All Ohio Showcase Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the season continues to come closer, I will be previewing some of the early season events/showcases for our subscribers to checkout. This preview will look at the All Ohio Showcase. Hosted by All Ohio basketball club and Reynoldsburg High School Summit and Livingston locations, the event features many of the top teams in Columbus and across the state and will be a highly touted event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Livingston Campus)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>11:00am- <strong><em>International</em></strong> vs <strong><em> Northside Christian</em></strong>- The first game of the event will feature 2 small school sleepers in Columbus. International is a rising team in the CCL and has one of the finer bigs in the area in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222375' first='Kj' last='Jones']</strong> (Jr) to build around. Northside Christian on the other hand has one of the best 2025s in the state in <strong>Landon Vanderwarker</strong> (So) along with several returning guys. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12:35pm- <strong><em>Grove City</em></strong> vs <strong><em> Chaney</em></strong>- The Greyhounds are bringing back most of their production from last year and will be a tough matchup for Chaney. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1617847' first='Kevin' last='Gallagher']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462471' first='Daniel' last='Fetty']</strong> (Sr) make up their phenomenal backcourt. Chaney returns back to Columbus and has a fantastic athlete in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163464' first='Josiah' last='Gonzalez']</strong> (Sr) who will force Grove City to adjust and account for defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2:10pm- <strong><em>Columbus South</em></strong> vs <strong><em>New Albany</em></strong>- The Bulldogs from South have a younger team that is guard heavy and succeed last year getting 15 wins. <strong>Lajames Washington</strong> (Jr) and <strong>Maurice McCall</strong> (Jr) both return and are the leaders for this group. New Albany will look different after graduating some key guys from last season. Role guys are returning but the question will be how well can they defend the speed in the Bulldogs' backcourt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3:45pm- <strong><em>Walnut Ridge</em></strong> vs.<strong><em> Westerville Central</em></strong>- Ridge has a young core of guys led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222376' first='Dominique' last='Aekins']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432012' first='Bryden' last='Hodge']</strong> (So) to lead the Scots. Central is junior heavy, but has an interior threat in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285279' first='Buba' last='Bangura']</strong> (Sr) that will certainly challenge Walnut Ridge on the glass and open some opportunities for the guard play to score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5:20pm- <strong><em>Taft</em></strong> vs <strong><em>Archbishop Hoban</em></strong>- A non-Columbus matchup, Taft debuts in Division II with a solid returning group led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432054' first='Kieran' last='Granville-Britten']</strong> (So) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1088811' first='Eian' last='Elmer']</strong> (Sr). Hoban has most of their top guys returning and are led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222351' first='Jonas' last='Nichols']</strong> (Sr). Both teams are in my preseason Top 10 in their respective divisions and will create quite a fun matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6:55pm- <strong><em>Harvest Prep</em></strong> vs <strong><em> Richmond Heights</em></strong>- The 2nd to last game of the evening will feature a small school battle. Harvest Prep has an experienced team led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432008' first='Brandon' last='Roddy']</strong> (So) and is my #5 team in Division III to start the season. Richmond Heights is the defending Division IV state champions and have talent themselves in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432015' first='Dorian' last='Jones']</strong> (So) and transfer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1352459' first='Hosea' last='Steele']</strong> (Jr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8:30pm- <strong><em>Africentric</em></strong> vs <strong><em>Lutheran East</em></strong>- The finale will bring together my #1 team vs #3 team in Division III. Africentric will have the home court advantage and bring a solid 1-2 punch in Xavier commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922605' first='Dailyn' last='Swain']</strong> (Sr) and transfer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222355' first='Cortez' last='Freeman']</strong> (So) from Canal Winchester. Lutheran East is loaded with talent and is led by <strong>Jesse McCullough</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867939' first='Cody' last='Head']</strong> (Sr) in this one. The Nubians ability to defend McCullough will go a long way in determining how competitive this will be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Summit Campus)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>11:00am- <strong><em>Centennial</em></strong> vs <strong><em>Whitehall</em></strong>- The first matchup at the Summit campus will feature two teams looking to rebound in the new year. Centennial won only 4 games last year, but they return some promising pieces that should allow them to be more competitive. <strong>Isaiah Skinn</strong> (So) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467906' first='Henri' last='Young']</strong> (Jr) are guys to watch. Whitehall lost 2 of their best players to transfer and now must try to rebound with a new group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12:35pm- <strong><em>Independence</em></strong> vs <strong><em>Groveport</em></strong>- This matchup will feature two teams looking to continue growing. Independence returns <strong>Geramiah Thompson</strong> (Jr) from a season ago. Groveport has some newer faces that will be leaned on as they lose out on several guys from a solid team last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2:10pm- <strong><em>Northland</em></strong> vs <strong><em> Dunbar</em></strong>- Northland will be the home team against the visiting Wolverines from Dunbar. The Vikings lost one of the better guards in the CCL last year but will reload with some returning talent and the addition of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1571121' first='King' last='Kendrick']</strong> (Fr). Dunbar has plenty of guard play led by <strong>Antaune</strong> <strong>Allen</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163456' first='Antone' last='Allen']</strong> (Sr) as well as rising sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432007' first='Bj' last='Hatcher']</strong>. Expect this game to be up-and-down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3:45pm- <strong><em>Wayne</em></strong> vs.<strong><em> Buchtel</em></strong>- The Warriors get an afternoon showdown with my #1 Division II team to start the year. Murray State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867949' first='Lawrent' last='Rice']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285297' first='Juan' last='Cranford Jr']</strong> (Jr) both will have their hands full against a Buchtel team with talent all over the floor. The senior trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867954' first='Khoi' last='Thurmon']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1203906' first='Christian' last='Harmon']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867950' first='Amire' last='Robinson']</strong> will be a lot for the Warriors to account for. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5:20pm- <strong><em>CVCA</em></strong> vs <strong><em>Pickerington North</em></strong>- This game will feature one of the nation's best 2025 prospects in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432004' first='Darryn' last='Peterson']</strong> (So) for CVCA. He will go against a Pick North team that is somewhat younger than past seasons, but still has the talent to be competitive. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432005' first='Arness' last='Lawson']</strong> (So) leads this young group as does <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1199873' first='Jeff' last='Amapps']</strong> (Sr) who will likely be tasked with defending Peterson. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6:55pm- <strong><em>Pickerington Central</em></strong> vs <strong><em>SPIRE</em></strong>- The defending Division I state champions begin their title repeat tour with a game against SPIRE. The Tigers will lean heavily on Ohio State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867951' first='Devin' last='Royal']</strong> (Sr) as well as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867940' first='Gavin' last='Headings']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222377' first='Juwan' last='Turner']</strong> (Jr). SPIRE has players from across the country on their roster, and also has an Ohio tie in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1052781' first='Donovan' last='Hunter']</strong> (Sr) who transferred over from Westerville Central.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8:30pm- <strong><em>Reynoldsburg</em></strong> vs.<strong><em> St. Vincent-St. Mary</em></strong>- The event ends with one heck of a battle between the host Raiders and St. V. Reynoldsburg is one of the youngest teams in the state, but has so much talent nonetheless in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432017' first='Jordan' last='Fisher']</strong> (So) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432037' first='Toby' last='Nwokolo']</strong> (So) among others. St. V begins life in Division I with some key players from their Division II state championship team, led by Kent State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867938' first='Lance' last='Hayes']</strong> (Sr), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1181712' first='Kevin' last='Hamilton']</strong> (Sr), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867952' first='Darius' last='Stratford']</strong> (Sr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->