Central Buckeye Conference Preview

<p>The Central Buckeye Conference looked solid a year ago with Jonathan Alder and North Union making the District tournament while Shawnee advanced further into the Regionals. Looking to this season however, the conference will take a slight step down with graduation hitting several teams hard. Jonathan Alder, North Union, and Shawnee again will be the top teams, but the rest of the teams may struggle to keep up with youth and/or inexperience.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Contenders</strong></span></p> <p><em>Jonathan Alder-</em> The Pioneers are fresh off of an undefeated regular season in 2021 and a District Runner-Up finish in Division II. 3 of the top 5 from that team are back and they again look like a favorite to run the CBC in 2022. <strong>Joey Walker</strong> (Sr) will be the top guy to watch and brings great size at 6-foot-6. Fellow senior <strong>Grant Welsch</strong> also returns bringing the upperclassmen experience. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1225071" first="Peyton" last="Heiss"]</strong> (So) returns after a solid rookie year last season. Alder on paper will be one of the best teams and depend on their defense quite a bit. Their ability to slow down Shawnee and their many athletes will determine if another division title is likely.</p> <p><em>North Union</em>- North Union celebrated another division title and a 19-4 record to end 2021. An appearance in the District championship was another bright point. Similar to Jonathan Alder, the Wildcats are returning 3 of their top 5 from last season’s group. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1082240" first="Zach" last="Vernon"]</strong> (Sr) is a true low post threat and brings shot blocking potential along with low post scoring to the table. Upperclassmen <strong>Aaron Krebehenne</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Owen Davis</strong> (Jr) also return. The Wildcats are losing a very talented backcourt that was led by Preston Crabtree and Trevyn Feasel. As long as they can replace this void, I see this group again winning a divisional title in the CBC.</p> <p><em>Shawnee- </em>The Braves made the deepest run out of CBC members, finding themselves in the Regional Finals before falling to Taft. Shawnee brings back several key players that should allow them to chase down Jonathan Alder for the Kenton Trail division title. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1201838" first="Zion" last="Crowe"]</strong> (Jr) and <strong>RJ Griffin</strong> (Jr) excelled as underclassmen and showed they could handle the pressure of Varsity basketball. <strong>Patrick Fultz</strong> (Sr) rounds out the guard play and can set these guys up for high scoring nights. The Braves are now without defensive menace Jamon Miller from last year as well as big man Drew Mitch. Their athleticism can be enough to beat most teams in the conference, but can they knock off Alder?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Rest of the Conference</strong></span></p> <p><em>Bellefontaine-</em> Really struggled last season and now without their two best players. New names will rise for this group.</p> <p><em>Benjamin Logan-</em> Lose their top scoring option from last year. <strong>Kaden Arn</strong> (Sr) is a good low post option, but who else steps up for the Raiders?</p> <p><em>Graham-</em> Falcons underperformed in route to a 13-10 finish. Now without Brady King who led them in scoring. <strong>Ben Sells</strong> (Jr) will be looked upon for leadership.</p> <p><em>Indian Lake-</em> Lakers surprised many by making it to the District Finals last year. Seniors <strong>Luke Jackson</strong> and <strong>Caleb Wurster</strong> both return. This team could surprise people again within the conference.</p> <p><em>Kenton Ridge-</em> Cougars struggled within the CBC and now graduate most of their talent from last year.</p> <p><em>London-</em> Saw promise in <strong>Zach Jones</strong> (So) but have to improve off of a 3-win season a year ago.</p> <p><em>Northwestern</em>- Lose their top two from a season ago including Taliek Dennis. Expect this year as a growth year.</p> <p><em>Tecumseh</em>- Arrows return one of the best guards in the conference in <strong>Collin O’Connor</strong> (Jr) but is there enough of a supporting cast to challenge?</p> <p><em>Urbana</em>- Younger team a year ago should be young again. <strong>Will Donahoe</strong> (So) played well as a freshman last year and has a good guard in <strong>Rayvon Rogan</strong> (Jr) also back. This season will be more of a growing year as the Hillclimbers might be a year or two away. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>