Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference (CMAC) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The CMAC celebrated the one thing every conference would love to have…a state champion. Taft represented the CMAC and won the Division III state championship in a thriller to bring home some hardware for the city. Woodward, who went undefeated in the conference, advanced to the Regional Finals before falling one game short of a state Final Four appearance. The 2022-23 CMAC could be one of the more competitive seasons we've seen in awhile with plenty of firepower and talent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Contenders</span></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Taft</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Senators did what every team wants to achieve when they cut down the nets last March. In total, 4 of the top 6 are returning for the Senators although they will now be in Division II vs Division III. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1156348' first='Hudson' last='Norton']</strong> (Sr) played pivotal minutes during the tournament run and should move into a more leadership role along with Miami (OH) commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1088811' first='Eian' last='Elmer']</strong> (Sr) who brings incredible athleticism to the table. Sophomores <strong>James Barnett</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432054' first='Kieran' last='Granville-Britten']</strong> played important roles as freshmen a season ago and should see their outputs increase. The Senators added <strong>Quanny Bostic</strong> (Jr) from Woodward which brings another athletic two-way player on the perimeter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Woodward</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs were undefeated a season ago in the CMAC and were short of a State Final Four appearance. Repeating this is going to be a challenge considering they lose one of the greatest players to wear the Woodward uniform in Paul McMillan IV. While replacing McMillan and his scoring output is quite a task, there are guys returning that should keep them right there in the competition. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1368789' first='Ru' last='Mills']</strong> (Jr) has a ton of upside as a scoring threat and could replicate partially some of the offensive numbers lost by McMillan. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867946' first='Kanye' last='Moreland']</strong> (Sr) is experienced in the backcourt and can handle the ball for the Bulldogs. Besides losing their primary scorer, the Bulldogs lost their size and rim protection from a season ago. Even with this, the culture is moving towards a winning attitude and could be enough for the program to continue their dominance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cincinnati College Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CCPA plays in the Blue division which is mainly the small schools in the CMAC. The Lions have dominated the past few years and are coming off of a 12-1 record in the conference (lone loss to Gamble Montessori). While Gamble has some weapons of their own, CCPA has the best scorer in the division in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1238514' first='Jabari' last='Covington']</strong> (Jr) who gives off Paul McMillan vibes with his scoring potential as an underclassmen. The Lions have another great perimeter shooting threat in <strong>Josh Marshall</strong> (Sr) who has the leadership CCPA is looking for to accompany Covington and make this team a tougher matchup on paper. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Predicted Order of Finish</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Red Division</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>Taft- Even with losing Rayvon Griffith and Mekhi Elmore, Senators have size, skill, and experience to win the divisional title and compete for a District/Regional title in Division II.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":2} --> <ol start="2"><li>Woodward- Losing McMillan and his output is tough to replace, but Mills has a lot of that potential and the Bulldogs have a culture towards winning that should carry over.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":3} --> <ol start="3"><li>Withrow- This could be a special team if the pieces fall into place. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462472' first='Alexander' last='Parks']</strong> (Sr) had a great Summer and brings good patience and speed in the backcourt. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1421135' first='Michael' last='Johnson']</strong> (Jr) is an incredible athlete with elite rim protection potential.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":4} --> <ol start="4"><li>Hughes- Lacked the flare to challenge the top dogs a year ago. Returning 2 of their top 3 in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1219843' first='Marvin' last='Good']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462513' first='Brandon' last='Glass']</strong> (Jr) but will miss the production from JaeSean Martin in the backcourt. </li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":5} --> <ol start="5"><li>Western Hills- Graduation killed the Mustangs as they are without their top 3 scorers from a season ago. Lot of size and skill now gone.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":6} --> <ol start="6"><li>Aiken- Will be without their top 2 scorers from last season as the Falcons move into Division I this year.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":7} --> <ol start="7"><li>Shroder- Lack the firepower offensively of the other teams in the division.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Division</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>Cincinnati College Prep- Dominated the Blue division a year ago and have the best player in the division in [player_tooltip player_id='1238514' first='Jabari' last='Covington']. Should be able to again win the division again as long as they can outperform Gamble Montessori.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":2} --> <ol start="2"><li>Gamble Montessori- Gators have nice duo returning in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1238516' first='Michael' last='Norton']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Dalon Owensby</strong> (Sr). Succeeded beating CCPA once last year, but they have to be able to do it again.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":3} --> <ol start="3"><li>Riverview East, Oyler, Hillcrest, Spencer, SCPA- All of these teams are in the same boat and therefore hard to rank. Not returning much from a team with a struggling record last year.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->