'I almost came to tears': Akron Buchtel basketball greats proud of state champion Griffins
With memories of Buchtel's heartbreaking loss in its 1997 state championship game flooding back, Doylan Robinson sought a miraculous outcome for the Griffins this past weekend.
“I prayed the night before, like, 'All right, God. We didn't get to pull this off, but it would be beautiful if these young men can do it,'” Robinson told the Beacon Journal by phone.
Then Robinson sat across from Buchtel's bench when the Griffins seized their first state crown in boys basketball by defeating Lutheran West 51-49 on Sunday in the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Division II championship game at the University of Dayton Arena.
“I felt proud. I'll be honest — I almost came to tears,” Robinson said.
A 1998 Buchtel graduate, Robinson is among the Griffins greats of the past who followed coach Rayshon Dent, senior standout guards Marcel Boyce Jr., Khoi Thurmon and Amire Robinson and other members of the team throughout its recent tournament run. Buchtel's magical season culminated with its first state championship in boys basketball and the first state title by any City Series hoops team since Central-Hower in 1986.
Buchtel, Hoban will be in parade:City of Akron to recognize basketball championships with event downtown
Akron Buchtel celebrates state title:'This is a special team': Griffins students, staff gather after historic boys basketball season
Former Buchtel star and head coach Matt Futch watched the title game on his smartphone while attending his 8-year-old son's AAU game in the Wooster area. David Junius, another former Buchtel big man, watched online from his home in North Carolina.
“To see that young team come together and bring it home, it was so surreal,” Junius, a 2001 Buchtel graduate, said. “They showed that mental toughness that you need down the stretch of a game like that.”
Before this year, Buchtel had played in just one state title game. A Griffins team coached by Harvey Sims and led by Robinson, a junior at the time, fell 71-68 to Cleveland Benedictine with the Division II title on the line in Columbus.
A couple of years later, 1986 Buchtel graduate Dent became an assistant of Sims. Robinson, Futch and Junius played for the Griffins with Dent on the staff. All of them are thrilled about Dent's third season as his alma mater's head coach ending with a historic championship.
“Rayshon Dent's a hard worker, man,” Sims said. “He's an old-fashioned type guy. He works right there in the community. Everybody knows him. It couldn't have happened to a greater guy. I think Rayshon Dent's done a outstanding job with that team.”
Dent helped Buchtel rebound from a 2021-22 season in which an on-court fight with East resulted in two key Griffins players being suspended. Left shorthanded, Buchtel suffered a season-ending loss to Gilmour Academy in a district final. The players who were disciplined did not play for Buchtel during the 2022-23 season, but lessons learned as a result of the brawl stuck with the Griffins who returned to the program.
“They had the situation last year with the fight. They overcame all that stuff, and they were able to do something special. That's inspiring,” said Futch, a 2002 Buchtel graduate who played for the University of Akron and is now the head coach of the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy boys basketball team.
A strong bond between Buchtel players stood out to the team's supporters, and Dent proved to be instrumental in fostering camaraderie.
“He knows what the kids are really going through personally, and he has compassion,” Robinson said. “He's real. He lets them be who they are, and he pushes them to the max of their ability. He doesn't crucify them from making too many mistakes, but he does hold them to a high standard.”
All-Ohio boys basketball selections:10 Stark and Summit area players earn all-state honors on top three teams in Division I and Division II
Dent's cellphone has been inundated with congratulatory messages since Sunday, and he knows many of his former players are singing his praises.
“The love is real,” Dent said. “It's just a blessing for me to be a part of some of these young men's lives and to see it come full circle and they can return the love and appreciation. It just warms my heart to know they think of me in that light as a person who contributed to their success as well. That's what I'm in it for — just to try to help these young men better themselves.”
Heading into the championship game, Robinson experienced flashbacks of Benedictine trapping “me to death in the second half” and feared Lutheran West would use the same defensive strategy against Thurmon. It didn't happen, though.
Then in crunch time, Boyce made two free throws with 14.5 seconds left, and a Lutheran West layup at the buzzer was correctly ruled no good after a replay review confirmed sophomore Joshua Meyer didn't get the shot off before time had expired.
Robinson drove from his home in Columbus to Dayton so he could watch the action unfold in person. The two-time Beacon Journal Player of the Year who continued his hoops career at Ohio State said he began celebrating during the replay review because he saw the ball in Meyer's hand while the game clock ran out.
The weight of a championship drought and those close-but-no-cigar memories from 1997 had suddenly been lifted off the collective shoulders of Buchtel's basketball brethren.
“Twenty-six years later, for me to witness them winning the championship as a team, it was just beautiful,” Robinson said. “I feel like it was much needed for the school and the community.”
Robinson's prayer was answered.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Buchtel state title lifts weight off Akron basketball program
