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The Swami got off to a quick start
but finished slowly in our first edition for 2006. The 105-44 (70%)
win/loss record was an improvement over 2005, but the Swami picked only
five district champions out of the thirteen districts in Northwest
Ohio. There were another four districts where the Swami predicted the
correct district final match-ups, but was unable to pick the winner.
Hopefully the Swami will be a little more accurate in this edition.
Three of the four teams crowned
champions in the Associated Press’ final poll (Canton McKinley, Akron
St. Vincent-St. Mary, and Cincinnati North College Hill) were able to
advance to the regional with only D4 poll winner Ottoville eliminated.
Three of the 2005 state champions (McKinley, North College Hill, and
Cleveland Heights Lutheran East) remain alive with D2 Upper Sandusky
eliminated in a district final game. Columbus Africentric which
defeated Lutheran East in the 2005 D4 state championship game before
being forced to forfeit their title moved up to D3 this season, but was
eliminated by Johnstown-Monroe in a district final.
We could probably editorialize
about Cincinnati North College Hill at this point, but that isn’t what
this publication is about. Let’s go to the predictions. It’s Swami
time.
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DIVISION
IV
Eight of the thirteen teams ranked
by the Associated Press in their final poll are playing in the
regional. Top-ranked Ottoville was eliminated by Columbus Grove in a
district semi-final. Six teams (Lockland, South Webster, Windham,
Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, Continental, and Holgate) were regional
qualifiers in 2005.
REGIONAL
\Miami
University: #4 Russia, #8 New Bremen, and #10 Lockland are ranked teams
at Millett Hall. New Bremen eliminated #2 Ada in a district final.
6’8” Brent Pleiman and Lucas Cordonnier are the top players for Russia
while Dajuan Harris leads Lockland. Lockland was the regional runner-up
last season. Matt Mullen is the top player for Houston while Scott
Brackman and Scott Steineman lead New Bremen. Former Miami player John
Willoughby coaches Houston. Look for Russia to edge Lockland in one
semi-final and New Bremen over Houston in the other semi-final. Take
New Bremen over Russia for the regional championship.
Columbus Fairgrounds: #5 South
Webster and #9 Worthington Christian are ranked teams at the Barn.
Morral Ridgedale eliminated #3 Lancaster Fisher Catholic in a district
final. South Webster got a huge boost when Brigham Waginger transferred
from Ironton. Waginger was the second leading scorer on last year’s D3
state runner-up Ironton team. Waginger and 6’8” Nick Aldridge, a
Western Carolina recruit, lead the Jeeps. Chris Beals and Julian Dawson
lead Worthington Christian while sophomore J.R. Weston tops Ridgedale.
Mile Lacroix is the top player for unheralded Plymouth. Take
Worthington Christian over Ridgedale and South Webster over Plymouth in
semi-final games. South Webster advances to the state tournament by
defeating Worthington Christian in the championship game.
Canton Fieldhouse: #6 Mineral
Ridge, #7 Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, and #12 Berlin Hiland are
ranked teams at Canton. Lutheran East lost to Columbus Africentric
74-66 in last year’s D4 state championship game. Lutheran East was
later awarded the state championship when it was found that Africentric
had used an ineligible player. Lutheran’s Jon Liggins set a single game
D4 scoring record against Africentric. Vance Kerisey is the top player
for Mineral Ridge while Ian McGuire and Brent Apthorpe are the big guns
for Windham. Liggins leads Lutheran East while Joel Gause and Dustin
Kaufman are the top players for Hiland. Take Windham over Mineral Ridge
and Berlin Hiland over Lutheran East in semi-final games. Hiland wins
the regional championship with a win over Windham in the regional final.
Bowling Green State University:
There are no ranked teams at Anderson Arena. Columbus Grove defeated
top ranked and previously unbeaten Ottoville in a district semi-final.
Kyle Meyer and Eric Maag are the top players for Grove which last won a
district title in 1952. Continental has three starters back from last
year’s regional championship team. Nathan Schmidt and Scott Keck are
top players for the Pirates. Lee Brubaker, a starter on the 2004 D4
state championship team, leads Holgate. The Tigers have won six
consecutive district titles. Wynford dropped down to D4 this season.
The Royals have an outstanding big man in 6’6” Joe Kalb. Take Columbus
Grove over Continental and Holgate over Wynford in the semi-finals.
Holgate advances to Columbus with a win over Grove in the final.
STATE
New
Bremen, South Webster, Berlin Hiland, and Holgate make up the final four
as D4 kicks off the eighty-fourth annual boys state basketball
tournament. This will be the seventh trip to the state tournament for
Hiland, the 1992 D4 state champ. Holgate makes its fourth appearance
and won the 2004 championship. South Webster was a state qualifier in
2004 while New Bremen will be making a second appearance. Take South
Webster over New Bremen and Berlin Hiland over Holgate in semi-final
games. South Webster will be the 2006 D4 state champion with a win over
Berlin Hiland.
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DIVISION
III
Seven of the twelve teams ranked by
the Associated Press have reached the regional. Six teams (Archbold,
Bloom-Carroll, Cincinnati North College Hill, Cleveland Villa-Angela/St.
Joe’s, Ironton, and Chesapeake) qualified for the regional in 2005.
Johnstown-Monroe is the lone unbeaten team in D3.
REGIONAL
Bowling Green State University: #3
Johnstown-Monroe and #6 St. Henry are ranked teams at BG. Archbold
returns three starters from last year’s regional championship team.
Sophomore Gene Goering and Josh Johnson are top players for Archbold.
Brent Ernsthausen and Nathan Kirwen are the leading scorers for
Gibsonburg. 6’9” Kurt Huelsman, a Dayton signee, and 6’7” Toby Boeckman
lead St. Henry. Dan Kessler and 6’10” Joe Guiler, a Colgate signee, are
key players for Johnstown-Monroe. Look for St. Henry to slip past
Johnstown-Monroe and Archbold to defeat Gibsonburg in the semi-finals.
Take St. Henry in the championship game with a close win over Archbold.
Wright State University: #1
Cincinnati North College Hill and #9 Versailles are ranked teams at the
Nutter Center. North College Hill’s only loss is to Oak Hill Academy.
Juniors O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker are two of the top juniors in the
country. 6’11” Keenan Ellis was dismissed from the team earlier in the
season. In their three tournament victories, NCH has outscored their
opponents by an average score of 85-33. Damon Butler and Andre Evans
are other top players for NCH playing in the giant shadows cast by Mayo
and Walker. Adam Barga and Jeremy Shardo lead Versailles while Jeff
Moore is the top player for Cincinnati Madeira. Kale Richardson is the
top player for Bloom-Carroll. Take Versailles over Madeira in a close
game and NCH big over Bloom-Carroll in the semi-finals. Take North
College Hill big over Versailles in the final
Canton Fieldhouse: #8 Cleveland
Villa-Angela/St. Joe’s and #11 Youngstown Ursuline are ranked teams at
Canton. Ursuline defeated #12 Campbell Memorial in a district final.
OSU recruit David Lighty with help from Darryl Rushton leads VASJ.
Steve Martin, Jahmil Rippy, John White, and 6’11” Joe Latas lead a
balanced Bedford St. Peter Chanel attack. Dustin Geitguy is the top
player for West Salem Northwestern while 6’8” Jerome Jones and D’Aundray
Brown are key players for Ursuline. Take Chanel over Northwestern and
VASJ over Ursuline in the semi-finals. Chanel advances to Columbus with
a close win over VASJ in the championship game.
Ohio University: #5 Chesapeake is
the only ranked team at the Convo. Beverly Fort Frye eliminated #2
Bellaire in a district final. Ironton lost four starters from last
year’s D3 state runner-up including Brigham Waginger via transfer to
South Webster. Dennis Gagai, the leading scorer on that team and
Brandon Walker are the top players for Ironton. Tyler Engle and Tyler
Ferguson lead Fort Frye. 6’7” Camden Miller Drew Spradlin are key
players for Wheelersburg while P.J. Rase and Justin Porter lead a
veteran Chesapeake team. Take Ironton over Fort Frye and Wheelersburg
over Chesapeake in the semi-finals. Wheelersburg advances to the state
tournament with a win over Ironton in the championship game.
STATE
The D3 final four consists of St.
Henry, Cincinnati North College Hill, Bedford St. Peter Chanel, and
Wheelersburg. North College Hill was the 2005 state champ and makes
their third trip to the state tournament. This will be the sixth trip
for St. Henry. The Redskins have four state titles to their credit,
the latest being the 2004 D3 state championship. Chanel will be making
a fifth visit to the state tournament, and was the 1999 D3 state champ.
Wheelersburg will also be making a fifth state appearance. Take NCH
over St. Henry and Wheelersburg over Chanel in the semi-final games.
The Swami is really going out on the limb, but North College Hill will
be the 2006 D3 state champion with a win over Wheelersburg.
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DIVISION II
Six of the eleven teams ranked by
the Associated Press in their final poll are playing in the regional.
Six teams (Wooster Triway, Painesville Harvey, Zanesville, Akron St.
Vincent-St Mary, New Albany, and Dayton Dunbar) were regional qualifiers
in 2005 with New Albany moving up from D3 to D2 this season. Willard,
Triway, and Tipp City Tippecanoe are all undefeated entering the
regional.
REGIONAL
Canton Civic Center: #4 Wooster
Triway and #11 Salem are ranked teams at Canton. Triway was the 2005 D2
state runner-up. Jamie Breneman, Linc Rottman, and Jeff McCartney
return as starters from that team. Cleveland Benedictine is the only
team remaining in the tournament with a losing record. The Bengals
finished the regular season at 5-15. Rudy Evans is the top player for
Benedictine. Scott Aston, Julian Mangano, and Devonne Johnson lead
Painesville Harvey while Tom Jesko and Ryan Benchwick are top players
for Salem. Take Triway over Benedictine and Salem over Painesville
Harvey in the semi-finals. Triway earns a return trip to Columbus with
a win over Salem in the championship game.
Ohio University: There are no
ranked teams at the Convo. Circleville Logan Elm defeated #6 Greenfield
McClain and Zanesville eliminated #9 Dover in district semi-finals.
Elijah Allen is the top player for Columbus DeSales while Dan Milleson
and Ben Hodkinson lead Cadiz Harrison Central. Kodey Haddox and Logan
Aronhalt are key players for Zanesville with Evan Blake and Kyle
Reichelderfer the leading scorers for Logan Elm. Take DeSales over
Harrison Central and Zanesville over Logan Elm. Zanesville takes the
regional championship with a win over Columbus DeSales.
University of Toledo: #1 Akron St.
Vincent-St. Mary and #2 Willard are ranked teams in the Toledo
regional. SVSM defeated #5 Akron Buchtel in a district final. The win
over previously unbeaten Buchtel gives SVSM an eighth consecutive
district championship. Willard defeated defending D2 state champ Upper
Sandusky 101-98 in a district final. Willard’s Jimmy Langhurst and
Upper’s Jon Diebler each scored 55 points in the game. Langhurst
averages over 30 a game and gets help from Kevin Johnson. Wapakoneta is
making their first appearance in a regional tournament since 1946. B.J.
Reed is a key player for Wapak while Joe Caruso is Rocky River’s top
player. The semi-final between SVSM and Rocky River is being played at
the Canton Fieldhouse. Take SVSM over Rocky River. Willard and
Wapakoneta will meet in a semi-final at Toledo. Take Willard over Wapak.
The final will be played at UT. Take Akron SVSM over Willard for the
regional crown.
Wright State University: #3 Dayton
Dunbar and #7 Tipp City Tippecanoe are ranked teams at Wright State.
Undefeated Tippecanoe defeated #8 Cincinnati Taft in a district final.
Dunbar returns all five starters from their 2005 state qualifier. OSU
recruit Daequan Cook is Dunbar’s top player and gets plenty of help from
6’9” wide body Aaron Pogue and 6’8” Mark Anderson. Troy Long and Chris
Grimes are top players for Cincinnati Woodward. Kellen Zawadzki and
Robert Goldsberry are key players for Tippecanoe while Jake Worley leads
New Albany. Take Tippecanoe over New Albany and Dunbar over Woodward in
semi-final games. Dayton Dunbar takes the regional championship with a
win over Tipp City Tippecanoe.
STATE
Wooster
Triway, Zanesville, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Dayton Dunbar make up
the final four in D2. This will be the eighth appearance for SVSM. The
Irish won state crowns in 1984, 2000, 2001, and 2003. Zanesville will
be making a twelfth trip to the state tournament. Zanesville has three
state championships including the 1995 D1 title. This will be the fifth
appearance for Dunbar. The Wolverines won the 1987 Class AAA title.
Triway will be making a fourth trip to the state tournament. Take
Triway over Zanesville and Dunbar over SVSM in the semi-finals. Dayton
Dunbar takes home the D2 state championship with a win over Wooster
Triway in the finals.
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DIVISION
I
Seven of the eleven ranked teams in
the final Associated Press poll are playing in the regional. Seven
teams (Canton McKinley, Solon, Mansfield Senior, Lakewood St. Edward,
Cincinnati St. Xavier, Trotwood-Madison, and Columbus Brookhaven) were
regional qualifiers in 2005.
REGIONAL
University of Akron: #1 Canton
McKinley and #4 Solon are ranked teams at the JAR. McKinley eliminated
#9 Massillon Washington and Solon defeated #10 Bedford in district
finals. McKinley’s losses are to North College Hill and Oak Hill
Academy. The Bulldogs return four starters from the 2005 state
championship team. Michigan State recruit Raymar Morgan is the top
player for McKinley. Ricky Jackson and Todd Brown, a Wright State
signee, are other key players for the Pups. Solon’s only loss this
season is to a team from New Jersey. 6’9” Dallas Lauderdale leads Solon
with help from Billy Grant and Pat Hewitt. Adam May, a Holy Cross
signee, and Brent Cortelezzi are the top players for Mentor while Nick
Sales and Adam Moore are key players for Barberton. Take McKinley over
Barberton and Solon over Mentor in the semi-finals. Canton McKinley
advances to Columbus with a win over Solon in the final.
University of Toledo: #2 Mansfield
Senior is the only ranked team in the Toledo regional. Toledo St.
John’s defeated #6 Toledo St. Francis and #5 Toledo Scott in the
district. Jonathan Dunn and 6’7” Andrew Taylor are the top players for
St. John’s. Mansfield Senior opened the season with nineteen straight
wins before losing at Massillon. Shabby Reed and Javario Byrd are key
players for the Tygers. 6’8” sophomore Delvon Roe and Reid Anderson are
big guns for Lakewood St. Edward. Kyle Brown is the top player for
Strongsville. The semi-final between St. Edward and Strongsville will
be played at the Canton Civic Center. Take St. Ed’s over Strongsville.
Toledo St. John’s and Mansfield will meet in the semi-final at Toledo.
This will be St. John’s eighth game of the season at Savage Hall. Take
St. John’s over Mansfield. The final will be played at Toledo.
Lakewood St. Edward defeats Toledo St. John’s for the regional
championship.
Xavier University: #8 Lakota West
and #11 Cincinnati St. Xavier are ranked teams at the Cintas Center.
6’8” Josh Chichester is the top player for Lakota West while David
Gideon leads St. Xavier, the 2005 D1 state runner-up. Ben McGrath is a
key player for Cincinnati Princeton and 6’7” junior Chris Wright is the
top player for Trotwood-Madison. Take Lakota West over St. X and
Princeton over Trotwood-Madison in the semi-finals. Lakota West
advances to Columbus with a win over Cincinnati Princeton in the
championship game.
Columbus Fairgrounds: #3 Lancaster
and #7 Cincinnati Elder are ranked teams at Columbus. 6’7” Chris
McKnight, an Akron signee, and 6’10 Brant Leitnaker lead Lancaster.
6’6” Jeff Cumberland is the key player for Columbus Brookhaven. Javonte
Clanton leads Reynoldsburg while 6’6” sophomore Kyle Rudolph is the top
player for Elder. Take Lancaster over Brookhaven and Elder over
Reynoldsburg in the semi-finals. Lancaster defeats Cincinnati Elder in
the regional final to advance to the state tournament.
STATE
Canton McKinley, Lakewood St.
Edward, Lakota West, and Lancaster comprise the final four in D1. This
will be the twenty-eighth trip to the state tournament for McKinley. In
addition to their 2005 state championship, McKinley won the 1984 Class
AAA title. St. Edward, the 1998 D1 state champion, will be making a
fifth trip to the state tournament. Lancaster will be making their
third appearance in the state tournament. Lakota made two trips to the
state tournament and won the 1992 D1 championship before splitting into
two high schools. Take McKinley over St. Ed’s and Lancaster over Lakota
West in the semi-finals. Canton McKinley wins their second consecutive
state championship with a win over Lancaster in the title game.
This closes the book on Trail Trash
for another year. We appreciate your support and value your feedback.
The opinions expressed are those of the Swami. If you have any comments
or suggestions, contact
Davey1. See you in Columbus.
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Publisher: Davey1.com
Brackets: Davey1.com
Predictions: The Swami
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