Dayton City League (DCL) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The DCL has been slowly building back up after a 1-2 year window of struggling. Last season saw some successes as Meadowdale won a District Title out of Division III. While the weight of the league lies in the top 3, an argument can be made this is one of the more anticipated seasons as the league could send a team to the District Finals again this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Contenders</span></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Dunbar</strong></em>- The Wolverines were the City League champs last season and are returning about half of their production. Twins <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='973875' first='Antaune' last='Allen']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163456' first='Antone' last='Allen']</strong> (Sr) have been contributors since their sophomore years. Antaune has scoring potential from multiple levels while Antone brings lengthier wing play. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432007' first='Bj' last='Hatcher']</strong> (So) should see an increased role after starting for Dunbar as a freshman. Losing Darian Leslie from a year ago means Dunbar loses some perimeter shooting. Winning another title is going to be difficult this year but not impossible.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Meadowdale</em></strong>- The Lions are returning virtually everybody from a team that won a District title in Division III last year. <strong>Kalerrio Reaves</strong> (Sr) has Player of the Year potential written all over and has some of the better blowby speed in the area. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922591' first='Lee' last='Benson']</strong> (Sr) has great size on the inside and athletic enough to play outside the paint. The Lions will be adding one of the best freshmen in Dayton in <strong>Cari Reaves</strong> (Fr) who should contribute right away. The Lions will be moving to Division II this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Ponitz</em></strong>- There is no excuse this season as Ponitz has the perfect formula. Seniors, size, defense, scoring, and experience. Everything you look for in a City League champion. Wright State commit <strong>Dayjuan Anderson</strong> (Sr) was the league's leading scorer a season ago and should only see that number grow after a strong AAU season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1324901' first='Antwaun' last='Hathcock']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Jayden Buchanan</strong> (Sr) have Varsity experience and bring some defensive presence needed in an offense heavy DCL.</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>Meadowdale- Kalerrio Reaves and [player_tooltip player_id='922591' first='Lee' last='Benson'] form the best duo in the City League and adding Cari Reaves only makes this team more dangerous. As long as they are okay in Division II vs Division III, Lions should again roll.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ponitz- Golden Panthers have the best scorer in the league (Anderson) and all the pieces to contend with Meadowdale in the City. Must perform better in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dunbar- Hard to move the defending champions down, but hard to compare them with returning talent at Meadowdale and Ponitz. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Belmont- Really struggled a season ago, but have a true under-the-radar player in <strong>Marquis Arnold</strong> (Sr) that could see a nice number increase. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stivers- Really saw struggles last year and now without their best defender. <strong>Kam Baxter-Bell</strong> (Sr) played well over the Summer and has the skillset for the Tigers to possibly go after Belmont in the City League.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thurgood Marshall- Lose their top scorer and best player (Ronald Smith). Lack the depth or that go-to guy that can carry them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->