OHSAA Division III Power Rankings (12/28)
OHSAA Division III is a sweet spot in that you get the small town feel, but all the best teams have collegiate talent. Near the top of the Power Rankings teams like Harvest Prep, Deer Park, Cardinal Stritch, Lutheran East,…
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Continue ReadingOHSAA Division III is a sweet spot in that you get the small town feel, but all the best teams have collegiate talent. Near the top of the Power Rankings teams like Harvest Prep, Deer Park, Cardinal Stritch, Lutheran East, and Warrensville Heights are all led by a Division I guard. Slide down the list further and teams like Purcell, Johnstown, and Stivers all have players who are scouted at the Division II level.
In this first ranking, we rewarded Division III teams who have taken care of business early, which is why Anna and Archbold are in. But this is a division with depth — teams like Genoa, Grandview Heights, Wheelersburg, Africentric, and several others are certainly on our radar. It was hard to narrow this one down.
Team | W-L | Avg. Pt. Dif. | Quality Wins | Losses | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 Harvest Prep | 6-0 | 31 | Northland | Junior star guard CJ Anthony will be First Team All State once again but he's just one of several guards who can create a shot and defend multiple positions for this team. | |
#2 Deer Park | 5-2 | 14 | Reading | Taft, Wyoming | Although DP won't run the table like last year, the early season lumps could help them in the long-run. The junior backcourt of Steven Gentry and Mark Wise has improved. |
#3 Cardinal Stritch | 5-0 | 29.8 | They've played at least one game without D-I PG prospect Joey Holifield and are still whooping teams. | ||
#4 Lutheran East | 3-3 | 14.8 | St. Ignatius, Cleveland Heights, Lorain | For a Division III team, losing those three games by just 19 points is sort of a win. | |
#5 Warrensville Heights | 5-2 | 7.6 | Clev. Central Catholic | East Tech, Brush | The gap between Warrensville and Lutheran East appears closer than we thought it to be preseason. They'll need monster nights out of Brandon Rush consistently come playoff time, which is not too much to ask. |
#6 Purcell Marian | 5-2 | 7.1 | Bishop Fenwick, Elder, Badin, North Catholic (PA) | La Salle, Chaminade Julienne | They stumbled out of the gates but are riding a winning streak now. Seniors AJ Garrett, Javonta Lyons, and Alex Dotson average double-figures. |
#7 Johnstown-Monroe | 4-0 | 17.75 | Columbus DeSales | Their win against the no. 10 team in Division II is an impressive data point. Frontcourt of Owen Hazelbaker and Jake Lusk provides an identity. | |
#8 Stivers | 6-0 | 12.3 | Thurgood Marshall | Guard play is important at this level of basketball and they have three good ones, led by junior Trevon Ellis. | |
#9 Anna | 7-0 | 29 | Jackson Center | Anna is simply beating the crap out of everyone they play. | |
#10 Archbold | 6-0 | 17.3 | Wauseon, Ottawa-Glandorf | We thought Archbold might take a year off after graduating a trademark 2018 class, but they're back to their winning ways in a hurry. |