Storylines for upcoming girls basketball season
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
We are one week away from the start of the 2010-11 girls high school basketball season. Last season, we had one team make it to the Convo at Ohio University, and we had some good regular season play from all the other teams.
This season will be a little different when you look at the sideline of three of the five Highland County teams. The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, Hillsboro Lady Indians and Whiteoak Lady Wildcats welcome new coaches.
But this is a new season, with new expectations for all five teams.
Some are looking to rebuild, some will be looking to keep moving up the ladder. Seniors want to make their mark on their high school tradition, while others just want to do their best and let the pieces fall accordingly.
Basketball season means that cold weather is almost here, a lot of coffee will be consumed, and the smell of chocolate chip cookies will be in the air (I'll get to that in a later column).
This year, like every year, will be special in some way. It's the start of something new for some, while for others it's the final hurrah of a high school career. No matter the storyline, this year should be fun.
Here are some of the top storylines for the upcoming girls high school basketball season.
• The first thing that catches my attention is the fact three of the five Highland County teams will have new coaches leading programs that have had a lot of success in recent years and programs that have struggled to get into the win column. New to the varsity coaching ranks on the girls side are Mike Cooper (Whiteoak), JR Moberly (Hillsboro) and Tiffany Barnett (Lynchburg-Clay). This is an exciting time for basketball fans as we'll see similar play from some coaches, but others will be bringing their own style and systems into the mix of both the South Central Ohio League and Southern Hills League.
• With Jenna Cobb graduating from Miami Trace, will anyone be able to dethrone the Miami Trace Lady Panthers this season? MT does return a lot of talent (very good talent, plus a great coach in James Stutzman), don't get me wrong, but losing a Division I player can't be good for the 7-time defending champion Lady Panthers. But with that, all the SCOL teams lost a lot of their scorers from last season. What will be the key to this year is which team decides to step up and challenge MT. McClain came very close last season to knocking off MT, splitting the season series, but lost a chance at the league title in a loss at Miami Trace High School near the end of the season. Plus, MT knocked MHS out of the postseason tournament last year (36-19) at the Convo. Should be some tough games again this season.
• Chelsey Riddle, a Fairfield High School senior, is going for the girls basketball all-time scoring record. Barring injury, there is no reason for the soon-to be four-year varsity player not to break the record. Riddle enters the season with 912 career points, with the record standing at 1,054. So that means she needs 142 points. I guess all we can say is let the countdown begin.
• Back to the Lady Lions, will this be the year they can get out of second place and win the SHL, Division II? I honestly have no idea how to answer this question. I've watched this team improve each season, but with that, I've watched the Fayetteville Lady Rockets win games when it mattered most against the Lady Lions. They have been some of the better games I've had the opportunity to cover, and I don't see how this year would be any different. Fayetteville returns Shelby Sheets, and FHS returns Riddle, their respective teams' leading scorers, so with that, the two times these teams play, they are must-see games.
• One of the best things about each start of the season is the Highland County Shootout, which is usually held at the Patriot Center on the campus of Southern State, but for some reason the venue was switched to Hillsboro High School and their gym. Which is cool for me, since they have better lighting for taking pictures than the Patriot Center. But, with that aside, this is always a fun way to start the season, with the opportunity to see four of the five Highland County teams in a span of a few hours. This year will be McClain vs. Whiteoak at 1 p.m. and Lynchburg-Clay and Hillsboro at 3 p.m. (Plus, that is the day the HCP 2010-11 Highland County Basketball Preview will be released. Yep, it will be free. There will be 20 stories included in the special edition, including player profiles on both boys and girls teams from all five Highland County schools, along with 10 team previews).
• Who will replace the seniors who graduated from last season? What is fun about each year is seeing new players getting the opportunity to showcase their talents on the court. Some of the players have been on the varsity team for what seems like forever, but for others, they are getting their first opportunity to produce at the top level of their team. Again, it's just nice to see the new blood of the team take over and make their mark on their school's tradition.
• In interviewing numerous players this offseason, what is nice to see is how much tradition means to the players on the teams. I've had the chance to do more interviews than normal this offseason, and I will say it has been a great experience. I like to see what makes the players tick, and why they keep playing. One of the answers I got was the tradition certain programs have, and how they know what the team means to their community. I find it a good thing when players today care about what happened in the past and how they want to be remembered for their efforts on the court.
• With all of that, the season is almost here. It should be a fun season, more storylines will happen each game. Points will be scored, defense will be played, student sections will be loud, and a good time should be had by all.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
This season will be a little different when you look at the sideline of three of the five Highland County teams. The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, Hillsboro Lady Indians and Whiteoak Lady Wildcats welcome new coaches.
But this is a new season, with new expectations for all five teams.
Some are looking to rebuild, some will be looking to keep moving up the ladder. Seniors want to make their mark on their high school tradition, while others just want to do their best and let the pieces fall accordingly.
Basketball season means that cold weather is almost here, a lot of coffee will be consumed, and the smell of chocolate chip cookies will be in the air (I'll get to that in a later column).
This year, like every year, will be special in some way. It's the start of something new for some, while for others it's the final hurrah of a high school career. No matter the storyline, this year should be fun.
Here are some of the top storylines for the upcoming girls high school basketball season.
• The first thing that catches my attention is the fact three of the five Highland County teams will have new coaches leading programs that have had a lot of success in recent years and programs that have struggled to get into the win column. New to the varsity coaching ranks on the girls side are Mike Cooper (Whiteoak), JR Moberly (Hillsboro) and Tiffany Barnett (Lynchburg-Clay). This is an exciting time for basketball fans as we'll see similar play from some coaches, but others will be bringing their own style and systems into the mix of both the South Central Ohio League and Southern Hills League.
• With Jenna Cobb graduating from Miami Trace, will anyone be able to dethrone the Miami Trace Lady Panthers this season? MT does return a lot of talent (very good talent, plus a great coach in James Stutzman), don't get me wrong, but losing a Division I player can't be good for the 7-time defending champion Lady Panthers. But with that, all the SCOL teams lost a lot of their scorers from last season. What will be the key to this year is which team decides to step up and challenge MT. McClain came very close last season to knocking off MT, splitting the season series, but lost a chance at the league title in a loss at Miami Trace High School near the end of the season. Plus, MT knocked MHS out of the postseason tournament last year (36-19) at the Convo. Should be some tough games again this season.
• Chelsey Riddle, a Fairfield High School senior, is going for the girls basketball all-time scoring record. Barring injury, there is no reason for the soon-to be four-year varsity player not to break the record. Riddle enters the season with 912 career points, with the record standing at 1,054. So that means she needs 142 points. I guess all we can say is let the countdown begin.
• Back to the Lady Lions, will this be the year they can get out of second place and win the SHL, Division II? I honestly have no idea how to answer this question. I've watched this team improve each season, but with that, I've watched the Fayetteville Lady Rockets win games when it mattered most against the Lady Lions. They have been some of the better games I've had the opportunity to cover, and I don't see how this year would be any different. Fayetteville returns Shelby Sheets, and FHS returns Riddle, their respective teams' leading scorers, so with that, the two times these teams play, they are must-see games.
• One of the best things about each start of the season is the Highland County Shootout, which is usually held at the Patriot Center on the campus of Southern State, but for some reason the venue was switched to Hillsboro High School and their gym. Which is cool for me, since they have better lighting for taking pictures than the Patriot Center. But, with that aside, this is always a fun way to start the season, with the opportunity to see four of the five Highland County teams in a span of a few hours. This year will be McClain vs. Whiteoak at 1 p.m. and Lynchburg-Clay and Hillsboro at 3 p.m. (Plus, that is the day the HCP 2010-11 Highland County Basketball Preview will be released. Yep, it will be free. There will be 20 stories included in the special edition, including player profiles on both boys and girls teams from all five Highland County schools, along with 10 team previews).
• Who will replace the seniors who graduated from last season? What is fun about each year is seeing new players getting the opportunity to showcase their talents on the court. Some of the players have been on the varsity team for what seems like forever, but for others, they are getting their first opportunity to produce at the top level of their team. Again, it's just nice to see the new blood of the team take over and make their mark on their school's tradition.
• In interviewing numerous players this offseason, what is nice to see is how much tradition means to the players on the teams. I've had the chance to do more interviews than normal this offseason, and I will say it has been a great experience. I like to see what makes the players tick, and why they keep playing. One of the answers I got was the tradition certain programs have, and how they know what the team means to their community. I find it a good thing when players today care about what happened in the past and how they want to be remembered for their efforts on the court.
• With all of that, the season is almost here. It should be a fun season, more storylines will happen each game. Points will be scored, defense will be played, student sections will be loud, and a good time should be had by all.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]