Cincinnati Hills League Preview
It’s the last week of November which could only mean one thing. We are less than a week away from the start of the 2017-18 regular season in Ohio. With November 30th right around the corner, we will be previewing different conferences in the Greater Cincinnati area. Today we look at a league whose race maybe the most competitive race in the area, the Cincinnati Hills League.
- What will it take for Wyoming to repeat?
Who after junior point man and Findlay commit Joey Edmonds and rising sophomore wing Evan Prater will be able to score the ball? Wyoming lost a combined 45 points per game to graduation, so it is important that some players step up and become quality third and fourth scoring options.
- Who are the biggest challengers to the Cowboys?
Ladies and gentlemen the Deer Park Wildcats are for real this season. Coach Steve Gentry has a deep team with top six that has as much versatility as any team in the city. Make sure you mark December 15th and January 30th on your calendars as the match-ups between these two squads should be very, very good.
- Who are the dark horse teams?
This could up essentially be a five- team race, and I am serious when I say this. Indian Hills brings back an experienced squad with one of the best scorers in the city in PHO Top 100 senior Colin Shaw (#95). Madeira brings back there starting five from a team that finished 11-3 in conference last season. And do not sleep on the Reading Blue Devils. They have one of the best players in Cincinnati in Bryce Hunt (#36 PHO Class of 2018), and as a team that put on two of the best offensive performances I witnessed during the pre-season. With Hunt in the fold Reading has a chance to really improve on there 12-11 record from the 2016-17 season.
- Who will lead the league in scoring?
A conference loaded with talented scorers, the race for leading scorer will be tight as well. A lot of people in the know would most likely pick Bryce Hunt in this category. And with Hunt’s athleticism and versatility that would be a good pick. But Reading seems to be a team that will have a lot of balance on the offensive end if their scrimmages were any indication. And it is for this reason that I am picking Colin Shaw of Indian Hill. One of the leading returning scorers in the conference (18ppg in 2016-17), Colin can shoot the ball from three and off the dribble. But what sets him apart is his ability to get to the free-throw line where last year he had 150 attempts last season and connected on 74% of those attempts.
***All statistics courtesy of the CHL website
***Photo courtesy of the CHL website