ONE LAST LOOK AHEAD AT BASKETBALL BEFORE IT TURNS SPRING

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Administrator

By Shayne Combs, admin1@svcsportszone.com

The past few months watched two veteran groups in Piketon and Adena capture league titles and survive the tournament trail to the Sweet 16. Those two stories were fairly easy to envision back in the preseason, but as we look ahead to next year, the picture is not as clear.

On the boys’ side, I think Zane Trace and Unioto will be considered the easy picks, because both teams return a great nucleus of talent. The Pioneers – a team who lost to Final Four bound Ironton in the district championship – will return three big scorers in Pierce Mowery, Connor Smith, and Tyler Hinty including a great floor general in Eric Hutton. Unioto (a team who also lost to a Final Four bound team in Warren) will see a great sophomore class turn juniors as all-league guards Kyle Strange and Nick Corcoran lead the way on a versatile roster. The one thing I will caution the fans of these two schools is the same thing I tried to warn Southeastern (Michael Brown) this past year, and that is the mistake of underestimating the loss of a double-double big man. Unioto’s Chase Detillion and Zane Trace’s Wes Beam will both be holes to fill in the middle. I think this will provide Coach Hoops and Coach Alley some interesting off-season decisions, because both teams have the option of going smaller and playing with a more athletic five; however, as I watched many shorter teams find out in the postseason, it is tough when you cannot go down low when you need to get easy looks.

I also think you have to throw Southeastern in this discussion. I realize this team was not always consistent this season, but this is a talented team returning Austin Hice, Jordan Allen, Tyler Cartee, Kannon Strausbaugh, and Jake Skeens around a great point guard in Dylan Miles. I think two things that come with getting older are consistency and ability to win on the road. Southeastern’s rotation will be as talented as Zane Trace and Unioto, so if the consistency improves, the Panthers will be in the mix down the stretch.

Rounding out the league, I still like what Piketon has coming back. Piketon probably will not have the ability to win the league over the 14-game SVC grind, but I do think the Redstreaks will play a big factor in deciding who does win the league.

Beyond those teams it is interesting to look at the depth of next year’s league. Huntington will be with a new coach. The Huntsmen saw some tough times the second half of the year, but it did give them a look at next year’s team with the inside-out combo of Jake Kellough and Elijah Shanks.

Paint Valley also has a nice inside-out combo back with Clay Stratton and Mason McCloy. The Bearcats finished in fourth place two seasons ago winning 10 overall games before winning five games last year. This year, despite the eighth-place finish the Bearcats did win eight overall games including a first-round tournament game. A big key for Paint Valley in the upcoming season will be staying healthy as depth could be a question mark. Keep in mind; PV graduates four guys from this year’s normal seven or eight man rotation.

Adena also finished strong this season with a nice nucleus piece in Jonathan Thomas back, and Westfall is the one team that was hit extremely hard by graduation. Both of these teams have some nice talent coming in from junior high, but it is probably fair to say both of these teams are a year or two away from challenging for a middle to top-half spot in the SVC.

Moving over to girls, Unioto will be the “safe” pick assuming Tori Cox makes a healthy return to join Alexis Overly. I also think Westfall will continue to become more of a factor with the big three of Jess Miller, Kelsie Robinson, and Regan Stonerock returning for Coach Blue.

I feel like the team not getting nearly enough attention entering next year is Zane Trace. This is a team capable of winning the whole thing next year. Hayley Carle and Kylan Strausbaugh both return with a lot of good athletes around them. Coach Dunkle also has some great potential in terms of defense and rebounding in his incoming sophomore class that could really help ZT play its normal physical style. My biggest question with this group will be its commitment to basketball in the off season.

Beyond this trio of teams, Piketon will definitely look to stick its nose in the race. K.K. Jenkins and Aleah Pelphrey return as seniors with emerging star Ashlee Lawhorn coming off a great sophomore season. Coach Coreno will have a point guard a year older as well as some other young kids who started to produce at the varsity level by season’s end.

Paint Valley will have a senior laden team led by all-league returnee Laci Stanforth. Coach Holbert will not have one player just jump into the role of Charlene Stout, but the Lady Cats should have a little more depth throughout the varsity roster. Southeastern, a program about a year away in my opinion from being really good for years to come, will be much improved next season. I also look for Huntington to make another jump in the upcoming season. Huntington went from one win in 2012 to five in 2013. That same type of jump with the talent of Ariel Sams leading the way is a good possibility. Last, the real unknown in the standings will be what Adena looks like after losing its top six players.

As always, the summer is sure to bring some wrinkles in these predictions, but after a great year of basketball, I think the parity returning for both boys and girls should make for a great 2013-2014.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference | Leave a comment

Seeing sports through different viewpoints

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Administrator

By Shayne Combs, admin1@svcsportszone.com

A recent email in the inbox has allowed me to have some great discussion with people over the past few weeks. Below is the email followed by my response.

EMAIL: Hey, love the podcast show and always enjoy looking at the website. I understand from the show that you are not a big fan of little league sports right now, but what about AAU, Club, and other various travel team stuff in the summer? Some of this stuff is so expensive! Do you think it is beneficial? THANKS!

My opinion on this matter is different than most people. For the longest time, I have been unable to figure out why this is the case, but within the last few years, I think I have realized the reason. Like in any discussion, the viewpoint of the person is going to play a key role. The reason two (or more in this case) sides will disagree on something is usually because the two sides are looking at it with different interest with different goals in mind.

For me, I watch sports at the younger levels with big picture in mind. As a person who teaches middle school and as someone who has coached multiple varsity sports, I have trouble watching little league baseball, junior basketball, club volleyball, or whatever sport at whatever venue without looking at how the experience is influencing the future of that player and his or her high school team.

I have trouble getting excited about the little league hitter hitting homeruns with an extremely big stride and swing that will never fundamentally transition to varsity baseball. I have trouble watching the volleyball player pay $600 to play a position or against a competition level that is not equal to their role in their high school program. I have trouble watching a player, who needs to work on his left hand in the off season, exclusively use AAU to get better while only touching the ball out of position and driving right in a game-like situation. From a team perspective, I have trouble watching little league strategies used to win little league games. Be it running the bases in an unrealistic way in “C-league” baseball or sitting in a zone in basketball, I think it is important to teach things with future in mind. This is especially true if the little league team is the best team. If a team has really good little league players, it is even more important to teach things at an advanced level.

As I try to understand this growing movement in sports, I finally have been able to take off my coaching glasses and just observe people. I now realize that I must understand that different people are going to look for different things from sports. I realize that not all people care about winning games and winning championships. Often times people just like the participation in sports. I realize not all kids, and families for that matter, have a desire to ever play certain sports past junior high. I realize sports at a younger level are looked at as an avenue for life skills. Exercise, teamwork, communication, and respect are just a few of a long list that sports at all levels can teach. Some families may enjoy the travel experience simply from a social experience. Players may enjoy making friends from different schools and different areas of the state and even country for that matter.

I am finally seeing it…I just don’t get it. Sure I played some AAU in high school, but it just wasn’t the same as the “school” experience. If I wanted to play basketball, I called up as many people from my school as possible and had the coach (Thanks Coach Hoffner) open the gym every weekend.

I am not saying AAU basketball or Club Volleyball is wrong, but I am saying it can’t replace the necessary individual work that is necessary in all sports. You cannot become a better hitter with three legion at-bats a night unless you are willing to take the practice cuts in preparation. You cannot become a better shooter in AAU unless you are willing to get in the gym and get thousands of off-season jumpers. You cannot become a better hitter in volleyball if you only play the back row for your club team.

The perspective also changes from kids to adults. When I was growing up as a student-athlete, I remember how bad I wanted to win championships at the varsity level at my high school. Now as an adult, do I realize there are more important things? Well obviously the answer is absolutely, but outside of having an amazing upbringing in a great family, the biggest lessons I ever learned took place in sports. Learning how to be a part of something bigger than you is an amazing process. If travel teams and other club teams can teach these things and that is why families choose those opportunities than I say it is money well spent.

In conclusion…do I think it is beneficial? If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have had a set answer regardless the sport or the individual. Now, I will tell you it depends on your perspective. It depends on what you want from sports. With every passing year and more financial issues hitting schools, you hear about “club” teams perhaps eventually taking the place of high school teams. This would be unfortunate (or fortunate depending on your viewpoint), but I am starting to see why this is so intriguing to today’s society.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference, WEBSITE INBOX | Leave a comment

Early favorites in SVC basketball

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Administrator

The second big topic in the inbox recently has been talking favorites to win it all in basketball. Most the fans seem to think Piketon boys and Unioto girls are the teams to beat. I can’t really disagree with this. In boys, Piketon certainly returns a lot of talent, and even with the playoff run in football, Coach Lisath has some key pieces already in the gym and should have his experienced team ready to go from the start of the season. The rest of the boys’ league is hard to rank until I see some rosters and then see the teams take the court at the preview. Several SVC teams were hit hard by graduation last year.

As for girls, I think it is fair to call Unioto the favorite; however, it can be debated when you consider Adena returns the league’s best player as well as three other starters off of last year’s gold ball champions. I think the big question here is how well Adena can replace the talent of Autumn Smith. Obviously the talent of Jenny Grigsby is going to help do this, but how will Adena’s depth hold up against a much healthier Unioto squad that should include Mallory Retherford closer to 100% and Taylor Overly back in the mix? I also am intrigued to see Zane Trace. This team is going to be loaded with athletes and very difficult to score against.

Posted in Scioto Valley Conference, Uncategorized, WEBSITE INBOX | Leave a comment

RYAN WELLS

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Administrator

The biggest batch of emails over the past couple of weeks seems to be people asking about Ryan Wells being left off the all-league football squad. I have to admit this caught my attention within seconds of checking the list. I was looking at Trent Williamson, Isaac Brabson, and Ryan Wells to see who the coaches voted SVC Back of the Year. I had no problem with Williamson and Brabson sharing the honor when you consider team success as well as the statistical years for these two great signal callers; however, once I noticed the name Ryan Wells was not even on the list it was definitely a shock.

I guess my response to this returns me to an article I had written recently when selecting my volleyball team on the website. Our league has certain sports that are grossly being slighted in terms of the number of students being allowed to be selected. You add this with some other procedures that football uses that I totally disagree with, and this type of thing can happen. I know you will find some people who support the football format, but all I can say in response to that is that this level of “snub” would not happen in another sport.

I hate that a senior loses out on a chance to go to the all-league banquet. Obviously, a plaque doesn’t have to have his name on it to know that he is one of the best 27 players in the league this season. I say congrats to all the players selected because it was well deserved. All I am saying in response to the boatload of emails that have been sent in defense of Wells is that this is a format problem that needs to be changed.

Posted in Scioto Valley Conference, Uncategorized, WEBSITE INBOX | Leave a comment

All-League Format Change

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Administrator

One of the big debates between the SVC leaders and coaches from each sport is the number of student-athletes honored on the all-league team. I know as a baseball coach that I am firm on my stance in terms of some changes needed in how we select, as well as how many players we select, to the all-league squad each year. As I have started recently preparing my annual SVCsportszone.com All-SVC volleyball squad, it got me thinking about the format once again.

I have never liked just naming one full all-league team. I feel the second best player in the league deserves a little bit more recognition than the fifteenth player. Therefore, the first change I am making in how I select the players will come in dividing the list into teams – much like basketball, baseball, or softball. In basketball, the league names three teams of five. I assume the number five originated from the fact that basketball plays five players at a time. In baseball and softball we name two teams of nine. Again, I assume the nine comes along the lines of the same logic of number of players starting the game. This makes me think that the best way to name volleyball would be in three teams of seven. I use the number seven based on the starting rotation which usually in today’s time will include a libero even though the team only has six players on the floor.

The next debate comes in the total number. There will be coaches – even coaches in my sport of baseball – immediately asking: Why would volleyball get 21 players in a sport where they start seven, but baseball gets 18 in a sport that starts nine? That is a good point, because you could give baseball and softball three teams of nine and 27 honored in a sport with 72 starters is 38% (the same number as basketball). Even though this is a great point, I will save that argument for another time. As for the debate of numbers, take a look at some statistics.

In basketball, the league has 40 starters (five from each of the eight schools). In selecting 15 kids, the league is able to name 38% of the kids starting to the all-league squad. Even if basketball coaches argue – and get you to buy the fact – that many of their sixth-man, “super” subs off the bench are an extension of their starting lineup – that is still 15 of 48 which is 31%.

In baseball and softball, the league starts 72 (not counting a DH or a few other rules in softball that Chris Medved tried to explain to me on the bus on the way to ZT last year and it made my head hurt as much on the way there as it did once I got to Kinnikinnick and had to try to figure out how to get that lineup out…anyway, sorry – back to the point). In naming 18 players from a sport of 72 starters that sport is getting 25% of its starting student-athletes recognition. If you believe the DH should be included, the number would climb to 18 of 80 which would drop the percentage to 23%.

The trickiest part in this debate comes from football. The reason being, it is tough to decide the proper number to use in my formula for starters. Many will say 22 which I think is too high because the majority of high school football teams in the SVC – even with some schools growing in number – are going to play kids both ways. At the other extreme, I think figuring the starters at just 11 would be unfair because you are going to have a few specialty players not playing on both sides of the ball. I think a fair number for the formula would be 14 starters. At 14, that makes the total number of starters 112. They named 26 players last year, so that would equal 23%.

Again, based on these figures, perhaps baseball, softball, and football do have a legitimate concern in terms of spots; however, I was not figuring these stats to start a debate between the sports. I simply wanted to figure out the size of all-league teams in terms of percentage to fairly form my volleyball teams. If volleyball starts seven players for a total of 56 starters league-wide, I feel three teams of seven is a fair number because that puts the percentage at 38%. Allowing the volleyball league just 15 kids (all on one team) is allowing the league to honor just 27% of the starters. I feel that is too low, so on this year’s version of my all-league volleyball squad you will see the improved format.

Lastly, I know the final concern always comes down to people feeling that too many will water down the honor of being all-league. My belief is that any sport that stays under 40% is still honoring the elite. Furthermore, I think this is why having teams (1st, 2nd, 3rd) to rank the different groups of players is so important to this process. The honorable mention list does give us a chance to honor some of the players considered for the list but did not make the final cut in terms of the voting process.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Title IX has given a much different look to the view of sports

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Administrator

The 23rd day of June has always been a special day for me because it was the day I was born. Little did I know throughout the majority of my childhood that it was this day five years before my existence that would change a thing that I love as much as I do sports in such a significant way. June 23, 1972 was the day Title IX became a law that would forever change the face of sports.

For the readers unaware of this law, Title IX is simply defined on Wikipedia as follows:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…

This originally just gave females the right to play and eventually led to a far more even playing field in terms of facilities, uniforms, and instruction. Several decades later, names like Pat Summit, Billie Jean King, Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, and Jennie Finch have all given us a different outlook in terms of how we view girls playing sports. Volleyball, basketball, softball, or whatever sport you choose to follow, the athletes are becoming bigger, faster, stronger and are becoming more and more skilled all the time.

I realize many sports fans will say that guys are more athletic and more entertaining to watch. In terms of athleticism there is no question this is true; however, the excitement of girls’ sports is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Competition is contagious, and athletes – regardless of the gender – competing hard to be a part of something bigger than themselves is always entertaining to watch as far as I am concerned. I know some of my earliest memories of dreaming of winning championships someday came watching the silky smooth Lori McClellan, the extremely athletic Natalie Hill, and the other Unioto Lady Shermans take to the court on Ohio’s biggest stage at the state tournament in both basketball and volleyball.

Forty years later, I still believe we are just scratching the surface. I think the future will continue to show progress. Due to the fact this law was not put into place until 1972, I think it is only logical to give certain sports a chance to catch up to sports that have been around much longer. Take basketball for example. When I study the history of college basketball for men, I see a dynasty like UCLA in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1980s, I still saw a fairly small list of schools capable of consistently competing on a national level. Now, you see great parity in college basketball which includes many mid-majors with a chance to win.

Why? I believe the growth of media coverage played a huge role in this. All the great players no longer have to flock to the major schools to play in the best facilities, to play on television, or to play for a national title. I see a mirror growth in the women’s game. Tennessee and UCONN have had great dynasty-like runs over the past few decades; however, as media coverage continues to grow; we are starting to see a little more parity in the game. In fact, I believe within the next decade or so that we will see the same type of parity in the women’s game that we see in today’s game on the men’s side.

I have always believed that media tells the sports fan what is important. If something is promoted it allows fans to know more about it, and in many cases, they become more interested in it. I believe that what kids see increases the chance of them falling in love with it. Just like the Dream Team (that is the real one in 1992 and not what Kobe and Lebron are calling this version) has done worldwide for basketball or Tiger has done for the game of golf the same has happened in the past decade for girls following Brandi Chastain’s goal in 1999 helping increase the popularity of girls’ soccer.

If you are a true fan of sports, I urge you not to cheat yourself by not giving some sports a chance. I know over the past decade I have learned a great deal about volleyball. Growing up I watched some volleyball, but I never really did get it. Now, I consider it one of my favorite sports to watch. If you get two good teams that play good volleyball, it is a great sport to watch. I know some people will say that bad volleyball is hard to watch, but that is true about any sport be it guys or girls. I don’t want to watch bad baseball teams not throw strikes or make an error an inning. I don’t want to watch two basketball teams not be able to dribble, pass, and catch.

A wise man once told me “Boys have to win to be happy. Girls have to be happy to win.” This great young coach, who I am privileged to call a great friend, has coached multiple sports – boys and girls – at a variety of levels, and I think there is some genius to his motto. Coaching is coaching, and if you are going to be a good one, you better be capable of motivating and relating to a variety of personalities. I think this variety and versatility also applies to fans. The problem often comes with the stereotyping of our athletes. As a teacher and coach for more than a decade now, I can assure you that I have dealt with plenty of boys who do not have nearly the fortitude of several young ladies who I have worked with in the classroom or in an athletic setting.

As another high school sports season is upon us, let’s remember what makes high school sports so important to the growth of student-athletes and let’s also embrace what makes high school sports so different from the higher levels. One of my goals in starting SVCsportszone.com in 2008 was to not only cover the main sports on the boys’ side but to cover all sports including girls. With Title IX recently celebrating its 40th birthday, it is exciting to think about all the amazing history in the Scioto Valley Conference in girls’ sports. This history as well as the sure-to-be incredible present and future is going to give us all some thrills, and be it on the website or via our podcast, I look forward to covering all of it.

Be a part of our podcast show this year. Let me know your thoughts on this article or any topic in today’s SVC or high school sports by emailing me at admin1@svcsportszone.com. You can also be heard on our podcast show by calling 740-569-3254 to leave a voice message.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

INBOX: SVC CHANGES

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Administrator

EMAIL: Shayne, I heard you mention some rule changes on your podcast shows this past year. What do you think the league needs to look at changing? I know you had something about golf on one show and I think CC/Track as well. I have always been a big fan of SVC golf, so please share those changes if possible. Thanks – love the website and I love the podcast show…can’t wait for the fall for SVC SPORTS TALK to start back up!

My biggest concerns come in some of the secondary sports. I guess that I kind of cringe using the term secondary sports, but I think most people understand that each season has a few select sports that are going to dominate the media coverage, and others have continued to fight for that same type of coverage. In fact, one of the things we pride ourselves on here at SVCsportszone.com is trying to make sure we cover all of our SVC athletes at a high level.

As for the question at hand, I would probably start on the golf course. I think SVC golf has been a successful conference in its first few decades of existence. I think the conference schedule does a nice job of playing a variety of courses which allows the league to find the most talented, the deepest, and the most consistent golf team as the league champion each season.

My one concern would be in the all-league format. I am not a fan for the league allowing a player – especially a POY candidate – the opportunity to drop his or her lowest score. I think this takes a valuable component in terms of consistency out of the equation. As I said before, I think the league does a great job of putting players through a variety of courses where a variety of shot-making is needed, and for players to be excused for shooting a high 40s, low 50s type of round is not good. I realize the rule was put into play to protect players from getting hurt or sick, and I completely support that perspective. In fact, last year, I know this played a role in the all-league team in a situation where an athlete was hurt and forced to miss a match. I feel the league can take the way they do it now and combine my rule to make the overall product better. I feel a player should have to play in seven of the eight overall matches to make the All-SVC squad; however, if a player plays in all eight matches, then all eight matches should be included in the player’s final average

One constant thing I hear in resistance of my idea is the concern of a player “sandbagging.” People throughout the league are afraid that coaches or players would purposely miss a round at a tough course or a round late in the year when they know they are comfortable in the top-half of the individual standings. To me, this is a legitimate concern; however, a coach and an all-league caliber player would have to be willing to hurt their team quite a bit to not play in a match. Plus, if you are getting late in the year the current rule allows you to do this anyway.

My other big change comes in cross country and track. I am not a big fan of the one, big SVC Meet winner-take-all format. I would like to see the running sports take on more of a golf format that would allow the league to test more consistency and allow fans to become familiar with more athletes and teams. I know the people closest to these respective sports are strongly against this idea. I respect that, but it is still my opinion that expanding the season would help promote the sport locally much better.

Over the past few weeks I have had emails thanking SVCsportszone.com for covering the track postseason with some individual pictures and our new Shoutomatic feature. Emails have basically said in a variety of ways that they feel cross country, track (and really spring sports in general), and even golf have been slighted in terms of an equal amount of media coverage. Most of the emails want to know what needs to be done to help promote these kids more.

My response to this is simple. Even though I love certain sports, I can truly say that I like them all. I enjoy covering all the sports, but some sports make it easier for media and fans to get to know their best teams and athletes. Sports that play a more complete league schedule are able to develop those rivalries and those storylines that are easier to follow. I realize the running sports do not really allow for eight league meets; although, I do think this would make for an interesting season running different courses in different weather conditions. Under the current formats, you rarely see the league’s best run against one another throughout the regular season, and in many cases, coaches purposely hold elite athletes out of certain events in certain meets throughout the year. Often times, an elite athlete can fly under the radar and can quickly become a league champion, a district champion, and often a state qualifier before the average SVC fan even becomes familiar with the athlete and his or her team.

Posted in Golf, SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference, Uncategorized, WEBSITE INBOX | Leave a comment

SVC Volleyball

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Administrator

One of the things that make being a fan of sports so fun is breaking down and analyzing things before they happen, as they happen, and after they happen. In the prediction stage of before it all happens, there are usually so many unanswered questions that can sway opinions all over the place. This was truly evident to me recently as I cleaned out the inbox.

EMAIL: SVCsportszone.com, I wanted to get your take on this year’s volleyball league. I have been around SVC volleyball for a long time and have worn a lot of hats along the way. I think this year could be fun to watch. When you consider how close second through sixth was in last year’s league and combine that with what Adena lost, I believe this could be the year that SVC volleyball gets its first shakeup in a long time. What are your thoughts on this year’s league? Is Adena the best still? I think Huntington, Westfall, and maybe Unioto and Zane Trace could close the gap. Southeastern will better too.

Preseason favorites are always based on “paper” in terms of what teams have done, what they bring back, and what a person thinks is going to happen. With this in mind, I could see where people are predicting more parity; however, the persona of Adena volleyball over the past two decades make it tough not to label them the favorite every year until someone actually proves different throughout the 14-game conference schedule.

I realize Adena lost one of the great SVC setters in recent history in Cadie Cory as well as an incredible threat at the net in Olivia Arledge. They also lost some key back row pieces. The thing with Adena is they have lost talented pieces in bunches before, and they seem to always reload rather than rebuild. I believe this year’s Adena team could be a great example of this ongoing talent. The Warriors return a lot of solid players from last year’s Final Four run and Coach Smith has a 17-2 JV squad from a year ago that should give some “varsity ready” talent as well.

Beyond Adena’s incredible tradition, I definitely see why someone could objectively analyze this year’s volleyball league and think shakeup. Huntington has elite talent at the top of its roster. Jackie Kellough is a POY candidate. Alayna Lytle is the elite back row player in the league, and Halie Ingram returns as a 5-1 setter who quarterbacked the green and white to a 10-4 SVC mark and a Sweet 16 postseason run. With Cory and Unioto’s Lauren Stout gone to graduation, Ingram is definitely the premiere all-the-way-around setter returning in the SVC in 2012

Obviously, if a team is arguably the best at half the spots on the floor, they are going to be a title contender, but I think Huntington’s question marks come as Coach Magill fills out the remainder of her rotation. Huntington is usually a team that plays really hard and plays big at the net, but the Lady Huntsmen have holes that sometimes make them vulnerable to lesser talented opponents as well as to talented, well-coached teams capable of attacking certain areas on the court. With the exception of Lytle, this is a team that struggles to pass consistently. As for this year’s depth for Huntington, I do think they have a few options to fill some spots, but only time will show the improvements of their role players. Keep in mind we are talking about some great athletes in this discussion such as Layne Beasley who could possibly take on a bigger role this fall.

Westfall is going to be good. Olivia Cobb is an incredible talent and she is going to have some great size at the net to complement her great setting and hitting ability. The biggest question mark here comes in the back row play. How well will the Lady Mustangs pass? If the answer is well, this team could become dominate at the net with Cobb and Company; however, if the answer to this question is not so well, this team could struggle to beat the elite teams.

As for Unioto, they definitely have a hole to fill at setter, but I do think this team is going to be much more athletic than in year’s past. It is hard to comment in detail on actual positions at this point for this team, because it is hard to say what the rotation will look like. I do believe this is a program with a very talented sophomore class such as Alexis Overly, Taylor Overly, and Karee Neff to name a few, that should provide Unioto with more depth of athletes at the net and across the back row. Coach Ridenour does have key roles to fill; however, just based on personnel, this could be a very talented, young volleyball team.

I think this is a year that will see Zane Trace take great strides. This year’s junior class led by Hayley Carle has always been very good at volleyball and it appears it could be adding some key pieces back to the rotation. I look for this team to be a year more experienced at setter, and if the passing holds up, I like the athletes that Coach Merriman is going to have available to her at the net. This team showed some signs at times last fall, but more consistency will be needed in 2012 if they are going to become a legitimate top-half team.

As for Southeastern, I am not sure they can be a true title contender. I do give them credit for their ability to compete with some of the best teams last year. The Panthers beat Zane Trace once and took both Huntington and Westfall to the five-set limit.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference, WEBSITE INBOX | Leave a comment

SHOW #20 SVC Sports Talk: All-Time Boys’ Basketball Dream Team

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Administrator

See the link on our homepage for SHOW #20. This is the show where we released the all-time team that you the fans helped select. You first voted down the decades, and then, you picked the final 12 players. We included ties which finished the vote with 14 players. Listen to the show to find out who made the list.

Posted in SVC Sports Talk, Scioto Valley Conference | Leave a comment

SVCsportszone.com’s All-SVC Boys’ Team

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Administrator

When analyzing all-league on the boys’ side, I felt the process of selecting 15 players was not as difficult as it can sometimes be in an all-league selection process; however, there were some things that required some back-and-forth debate in my mind. The first of these tough decisions came at the top when trying to decide on a Player of the Year. So many times you look to the top of the standings, but this year’s co-champs – Unioto and Piketon – do not really have a single player that individually carries the load. These two teams do it with a “Big Three” and a bunch of solid role players around them.

This led me to another problem of how I was going to rank the Unioto and Piketon players. I think depending on the night you watched these teams your opinions could vary all sorts of ways. I do like to take into consideration the big performances in the biggest games, but at the same time, I think we are sometimes too quick to overlook the consistency of a player over the 20-game season.

The final problem is really a type of problem you are always going to face when doing a list like this and that is a problem of completing the third team. You start to debate who deserves a second player or deserves a player at all. It is also sometimes hard to figure out who that second player is going to be on some teams, because many times a team has an obvious best player and then several solid players around that elite talent.

I will start my list by attacking the first problem of Player of the Year. I will go with Huntington’s Dylan Gragg. Gragg led the league in scoring while keeping his team in the SVC race all the way down to the final game of the year. Joining Gragg on my first team are two players who I considered in my POY thoughts in Southeastern’s Michael Brown and Wes Beam of Zane Trace. Brown had a great senior season as he led the league in rebounding while consistently proving to be a top five scorer as well. Beam probably had the best year statistically finishing in the top five of points, rebounds, FT percentage, FG percentage, and blocks, but with ZT finishing in a fifth-place tie it was hard for me to move him ahead of Gragg.

Rounding out my first team, I go to the top of the standings and select Piketon’s Craigen Moore as well as Unioto’s Cole Murray. Moore becomes an SVC champion for the second straight year while averaging just less than 17 points per game. He is a great shooter from the line as well as the field and he is at the top of the SVC in steals. As for Murray, I know some will debate the order of the Unioto kids, but I feel Murray is the most valuable piece. I realize he missed a few league games including a big home win over Piketon, but his ability to run this team at the point, score when he needs to score, and to keep everyone involved was really vital in Unioto finishing where they did. He was also a great defender and a near automatic free throw shooter in late game situations.

For my second team, I will stay with the Redstreaks and the Shermans as I believe Piketon’s Zach Farmer and Unioto’s Chase Detillion both deserve high second-team honors. Farmer is one of the league’s best athletes. He is a top-five scorer and rebounder in the SVC and his ability to play his best in the biggest games was definitely a factor in the Redstreaks repeating this season. Unioto’s Detillion was also a major reason for the standings ending up the way they did this season. Detillion was just short of averaging a double-double in points and rebounds and I think the big thing to understand with the junior center is how valuable he was in neutralizing some big match-ups every night. As you can see at the top of my list, I started my all-league team with three big guys and I have a few more to come. My point is this: Detillion faced a tough match-up every night out and his ability to produce was a major reason Unioto was able to share the title.

Completing my second team, I will go with Westfall’s Derek Robertson, Huntington’s Brice Vickers, and Unioto’s Andrew Warner. Robertson had a second half of the season that would probably warrant him a first-team selection; however, his team’s place in the standings as well as his slow start drops him to my second team. For Vickers, he too at one point in the season was on the first-team radar, but Huntington has now dropped four league games after starting 6-0 and Vickers has had an up-and-down stretch that still makes him worthy of a top-10 spot in my opinion. Warner, my final second teamer, is possibly too low, and in fact, some people might believe he should be the first Unioto player up in the top five. Perhaps this is true depending on what night you watched Unioto. Regardless, I do think Warner is a big reason Unioto wins a share of the title, but I just felt like Murray’s overall worth as well as Detillion’s ability to neutralize some of the league’s best was why I rank them this way. Even though Warner was not always the most efficient player throughout the year, I did love his knack for making big plays and big shots. On more than one occasion the senior hit game-winning shots or made a key defensive play to make the difference.

In selecting my third team, I start with Paint Valley’s Harrison Hermann. I hated dropping one of the league’s best scorers this far on my list, but I felt like the top 10 were more deserving. When you look at Hermann’s top six or seven games, his resume would be in the Player of the Year running; however, some inconsistency in his scoring is probably what drops him on the list. Nonetheless, Hermann had a great year leading PV to four league wins including a season sweep against Zane Trace as the senior averaged 31.5 points per game against the Pioneers. Next, Piketon point guard Isaac Brabson is a definite all-league performer. He is a talent that has been waiting his turn behind some good Piketon guards the past few years, and now as a junior, he definitely took advantage of his turn to run the Redstreaks. Brabson is a solid free throw and three-point shooter and he is towards the top of the SVC in steals. My third spot on my third team would go to Southeastern’s Nick Kellough. Kellough is once again one of the league’s best shooters this season. He averaged double figures to help Southeastern stick their nose in the league race early before the Panthers faded during the second half of the season.

The final two spots bring questions for two different reasons. In my 14th spot I am looking to name a second Zane Trace player all-league. The problem is deciding between senior guards Ian Carle, Jesson Hill, and Colton Whitehouse. Zane Trace is a team that consistently goes nine – sometimes 10 or 11 – deep, so it is tough to find that consistent second guy after Beam. With Carle, he is probably the best all-around player. He can score, but he also has a high assist total and can really stretch the defense with his three-point shooting. Hill is the purest scorer of the trio at 11 points per game. He can shoot the three and has a great midrange game. Finally, Whitehouse leads the SVC in assists and free throw shooting and brings a great intensity to the defensive end as well. Like I said, you can make an argument for all three, but there is only room for one, so the other two will settle for honorable mention.

As always the final spot brings debate because every team is pushing for that one extra kid. I believe Westfall’s Alek Stonerock should get this final spot, but I do understand others will feel differently. Stonerock is one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the league and has had some big games scoring the basketball as well. I too thought of many other kids for this spot. First, I looked long and hard at Adena, but I just didn’t think they deserved a top 15 player. Austin Dennis had a solid season and Auston Hottinger missed several games due to injury. Perhaps my biggest snub comes with Huntington’s Blake Campbell. Paint Valley senior Eli Barker as well as Westfall senior Neal Hegarty both had nice seasons. As I mentioned in the above paragraph, Zane Trace had some other players, and Southeastern freshman point guard Dylan Miles did a great job running his team during his rookie campaign. Finally, probably the toughest decision was with the co-champs in terms of getting a fourth. Unioto’s Adam Woods and Bryce Arledge were solid role players and for Piketon I thought Jeremy Farmer did a lot of the little things to help the Redstreaks throughout the season.

As for Coach of the Year, I feel I have to be consistent with what I said during the preseason which would make me go with Piketon’s Jeff Lisath. I really thought Unioto, Huntington, and Zane Trace would fight it out with Piketon and Southeastern being a year a way. Come to find out, Piketon was no such thing, so following that thought process; I would have to give Coach Lisath a slight advantage over Unioto’s Matt Hoops. As for Coach Hoops, I think his best coaching accomplishment in winning a share has been his ability to keep his program’s eyes on the ultimate prize over the past four years. Keep in mind, Unioto was 1-20 in the 2008-2009 season, but Coach Hoops, his point guard Murray, and the rest of the program continued to get better setting the table for a great co-championship season this year.

Posted in Scioto Valley Conference | Leave a comment