Columbus-area high school boys basketball tournament preview
What might be best described as an unconventional regular season has set up what should be a memorable boys basketball district tournament.
There were COVID-19 interruptions for area teams, particularly in December and early January, and most of the first full weekend of February was wiped out by bad weather.
Those issues set up a race for teams to reschedule games before the postseason, further testing everyone’s depth.
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There have been surprises along the way, including Westerville South’s quest for an undefeated season and teams such as Dublin Jerome and Delaware Hayes taking big steps forward.
If you were looking for the predictable, Gahanna Lincoln and the perennially strong Pickerington programs, Central and North, provided that, as did the depth of the OCC-Central Division and the nightly grind in the CCL.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what to expect from central Ohio programs during the district tournament in each division. The postseason tips off Feb. 22.
Division I
With Pickerington Central, Westerville South and Gahanna ranked second through fourth, respectively, and Pickerington North at No. 8 in the state poll released Feb. 14, there’s significant star power at the top.
As usual, there are teams seeded in the Nos. 9-20 range that could make it to district finals, with two double-digit seeds among those that made it that far last season.
About half of the 49-team field will have at least 10 victories by the time the tournament starts.
•Potential matchups to watch – There are many, particularly in the second round and in district semifinals.
The one with the most interesting storyline might be if fifth-seeded Newark faces seventh-seeded Upper Arlington in a semifinal. The Wildcats knocked off Central early in the season, and the Golden Bears contended in the deep OCC-Central.
Speaking of the OCC-Central, Olentangy Liberty lost its first five games but bounced back to earn the No. 10 seed and likely will play in the second round against league-rival and 21st-seeded Dublin Coffman, which hasn’t been able to put it all together but has one of the area’s top scorers in senior guard Ajay Sheldon.
The winner of that potential game likely would have to play another team from the OCC-Central, eighth-seeded Olentangy Orange.
Looking for a potential upset? Westerville North, the No. 12 seed, could get another shot at third-seeded South in a semifinal after losing to the Wildcats 45-43 on Dec. 10 and 74-65 in overtime Jan. 28.
•The bottom line – It would be difficult to pick against top-seeded Central, which is blessed with a superstar in junior Devin Royal and has size around him.
Second-seeded Gahanna has all the pieces to defend its district title, and fourth-seeded Pickerington North has been as hot as anyone.
The South-Westerville North semifinal winner likely will have to get past sixth-seeded Jerome, whose leading scorer averages just more than 10 points, or 11th-seeded Hilliard Davidson, yet another team from the OCC-Central.
•Bonus – If the top four seeds hold, then there should be three great games at the regional tournament.
Could you imagine a regional with Gahanna’s all-time leading scorer, senior guard Sean Jones, Central’s Royal, South senior forward Drey Carter and Pickerington North’s duo of senior guards Dior Connors and Jerry Saunders?
The seeds don’t often go chalk, though, so expect some drama along the way.
Division II
The City League was back in full swing this winter after last season’s limited schedule, with Beechcroft and Linden-McKinley giving this district tournament more swagger.
The CCL always produces one or two district-title contenders and should again this year, but schools outside of Interstate 270 such as Bloom-Carroll, Buckeye Valley, Heath and Jonathan Alder have helped create an eclectic group of talented teams.
•Potential matchups to watch – All four semifinals could be defensive battles if the seeds play out.
Before that, though, watch for a possible second-round contest between second-seeded Buckeye Valley and ninth-seeded Eastmoor Academy, which has as much height as any team in the district.
Top-seeded Beechcroft will have to get past 10th-seeded DeSales, which was last year’s state runner-up, or eighth-seeded Columbus South, another dangerous team, in a semifinal.
Third-seeded Bloom-Carroll and senior standout guard Evan Dozer likely will run into fifth-seeded Jonathan Alder, which played a schedule filled with strong Divisions I and II teams, in a semifinal.
A semifinal between fourth-seeded Linden and sixth-seeded Watterson would be a clash of styles, with the talent of senior wing player L.A. Walker contrasting the Eagles’ methodical half-court approach.
•The bottom line – Beechcroft is a senior-laden team that got upset in a district semifinal as the No. 3 seed last year, so its hunger with a lineup led by seniors Amani Lyles and J.J. Simmons isn’t in question.
Neither is that of Buckeye Valley, which chose to go into the Cougars’ bracket with the goal of winning its first district title.
The winner of that bracket will charge into the regional at Ohio University, where area teams traditionally have done well.
In the other bracket, Watterson is a defending district champion and played a schedule that included seven Division I teams in addition to beating Jonathan Alder 45-44 on Jan. 16.
Division III
Even though it didn’t have the best regular-season record among the top teams in Division III, Africentric was more than deserving of being seeded No. 1 because of the difficulty of its schedule, which included strong programs from Divisions I and II.
The next seven seeds are spread among six conferences, with No. 2 Ready from the CCL and No. 6 Columbus Academy and No. 8 Worthington Christian from the MSL-Ohio playing the toughest regular-season schedules.
•Potential matchups to watch – Ready likely will have to get past Worthington Christian – last year’s state runner-up – in a semifinal, where a matchup between Silver Knights junior Kaleb Schaffer and Warriors sophomore Sam Johnson could take place inside.
Third-seeded Harvest Prep should be challenged by Academy if the teams meet in a semifinal.
The contest that looks the tightest on paper would take place if fifth-seeded Centerburg meets No. 7 Johnstown, which was a regional runner-up last season, in a semifinal.
•The bottom line – Similarly to Division II, the regional to try to get into for Central District teams traditionally has been the one that feeds into Ohio University.
That should set up an intriguing district final between Africentric, which features one of the area’s most talented players in junior forward Dailyn Swain, and Ready, which battled for the CCL title.
The winner of that would be the favorite to make it to state.
In the other district bracket, Harvest Prep has one of the area’s top juniors in forward Nyelle Shaheed, but talented players such as junior guard Owen Davis from No. 4 North Union, senior guard Mickinnon Mead of Centerburg and 6-foot-7 senior Kevin Reeves from Academy shouldn’t be overlooked.
Division IV
You know you could be in for a wild district tournament when the second-seeded team started its season 3-8.
That team is Newark Catholic, which will try to accomplish something similar to a year ago when it finished just 11-12 but won a district title.
It’s all about strength of schedule in this division, with Grandview Heights earning the No. 1 seed. The Bobcats are the only Division IV program in the MSL-Ohio.
•Potential matchups to watch – With both Grandview and Newark Catholic going to the bracket whose district champion will head to the regional at Ohio University, third-seeded East Knox figures to have a challenging go of it in the other bracket.
The Bulldogs likely will have to get past sixth-seeded Berne Union, which has hovered around .500 but was a district runner-up last season and competes in the MSL-Cardinal along with fifth-seeded Grove City Christian and Division III power Harvest Prep.
Grove City Christian should face a tough challenge in a semifinal regardless of whether it faces fourth-seeded Tree of Life, which won the MOCAL, or eighth-seeded Danville, which is one of the smallest schools in the KMAC.
•The bottom line – It should be a treat if Grandview ends up facing Newark Catholic for one of the district titles. The Bobcats have a junior-led backcourt featuring Tre Holliman and Danny Claypool, and senior forward Cole Canter, a 1,000-point career scorer, leads the Green Wave.
East Knox has one of the district’s top players in senior guard Shane Knepp, while Berne Union senior guard Brae Friesner, Grove City Christian junior guard Braydan Taylor and Tree of Life junior guard Micah Fisher are other players to watch.
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