Portsmouth Trojans 2024-25

[Hoopster98]

Sorry, Jonathon Parker and wrong last name for Valetine. It should of been Lewis. Brewer will also give good minutes .

[trojandave]

I agree with BuckeyeBlood about the OVC. It is a good conference, but not overwhelming. Listed below is the overall record of the Trojans since joining the OVC in 2015, followed by the finish in the standings, and then the head to head records vs. each OVC school.

2015: 20-7 OVC finish: 1st
2016: 16-8 OVC finish: 2nd
2017: 17-8 OVC finish: 3rd
2018: 16-8 OVC finish: 4th
2019: 8-16 OVC finish: 7th
2020: 10-13 OVC finish: 5th
2021: 8-12 OVC finish: 6th
2022: 11-11 OVC finish: 6th
2023: 9-14 OVC finish: 6th
2024: 17-7 OVC finish: 2nd

5 of the 10 years in the OVC Portsmouth has finished in the top half of the conference (4th or higher), and has never finished last (8th).

Head to Head records since joining the conference in 2015:

vs. Fairland...........4-16 (split with Dragons last 2 seasons)
vs. Ironton............8-12 (swept Fighting Tigers last season)
vs. Coal Grove.......12-8
vs. South Point.......11-9 (lost at home last season, won at SP)
vs. Rock Hill..........18-2
vs. Gallia Acad.......10-10 (won at GA, but lost at home)
vs. Chesapeake......10-10 (Champion last year but won at CHS)

The losses at home to Chesapeake, Gallia Academy, and South Point cost PHS the OVC title last season. Won on the road at all 3 places.

[trojandave]

The Trojans scrimmaged Manchester last night, and won the overall score, with the highlight being the pace of play by PHS. Fast, fast, and faster was the rule for the Trojans, as they raced the ball up the court on offense, with a good number of fast break points. On defense, the Trojans played sticky man defense and basically stayed with that, creating offense by forcing turnovers.

There are issues to address, but I love how Coach Smith wants to play fast. It is a perfect fit for our athleticism.

[trojandave]

My top 20 Portsmouth Trojans teams since 1951:

#1 1961 22-3 Class AA (Big School) State Champions; starters Mike Haley, Rudy Shively, Dozier Carter, Clem Hartley, Dick Spencer
#2 1988 27-1 D2 State Champions; starters David Barnes, Dominic McKinley, Patrick Tubbs, Bo Burns, Ricky White
#3 1978 19-7 Class AA (middle class) State Champions; starters Jeff Lisath, Craig Tubbs, Scot Taylor, Scott Burrows, Tom Boden
#4 1984 20-4 7-0 vs. Columbus schools; district runnerup; starters Darrin Miller, Kyle Taylor, Danny Reid, Lee Hooks, Alvin Williams
#5 1955 20-4 Greater Ohio League Champions; ranked #1 in Ohio during the regular season
#6 1965 17-3 Greater Ohio League Champions Larry Hisle's senior season(25.5 PPG) ranked in top 10 in Ohio
#7 1990 24-3 D2 State Runnerup; starters Daryl Lisath, Damond Mannon, Phil Whitehead, Brian Kelly, Eric Miller
#8 2012 24-3 D3 State Runnerup; SEOAL Champions; starters Dion McKinley, Wayne Evans, Zaide Noel, Andrew Bendolph, Jayllen Carter
#9 1979 21-1 AP Poll Champions (18-0) won 21 games in a row; 29 combined with 78 team
#10 2011 21-5 D3 State Semifinalist; SEOAL Champions; first PHS team to go to Final 4 in 21 years
#11 1980 21-6 Class AA (middle class) State Runnerup; starters Keith Wilburn, Troy Jackson, John Mitchell, Kirk McMahon, Marcus Bendolph
#12 1991 22-3 Ohio-Kentucky Athletic Conference Champions; highest scoring PHS team ever (83 PPG)
#13 1983 20-4 Class AA district champions; beat Columbus East 62-61 on Eugene Collins' buzzer beater; beat Wheelersburg for district title;
#14 1982 20-4 Class AA district champions; beat Wheelersburg 80-60
#15 1989 21-4 D2 district champions; beat Ironton for sectional championship
#16 1994 16-6 D2 district champions; beat Greenfield McClain 77-67 for district championship; Darnell Lisath 38 pts. vs. McClain
#17 1987 22-3 D2 district champions; beat Wheelersburg 59-54 for sectional championship
#18 2001 19-5 D2 district champions; starters Greg McKinley, RK Thurman, Bradley Parker, Larry Berry, DJ Carter
#19 1999 18-5 D2 district champions; beat Greenfield McClain 58-50 for district championship
#20 1951 18-4 Class AA (Big School) district champions; beat undefeated Chillicothe for district title

[trojandave]

This is the 3rd part of "The Trilogy", which encompasses 3 aspects of Trojan history with some subjective opinions mixed in. This 3rd part is about great tournament games which were decided by a point or two, with a few exceptions. These games are numbered, but are not ranked. All games listed are Trojan wins. This is not an all inclusive list. "The Trilogy" is not on www.trojanhoops.org.

The Trilogy: Part 1: All decade starting 5's; Part 2: Top 20 teams since 1951; Part 3: Great tournament games

1. 1978 Portsmouth 63, Cleveland Cathedral Latin 62: Class AA state title game; Jeff Lisath 22, Craig Tubbs 18; Latin was defending champion
2. 2011 Portsmouth 69, Chesapeake 68: D3 regional final at Athens; Wayne Evans teardrop shot with 4 seconds to play was the game winner.
3. 2011 Portsmouth 65, South Point 64: D3 sectional final; SP's Bryce Barnes' 3 ball at the buzzer goes off the mark
4. 1961 Portsmouth 52, Chillicothe 51: Big school district final; Trojans win jump ball with seconds to play; Clem Hartley makes game winning shot
5. 1988 Portsmouth 59, Ironton 56: D2 sectional final at Shawnee State; Patrick Tubbs 13 points in the final 5 minutes with Trojans down 52-44
6. 1988 Portsmouth 90, Cin.Forest Park 80 2 OT: D2 regional final; Jason Taylor's 3 ball tied the game in regulation; Trojans won Dayton regional
7. 1989 Portsmouth 63, Ironton 55 OT; D2 sectional final; Daryl Lisath's 3 pointer at buzzer sent game into OT
8. 1980 Portsmouth 49, Waverly 48; Class AA regional final; Marcus Bendolph makes winning shot; Tigers' 3 ball at buzzer off the mark
9. 1951 Portsmouth 51, Chillicothe 50: Big School district final; Trojans spoil Cavaliers undefeated season
10. 1989 Portsmouth 69, South Point 67; D2 sectional final at South Webster; key block/charge call late in the game went the Trojans way
11. 1978 Portsmouth 56, Washington CH 54; Class AA district final; Craig Tubbs' corner jumper sends game into OT
12. 1990 Portsmouth 58, New Lexington 57; D2 district final; New Lex's shot at the buzzer fell off the rim
13. 1988 Portsmouth 68, Mansfield Malabar 65; D2 state semis; David Barnes' 24 points is the highest point total in any Trojan state tournament game
14. 2012 Portsmouth 45, Wheelersburg 39; D3 regional semifinal; Trojans trailed with 2 minutes to go; only time PHS and WHS met in regional play
15. 2019 Portsmouth 47, Portsmouth West 45; D3 sectional; Mychel McKinley makes winning shot at the buzzer
16. 2001 Portsmouth 58, Washington CH 56; D3 district semifinal; Larry Berry makes winning shot with seconds to play
17. 1980 Portsmouth 50, Chesapeake 47; Class AA sectional; Trojans trailed much of the game
18. 1978 Portsmouth 54, Wheelersburg 52 OT; Class AA sectional final at Valley HS; Trojans avenge a 54-52 loss to the Pirates in regular season
19. 2014 Portsmouth 55, Lynchburg Clay 53; D3 sectional final; Sky Oliver's jumper at the buzzer wins it for the Trojans
20. 1983 Portsmouth 66, Wheelersburg 59 OT; D3 district final; Trojans go to 2-0 vs. Pirates in tournament play
21. 2004 Portsmouth 72, South Point 70; D3 sectional final; Trojans avenge a 30 point loss to SP in the regular season
22. 1950 Portsmouth 49, Lancaster 48; Big school district semifinal; James "Sweetwater" Douglas makes steal and bucket to win game
23. 1950 Portsmouth 51, Chillicothe 49; Big school district final; Trojans beat Cavaliers also in 1951 district final
24. 1967 Portsmouth 67, Waverly 59: Big school sectional final; Trojans spoil Tigers' undefeated season
25. 1987 Portsmouth 59, Wheelersburg 54: Class AA sectional final; 17-3 PHS vs. 16-4 Burg

[trojandave]

The Trojans scrimmaged Athens and Northwest the past few days, and fared pretty well overall. They outscored Athens 34-17 the 1st two quarters, the JV's then played, after that I left to watch Indiana and the Buckeyes. Against Northwest, the Trojans won 3 of 5 quarters but the overall score was about even. Despite losing all 5 starters from last year's district champions, Coach Scarberry returns a group that will be very competitive in the SOC. They have some size and a nice PG.

Portsmouth's defense is going to be a headache for a lot of teams, including the OVC; if the officials will let the Trojans play aggressively. If not, PHS will have to scale back a bit to avoid serious foul trouble. I love how Coach Smith has the team playing unselfishly with defense being the strength of the team, and offensively stressing to push the ball up the court in a hurry.

Portsmouth plays a foundation game at Waverly this Friday, beginning at 6 PM.

[BuckeyeBlood]

Trojans took a butt whooping in the foundation game against Waverly tonight. The second half was some of the worst basketball I’ve ever seen

[pfloyd]

Score?

[WaverlyMom]

Score?

Waverly JV won 41-12
Waverly Varsity won 53-29

[pfloyd]

Score?

Waverly JV won 41-12
Waverly Varsity won 53-29

... thanks WaverlyMom

[trojandave]

Have to agree with BuckeyeBlood on last night's foundation game vs. Waverly. The 2nd half of both games was hard to watch, as both the JV and varsity struggled mightily to score. JV's scored 3 points total in the 2nd half, and the varsity only managed 7. Waverly's bigs had their way with the Trojans, who to be fair were missing 6-5 Luke Stine and 6-5 Olynshay McKinley. Credit to the Tigers' D, but even open shots weren't falling for PHS. Where not having Stine and McKinley out was that the Trojans had no post presence which resulted in a 5 guard offense.

The bad shooting, though, had nothing to do with who was missing. I guess the Trojans can only get better, because the shooting can't get any worse.

[petesweaty]

Have to agree with BuckeyeBlood on last night's foundation game vs. Waverly. The 2nd half of both games was hard to watch, as both the JV and varsity struggled mightily to score. JV's scored 3 points total in the 2nd half, and the varsity only managed 7. Waverly's bigs had their way with the Trojans, who to be fair were missing 6-5 Luke Stine and 6-5 Olynshay McKinley. Credit to the Tigers' D, but even open shots weren't falling for PHS. Where not having Stine and McKinley out was that the Trojans had no post presence which resulted in a 5 guard offense.

The bad shooting, though, had nothing to do with who was missing. I guess the Trojans can only get better, because the shooting can't get any worse.

Why are they playing scrimmages still? You can play regular season games this week.

[trojandave]

petesweaty: The only answer I can give you is that the Trojans' 1st regular season game is Dec. 9th at home vs. South Point. It's just the way our schedule works. That gives us almost 10 days to work on our shooting.

[Hoopster98]

Took in the game last name. Trojans do not have a kid that can create. Missing Logan Adkins has a slasher really hurts. Portsmouth guards were attacking too deep which made it hard for them to kick it out. At times, Thomas attacked it well and finish with a drop off. Other times he got too deep in the paint which led to turnovers. Defense was no where to be found. I’m hoping the Trojans didn’t press due to not wanting to show much but they had no ball pressure, nobody was bumping or helping on the back screens. Having Copley on staff is huge. Seems like the same staff they had when Coach Collins was there is now back on staff with the exception of Copley. A lot of work needs to be done but it’s early. Play your best basketball at the end of the season.

On another note, JV struggled. I have an issue with the lower feeder system in the program. Last year the 7th grade played the 8th grade teams and 8th grade played 7th grade teams is what I hear. To me, this does nothing to better your up and coming 8th graders. No matter if your 8th grade team isn’t very good, you should still play them against 8th graders to get them ready for JV.

[trojandave]

Hoopster98: Good points about how the varsity played. No doubt the Trojans struggled in several aspects, but hopefully what we saw at Waverly was not the true Trojans. Not having any post presence really hurt, and not having Adkins is something that we'll have to adjust to.

Where I disagree with you is about our 8th grade team. At first, I didn't like the idea, but I warmed up to it because this group is being groomed to fill some varsity spots next season. I really believe that Joe Greene is a sure fire starter, perhaps 6-3 Mekhi Berry also. Ryan Monroe should be on varsity as well and if he fills out physically, he can get some good PT. Greene, Berry, and Monroe's skill level is above anybody on the JV squad. From what I saw of the JV team vs. Waverly, the 8th grade could beat them in a scrimmage. I don't think it would be a good idea to hold the 8th grade back next season; they are better than the JV which should put the JV on notice that they better get with it in the offseason or this 8th grade group is going to pass them up to the varsity next year.

Of course playing several freshmen on the varsity next season will mean some inconsistent results, but that group has way more upside than the current JV team. We lose 3 seniors off the varsity squad after this season, so there will be spots available on the roster.

[Hoopster98]

I agree you do need to get them ready for Varsity playing time. They will have their struggles adjusting but it will pay off. I just feel like the 9th graders were use to playing lower competition so they were not prepared to play against JV teams this year. If they are better than play them no matter grade level.

[trojandave]

Just a few days away from Coach Aaron Smith's debut, as the South Point Pointers come to Trojan Arena on Monday, December 9th. Seems like it's been a long wait, but anxious to get the season started.

[trojandave]

Gameday today vs. South Point!! Finally get to see the Trojans starting a new era with Coach Aaron Smith.

[Hoopster98]

heck of a fight by the Trojans last night. Trojans could of easily gave up after being down early, but they chipped away 1 possession at a time. Thomas is easily the Trojans playmaker, would of loved for him to take charge and go get the basketball with 25 secs left. I like the scrappy style the Trojans bring on defense and I think their aggressive on ball pressure will make an impact. Not having an inside post presence hurts especially if Stein is out. Depth on the guards will hurt. The two turnovers at the end of the game hurt the Trojans but put the game behind you and learn from it. Woods was trying to make something happened both times. The first TO I think is based on lack of late game experience and knowing the situation. You have the ball with 25 secs left tied up, you want the very last shot. The 2nd TO, he made a great defensive steal and just got excited. What happened to the 2 other guards Portsmouth had in Lewis and Parker? Keep playing hard Trojans and it will pay off!

[trojandave]

Hoopster98: Very good post and your comments are spot on. Your description of the Trojans as "scrappy" is very fitting.

I absolutely love how Coach Smith has his kids going all out on defense, diving for loose balls, taking charges, and creating havoc all over the court. Early on it looked like SP was going to run away with the game, building a 12 point lead. The scrappy Trojans chipped away with their defense, and PHS actually took a 2 point lead with less than 2 minutes to play. Credit to SP on the win, making the winning shot at the buzzer.

High praise for our Trojans and their effort. They gave everything they had in the tank when the offense for the most part struggled. In 2 of the last 3 seasons, the Pointers have beaten the Trojans on a buzzer beating shot. In 2022-23, it was a 3 ball at the buzzer. SP overall has beaten PHS 3 straight years at PHS.

Going forward, I like this team's heart. May have some offensive issues with shooting, but no one can fault the kids' effort. Would be nice to have some post presence, and hopefully Luke Stine is okay. Portsmouth will win some games with that kind of defensive effort. They will make a lot of teams work like crazy to get open looks. I doubt anyone will see any team play harder than these Portsmouth Trojans.

The JV team shook off a very bad foundation game vs. Waverly and came away with a 40-33 win over the JV Pointers. The 8th grade team remained undefeated with a 37-33 win at South Webster.