Scouting reports for 2022-23 boys basketball
The following coaches responded to requests for information for the 2022-23 boys basketball season.
ALLIANCE
Coach: Sean Weatherspoon, 1st season at Alliance, 30-33 in three seasons overall
Assistant coaches: Rich Jackson, Dale Dickson, Maurice Winters, Taurice Scott and Brian Pasco.
2021-22 record: 16-5, 10-2 EBC
Returning letter winners: Diego Allen, senior (13.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1st team All-EBC, 1st team District, HM All-Ohio); Brendan Zurbrugg, junior (9.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, HM All-EBC); Ramhir Hawkins, junior (4.5 ppg, 1.3 spg); K’Vaughn Davis, junior (10.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 spg); Darius Rodriguez, senior (2.1 ppg); Marquavian McClendon, junior.
Newcomers: Kayden Davis, senior; Jayce Crockett, junior, J.R. Jackson, freshman, Kah’viaughn Hawkins, junior; Carter Lewis, senior.
Losses: Gage Ford, Stephen Gales, DJ Davis.
The coach says: “Team strengths: Athleticism, speed, length. Having multiple guys being able to create for themselves and others. Pressure defensively, getting out in transition. The ability to knock down the open 3 pointer consistently. Having a competitive mindset for 32 minutes throughout a game. Team weakness: Newcomers lacking experience at the varsity level.”
MARLINGTON
Coach: Nick Evanich, 216-173 in 17 seasons at Marlington; 254-222 in 20 seasons overall
2021-22 record: 17-6, 9-3 EBC
Returning letter winners: Casey Miller, 5-10 senior (11.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1st team District 4, 2nd team All-EBC); Drew Denham, 5-11 senior (7.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 2nd team All-EBC, H.M. District 4); Caden Bates, 6-1 senior; Beau Himmelheber, 5-10 junior.
Newcomers: Jaden Proctor, 6-0 junior; Caden Young, 5-10 senior; Ty Knoch, 5-11 junior; Sam Yoder, 6-5 sophomore; Dylan Heatherington, 6-2 sophomore.
Losses: Connor Evanich (17 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1st team District 4, 1st team All-EBC; 1st team NE District, S.M. All-Ohio, EBC Player of the Year); Ben Yoder (H.M. All-EBC); Sam Dine.
The coach says: “We are excited for the 2022-2023 season as we had a lot of success and gained a lot of valuable experience last year. Five players return as lettermen and we have 10 capable varsity players competing for minutes. Our practice competition has been excellent and we hope this translates into a great season. We will play multiple defenses and with a wide variety of pressure defenses. On offense we will look to push the ball first and then execute our half court offense and sets efficiently. As always we will work to build ourselves into a single unit working together to maximize our opportunities and play our best basketball in March.”
WEST BRANCH
Coach: Michael Brown, 54-18 in 3 seasons
Assistant coaches: Bill Eddins, Bob Brown, Logan Coe, Kristian Knight, John Hancock.
2021-22 record: 18-6
Returning letter winners: Riley Hendershott, 6-0 junior guard; Joey Jackson, 5-10 sophomore guard (5.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, H.M. All-EBC); Jaxon Robb, 6-0 junior guard (5.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg); Cooper Anderson, 6-4 sophomore forward (2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg); Mike Kanagy, 6-3 senior forward (2.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg); Dru DeShields, 6-4 senior forward (17.0 ppg, 10 rpg, 1st team All-EBC); Thomas Egli, 6-5 senior center (4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Cam Lane, 6-2 sophomore guard.
Newcomers: Jermiah Thomas, 5-9 freshman guard; Gavin Gregory, 6-5 freshman center.
Losses: Jed Smith, Nick Wilson and Jaxon Hendershott.
The coach says: “We are really proud of the time and effort our multi-sport athletes have put in this offseason. The summer of 2022 was a great opportunity for our younger players to prove they could play at the varsity level. I think the combination of veteran leadership and young talent will mesh well together and be the difference maker in our team this season. There will be challenges, but we look forward to carrying on the legacy the class of 2022 left behind.”
SEBRING
Coach: Lee Knepp, 5-18 in 1 season
Assistant coaches: Ryan Johanning, Mike Harshman, Joe Davis.
2021-22 record: 5-18, 0-14 MVAC.
Returning letter winners: Scott Boston (8.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2nd team All-MVAC); Kade Leasure, 10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 apg; Caden Shepherd (4.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg); Dustin Black (7.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.6 apg).
Newcomers: Javin Cundiff, senior (0.4 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.2 apg); Joe Seals, junior; Colby Kliffmueller, junior; Cayden Whitlatch, senior; Kaleb Rowles, sophomore.
Losses: Noah Frederick (4.5 ppg, H.M. All-MVAC); Elijah Frederick (4.1 ppg); Andrew Latham.
The coach says: “We return four varsity letterwinners that gained valuable varsity experience last season. They are seniors Caden Shepherd, Kade Leasure, Scott Boston and junior, Dustin Black. We are hoping the experience will help us throughout this season. Our players had a good offseason by improving their skill work/fundamentals and got stronger in the weight room. Some of our newcomers include senior post Cayden Whitlatch, senior guard Javi Cundiff Guard, senior guard Ashton Gibbons, junior post Colby Kliffmueller, junior wing Joel Seals, and sophomore guard Kaleb Rowles. These players will be in the mix of our rotation along with the returning letterwinners. Our goal this season is to get better each day whether it be at practice or a game, compete in everything that we do, be a great teammate, and play for each other. “
MINERVA
Coach: Shawn Green, 69-114 in 8 seasons
Assistant coaches: Scott Cassidy, Scott Loudon, Rich Hart, Scott Russell, Rob Yeagley and Bruce Wright
2021-22 record: 10-13, 3-9 EBC
Returning letter winners: Brandon Davis, 6-0 senior (9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 39 3-pointers, H.M. All-EBC); Jayden Yerger, 5-10 sophomore (4.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg); Braxton Davis, 6-4 senior (1.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg); Peyton Rich, 6-0 senior.
Newcomers: Garrett Gonzalez, 6-5 junior; Matthew Phillips, 6-1 senior; Ryan Cassidy, 5-8 sophomore; Rowen Hoffee, 6-0 freshman; Owen Shick, 6-0 freshman; Braydon Wood, 6-3 freshman.
Losses: Brayden Costea (21.3 ppg, school-record 69 3-pointers, 3.6 rpg); Connor Shingleton (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.6 apg); Dylan Phillips (1.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg); Erik Murray (1.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
The coach says: “We feel like we are going to very balanced this year, with multiple skilled players capable of making open shots. We aren’t big but we are a little longer at the guard position, which should allow us to mix up defenses and try to create transition opportunities.”
SOUTHEAST
Head Coach: Mike Matisi (5th season)
Assistant Coaches: Doug Craver, Zeddie Pollock, Tyler Chaney
2021-22 Record: 12-12 (5-5 Portage Trail Conference)
Returning letter winners: Carson Dunn, Evan Riffle, Garrett Sprutte
Losses: Brandon Clint, Ty Sprutte, Caden Bailey, Aidan Fischer, Thomas Sharish, Nate Buckeye
Overall: The Pirates graduated their two leading scorers in Brandon Clint (20.9 points per game) and Aidan Fischer (14.0), with Fischer also their leader in blocks and rebounds, but still return plenty of talent. Southeast has several of the key ingredients that tend to make for a successful basketball team in a veteran point guard (Carson Dunn), a talented scorer (Garrett Sprutte) and a strong post (Evan Riffle).
WATERLOO
Head Coach: Jason Wise (10th season)
Assistant Coaches: John Herchek, Gavin English
2021-22 Record: 6-16 (6-8 MVAC Scarlet Tier)
Returning letter winners: Navarre Alhassan, Ryan Wise, Anthony Podojil, Aiden Hall, Drew Flarida, Jackson Eichler, Kyle Werbeck
Losses: Luke Simons, Drake Miller
Outlook: Replacing that magical core that led to a district title in 2019-20, with Kyle Shockley starring for another year after, has not been easy for the Vikings. Indeed, Waterloo posted a losing record last season for the first time since 2017-18, despite some remarkable performances by Navarre Alhassan and Luke Simons. The bad news is Simons, the Vikings’ leading scorer, graduated. The good news is Alhassan, who finished close behind Simons, is back, along with six other returning letterwinners. While Waterloo doesn’t have a ton of size (its tallest player is 6-3), it has the athleticism to “play a much faster paced game” and to “create offense in transition.”
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Eastern Stark County boys basketball previews
