Time to get excited for the boys basketball season
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
As the South Central Ohio League and Southern Hills League hold their boys basketball previews at Hillsboro High School and Manchester High School, respectively, this Friday, along with the release of the 2010-11 Highland County Press Highland County High School Basketball Preview (32 pages), it’s time to take a look at what storylines we can look forward to this season.
• There is stability in the coaching ranks for the first time in a while in Highland County. For the past several seasons, one or more coaches have been replaced at respective high schools, but not this season. The county is lucky to have five coaches who are in the early stages of the coaching career, and if we are lucky this group of five coaches will be battling one another years down the road. Hillsboro has Tim Davis, McClain has Brent Eaton, Fairfield has Matt Carson, Lynchburg-Clay has Jason McLaughlin and Whiteoak has Tom Wessner. That is a great group of men to have leading the respective high schools in Highland County.
• One occurrence that happened last season was that not one of the boys basketball teams made it out of the sectional round, a first in my time covering sports in Highland County. I don't foresee a repeat performance this season. Hillsboro has a solid team from what I know and have seen about them. The teams from the SHL have quality players on their respective teams, and the McClain Tigers have talent and heart, and I wouldn't be shocked if they surprised teams this season, even though they lost five of their top scorers from last year.
• Just like the girls teams, the county has younger players prepared to make their mark on their respective boys programs. Some teams are in need of their younger players stepping up at the varsity level early in the season, while others have the luxury of allowing their younger players to learn from an experienced varsity group. Either way, I honestly believe the boys teams can have very productive seasons. Each team has a player who can lead the way, but it will depend on the teammates of those players just exactly how far the teams go once the postseason begins. I guess that is why basketball is a team sport.
• The 2nd annual SHL vs. SCOL at Hillsboro High School should be a fun event to attend. How could this event not be fun? We'll have five teams from Highland County, along with the Washington Blue Lions from Fayette County taking part in the event. The games are back-to-back-to-back, with Fairfield vs. Washington, Lynchburg-Clay vs. McClain, and Hillsboro vs. Whiteoak in what should be three good basketball games. If I remember correctly, the games last year were fun to watch, but the only thing different about the event this year is the location. Last year, the event was in a neutral spot at the Patriot Center, but with all the teams so close, I'm sure if fans want to attend the game, there will be room in the gym for them to watch some quality basketball. The event takes place on Dec. 23 at HHS.
• One of the more interesting runs to history will be if Fairfield senior Chris Cox can break the school's all-time boys scoring record, currently held by Nathan VanWinkle with 1,543 points. Cox broke the 1,000 point scoring mark last season (ending the year with 1,005 points) and needs another very productive season of scoring to take the top mark at FHS. Should be a fun process to watch.
• Another fun item for the Lions this year is they play at the Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University in a winter basketball tournament. They will play Peebles in the event, currently scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 23.
• Also, we can't forget about the season-opening two-day Zane Trace Tip-off at ZTHS. Highland County has four teams in the event. On Friday, Dec. 3, Lynchburg-Clay plays Huntington at 5 p.m., and Hillsboro plays Logan Elm at 8:30 p.m. The following day at 6:45 p.m., Fairfield plays Vinton County, and then at 8:30 p.m. McClain takes on Piketon. These are some high quality opponents the teams from Highland County are playing to start the early schedule. There is one thing nobody can say: that a team from Highland County has a cupcake schedule.
These are just some of the storylines headed into the season. Just like I wrote last week about the girls season, the boys season has plenty of opportunities for teams to have a successful, quality season, along with some of the teams having the potential to move on as the postseason tournament begins. But that is a long time away. Let's forget about all the crappy cold weather that will be headed to Ohio during the upcoming basketball season, and let's just enjoy another year of watching basketball in Highland County.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press[[In-content Ad]]
• There is stability in the coaching ranks for the first time in a while in Highland County. For the past several seasons, one or more coaches have been replaced at respective high schools, but not this season. The county is lucky to have five coaches who are in the early stages of the coaching career, and if we are lucky this group of five coaches will be battling one another years down the road. Hillsboro has Tim Davis, McClain has Brent Eaton, Fairfield has Matt Carson, Lynchburg-Clay has Jason McLaughlin and Whiteoak has Tom Wessner. That is a great group of men to have leading the respective high schools in Highland County.
• One occurrence that happened last season was that not one of the boys basketball teams made it out of the sectional round, a first in my time covering sports in Highland County. I don't foresee a repeat performance this season. Hillsboro has a solid team from what I know and have seen about them. The teams from the SHL have quality players on their respective teams, and the McClain Tigers have talent and heart, and I wouldn't be shocked if they surprised teams this season, even though they lost five of their top scorers from last year.
• Just like the girls teams, the county has younger players prepared to make their mark on their respective boys programs. Some teams are in need of their younger players stepping up at the varsity level early in the season, while others have the luxury of allowing their younger players to learn from an experienced varsity group. Either way, I honestly believe the boys teams can have very productive seasons. Each team has a player who can lead the way, but it will depend on the teammates of those players just exactly how far the teams go once the postseason begins. I guess that is why basketball is a team sport.
• The 2nd annual SHL vs. SCOL at Hillsboro High School should be a fun event to attend. How could this event not be fun? We'll have five teams from Highland County, along with the Washington Blue Lions from Fayette County taking part in the event. The games are back-to-back-to-back, with Fairfield vs. Washington, Lynchburg-Clay vs. McClain, and Hillsboro vs. Whiteoak in what should be three good basketball games. If I remember correctly, the games last year were fun to watch, but the only thing different about the event this year is the location. Last year, the event was in a neutral spot at the Patriot Center, but with all the teams so close, I'm sure if fans want to attend the game, there will be room in the gym for them to watch some quality basketball. The event takes place on Dec. 23 at HHS.
• One of the more interesting runs to history will be if Fairfield senior Chris Cox can break the school's all-time boys scoring record, currently held by Nathan VanWinkle with 1,543 points. Cox broke the 1,000 point scoring mark last season (ending the year with 1,005 points) and needs another very productive season of scoring to take the top mark at FHS. Should be a fun process to watch.
• Another fun item for the Lions this year is they play at the Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University in a winter basketball tournament. They will play Peebles in the event, currently scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 23.
• Also, we can't forget about the season-opening two-day Zane Trace Tip-off at ZTHS. Highland County has four teams in the event. On Friday, Dec. 3, Lynchburg-Clay plays Huntington at 5 p.m., and Hillsboro plays Logan Elm at 8:30 p.m. The following day at 6:45 p.m., Fairfield plays Vinton County, and then at 8:30 p.m. McClain takes on Piketon. These are some high quality opponents the teams from Highland County are playing to start the early schedule. There is one thing nobody can say: that a team from Highland County has a cupcake schedule.
These are just some of the storylines headed into the season. Just like I wrote last week about the girls season, the boys season has plenty of opportunities for teams to have a successful, quality season, along with some of the teams having the potential to move on as the postseason tournament begins. But that is a long time away. Let's forget about all the crappy cold weather that will be headed to Ohio during the upcoming basketball season, and let's just enjoy another year of watching basketball in Highland County.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press[[In-content Ad]]