself included think will be a rough patch into success. I hope he becomes the next HC for the Trojans. Regardless of who it is, I hope it happens soon. So there’s time for summer ball and what not under the new regime.

[trojandave]

It may be surprising to some, but Portsmouth's 74-66 win vs. Ottawa-Glandorf in the 2012 D3 State Semifinals is the last time a SE district school in any division has won a game in the Final 4. Since then, Ironton, Warren, Lynchburg Clay, Fairland, Sheridan, New Boston, and Waverly have all lost in their respective division state semifinals. Ironton came the closest to winning, losing by 1 point to eventual state champion Ottawa-Glandorf 61-60 in 2013.

Oak Hill was the last SE school to win a state title, in 2009 vs. Kalida. Piketon with Jeff Lisath as coach also made the Final 4 that year( in D3), losing in the state semifinal. Chillicothe won the D2 state title in 2008, beating Toledo Libbey on a last second shot by Ray Chambers.

Portsmouth's back to back Final 4's in 2011 and 2012 was the 2nd time a SE school went back to back this century. Wheelersburg went back to back in 2006 and 2007, but lost in both of their state semifinal games.

Portsmouth's overall record in state tournament play is a very good 16-11, with 4 state titles and 4 state runnerups. What's quite amazing is that the Trojans' loss in the D3 state semifinals in 2011 was the 1st loss in a state semifinal game since 1929. PHS won its state semifinal game in 1931, 1934, 1961, 1978, 1980, 1988, 1990, and in 2012. 8-1 record in the last 9 state semifinal games.

[E High]

The past is the past ! Make the right decision. There are NO guarantees

[Hoopster98]

Been quiet? Are they waiting a decision from Jeff before opening this up?

[trojandave]

Hoopster98: It's been quiet because the job doesn't officially open up until the end of March. The job has to be posted within the district so that anyone currently employed in the PCS has the opportunity to apply. Basically the Portsmouth administration has 3 options:

1. Hire Jeff Lisath if he is interested, and from what I've heard, he is.
2. Hire from within the PCS
3. Hire from outside the PCS if Lisath is not the hire and there are no applicants within the PCS

There probably won't be many applicants from option 3, but there's probably some coach out there who is looking for a HC job and may come from a similar situation that Portsmouth presents. Portsmouth is a well known name for boys basketball around the state. To say that the parameters of the PHS job will scare some applicants off is more myth than truth, especially those from outside the SE district. The tradition of Portsmouth basketball might be attractive to some candidate.

Back in 1988, Joe Suboticki came to Portsmouth partly because of the efforts of then City Manager Bob Everhart, who evidently had some connection to either Suboticki or the area that he was from (Barberton/Akron). Suboticki had previously been the HC at Akron St.Vincent St.Mary, and won a state title in 1984 when his Irish beat Wheelersburg in the AA championship game. In 1987, Suboticki's ASVSM team made the Final 4 at UD Arena. Then he took the Portsmouth job with the convincing of Everhart and ended up with a 94-11 record in 4 years, with a state title in 1988 and a state runnerup in 1990. He was a complete outsider with no connection to Portsmouth. It's always a possibility that something like that could happen again.

Portsmouth hired Sparks (first name?) as the football coach several years ago, and he was an outsider as well. From my understanding, there were 41 applicants for the football HC job. So the PCS administration has hired coaches from outside the district several times. Will there be 41 applicants for the Portsmouth basketball job? Highly unlikely, given that when Coach Collins was hired, the number of applicants could be counted on fingers.

Whoever the next coach is has the potential to turn a downtrodden program around, just like Coach Collins did in 2010. After a school record 7 straight losing seasons, the program looked dead. But it was in his 2nd year that Coach Collins led the Trojans to the Final 4 in 2011, and then followed that up with another Final 4 in 2012, finishing state runnerup.

It will be a tall but doable task to turn the basketball fortunes of PHS basketball back in the right direction. But it can happen because it's been done before.

[Prime Time]

I would think if Coach Lisath comes back to Portsmouth, all southeastern Ohio schools will be on notice that the Trojans will be back ! No matter the Div., let's hope Jeff comes back to his alma mater and brings the hard nosed play back to the Trojans. I remember where Ohio Univwrsity was Portsmouth second home, they played there every year and won big at Ohio U

[trojandave]

PrimeTime: I think you are spot on about Lisath's return to coach the Trojans. South Point was in the regional finals this season, and Portsmouth lost in OT at SP by 2 in the sectional. PHS lost to North Adams by 2 at NA in the regular season, and NA made the regionals. The Trojans were very close to being a regional team. They lost 3 games in OT, 2 games by buzzer beaters, 1 game by 2, another game by 4. 9-14 could have been 14-9.

The bulk of the Trojans' roster returns for next season. PHS only loses 2 starters, Kenny Sanderlin and Tyler Duncan. Right now, I project the starting lineup could look like this:

Devon Lattimore............6-0 SR......17 PPG high game 35 pts.
DeAndre Berry...............6-1 SR......17 PPG 2nd team All-District
Donovan Breech.............6-3 SR......high game 10 points vs. Wesley Christian; best hops in program
Noah Livingston.............6-2 SR......multiple games of double digit rebounds
Luke Stine....................6-4 JR or Isaiah Lewis........5-8 SR.........or LeVaughn Cobb........5-11 SR.......or Olynshay McKinley........6-4 SO.

The first 4 are pretty much settled. The 5th, though, will be among those 4 players. PHS will finally have some size to work with.

If Jeff is the hire, and the momentum for that is building by the day, his competitive fire will be sure to carry over to how his team plays. Just as Coach Collins turned the fortunes of PHS basketball around in 2010, Jeff could do the very same thing starting next season with the roster listed above.

Of course the school board will make the final decision on any hire for the PCS. A search committee makes recommendations for a particular position, but whether the person will be hired rests with the board. Whether there is a search committee I don't know, but one would have to think there have been conversations among the administration about the coaching job.

The PCS/school board have a required responsibility of adhering to the legal aspects of hiring for any position, but they also have an obligation to hire the best candidate for that position. It will really hard to top Jeff's resume of over 300 wins, playing for the 1978 Trojan state championship team, being an assistant on the 1988 state title team, and coaching a school (Piketon) to a Final 4 in 2009.

[Prime Time]

TrojanDave, Here’s a thought, people has said here that Coach Lisath one day wants to return and Coach Trojans. So Coach Lisath by my estimate would be early 60s. If he doesn’t want it now and another Coach gets it, that would put Coach Lisath at least mid 60s or older when the job might be open or closer to 70. So in my eyes he’s still young enough to have a 10-15 year run in Portsmouth now if he would want it.Does any of this make sense to you on age and time frame in the Trojans future. I was thinking if not now, then when! Coach Lisath would bring instant positives to the Portsmouth program. Maybe Portsmouth would become the Harvest Prep of southeasternohio, which in the past Portsmouth was the Kings of Basketball in Southeasternohio, and the state of Ohio.

[Hoopster98]

If Jeff takes the job (assuming it's his if he wants it), I think he needs to surround himself with a good staff in order to rebuild the program. Get the feeder system better which builds to your junior high. Defensively fundamentals need to be taught at the lower level (instead of playing 2-3 zone), teach proper ball handling, JUST TEACH FUNDAMENTALS. This is something that I have noticed within the Trojan program is the younger kids are not taught the proper fundamentals. Get better at H/C defense then you can get up in the F/C and then play zone. Portsmouth will be in good hands if Jeff comes home.

[trojandave]

PrimeTime: Jeff wants to be the coach of the Trojans NOW.....and that is not an opinion. There's no question that he could put in a 10 year run as HC. He personally keeps himself in great shape physically. A positive side bar to that is that his players would have to STRAIGHTEN UP on their own physical shape because I can say with certainty that HE WON'T TOLERATE LACK OF CONDITIONING no matter who they are. Jeff has been a WINNER all his life as a player and a coach because he is DEMANDING of himself and his players. Anything less then that WON'T BE ACCEPTABLE.

Jeff has the ability to get 100% out of a player who previously only performed at 70%. He can take a so-called project and fit him in a role that produces positive results. He can take a player not known for scoring and make him more offensively productive. Defensively, he will get his teams to play the type of defense that was typical of Portsmouth basketball for many years.......TOUGH IN YOUR FACE defense, making teams having to work for every basket they get. If a player is not willing to pay the price that success demands, THEN THEY WON'T PLAY!

HE WON'T TOLERATE PLAYERS who mouth off to officials, who disrespect other players and coaches, and who don't represent Portsmouth High School with the highest degree of sportsmanship.

Jeff would also see to it that the players all the way down to biddy ball level are taught basketball the RIGHT WAY.

There are so many POSITIVES to have Jeff as coach of the Trojans.....and since he's been a state champion as player and HC coach of a Final 4 team, his goals for Portsmouth basketball would be very much the same.

[Prime Time]

That's good to hear, if the Portsmouth makes this happen, look out Div 3 in basketball! Portsmouth basketball needs this and OVC needs this! I would also look for a stronger non conference schedule also. Maybe Howie could make trip to p-town! Also look for new fresh players maybe comin into Portsmouth! Make it happen Portsmouth! the time seems perfect and maybe even pfloyd would appear in Portsmouth! Portsmouth girls and now Portsmouth boys, wow all the possibilities of a true rise from the ashes in both programs. Great Coaching will do that with talented players! hoopster good post and excellent run down, I bet Portsmouth boosters would see a rise in money coming into athletic departments from all the ex and past Trojans! Heck I would even pitch in with a substantial amount of this would happen! trojandave if he gets job let me know how I can help Coach Lisath in future with any monetary problems he runs into.

[4verts]

Are they waiting to see if there is an administration job open for him at PCSD? Or what exactly is the hold up?

[transplant]

Has it been posted to the public yet? Or is it still in house right now?

[Hoopster98]

I think after March 31st like Trojandave said then it may be posted but I do know first it has to go through PCSD. I know they may have to interview "in house" first but they can ultimately say we have a better outside candidate for the job. Is what I think has to happen.

[transplant]

Me too.

[trojandave]

PrimeTime: You made some excellent and very realistic points in your post above. The Portsmouth Trojans community is no doubt excited about the possibility of Jeff coming home to his dream job. Won't be much longer that a decision will be made. I agree that the non-conference schedule would be challenging. I would like to get the Chillicothe rivalry started again. The Cavaliers are our 2nd most played opponent (88 times). CHS leads the series 45-43, but PHS leads in tournament play 9-4....4-0 in district championship games. When I was growing up in the early 70's, Chillicothe was our biggest basketball rival. We haven't played them since the demise of the SEOAL in 2015. In the state championship year of 1978, Jeff and the Trojans won at Chillicothe 62-54. The very next year Craig Tubbs made a foul lane jumper at the buzzer to beat CHS 51-50. Portsmouth beat Chillicothe 3 out 4 times in 2011 and 2012, in which the Trojans made back to back Final 4 trips.

Hoopster98: You are very correct in that a good staff around the HC is always a big help. I think Jeff would have no problem getting a good staff together, given his connections within the Portsmouth basketball community. You hit on a big point about ballhandling......that is one of the biggest deficiencies in the program right now. The ballhandling is way below average. A lot of turnovers on the varsity, JV, and JH levels.

This summer will be critical to the future of Portsmouth basketball. Will there be max participation? With Jeff I think the odds are really good.

[trojandave]

What's interesting is that I looked on the OHSAA.org website which lists current job openings, reviewed it twice, and didn't see Portsmouth's boys basketball job listed. Listed on the website were postings for Notre Dame Football Coach, New Boston Soccer Coach, and Waverly Boys Basketball Coach. I would think that by not listing the opening that it greatly reduces the number of candidates for the job, which bodes even better for Jeff.

Here is not a complete history of Jeff's coaching record, but a good portion of it: Piketon info obtained from MaxPreps, Unioto info obtained from their history's website https://uniotobasketball.weebly.com

Unioto 1998-99.........10-12
Unioto 1999-00.........15-7
Unioto 2000-01.........14-8.....SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS

Piketon 2005-06........5-15
Piketon 2006-07........3-6?......That's what was listed by MaxPreps
Piketon 2007-08........15-8
Piketon 2008-09........24-3.....D3 Final 4
Piketon 2009-10........15-7
Piketon 2010-11........20-3.....DISTRICT RUNNERUP
Piketon 2011-12........14-8.....SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS
PIketon 2012-13........22-4.....DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

Overall Record Unioto and Piketon combined for years listed: 157-81

Looked on Dayton Northridge's school website, but couldn't find any history of the boys program.

Hard for anyone to have a better resume than Jeff's. Not only that but he is a 1978 Trojan State Champion, leading scorer all time in PHS state tournament history (40 points total in the 2 Final 4 games of 1978.......22 points in the state championship game)

[2quick2catch]

Lisath's first year at Piketon was 2004-2005.

[trojandave]

Thanks, 2quick2catch for the info. MaxPreps goes back to 2005-06 for Piketon's records. Don't know why the 3-6 record in 06-07 is listed as such. Do you know what his record was for the 2004-05 season?