Independents Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Independents have the luxury of playing whoever they want due to the lack of conference alignment. As you will see as a result, teams are well prepared for the tournament and have shown improved postseason success comparatively. See which Independents I expect to impress this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Trotwood-Madison</em></strong>- The Rams didn't have a terrible year last season, but certainly struggled compared to previous years. The Rams lost 2 of their top 3 guys to transfers and will bring in a new coach. Currently <strong>Tim Carpenter</strong> (Jr) is slated to return as long as nothing changes with him being a highly recruited QB. As long as he plays, Carpenter can be a major piece on the offensive end for a Trotwood team that will need additional names to make any major moves. The Rams will be moving to Division I this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Logan</em></strong>- The Chieftans were .500 last year and will face some new issues with a major loss of production due to graduation. Top guy Tegan Myers leaves for Marietta College and will leave a large void in the scoring production. The Chieftans will be moving into the Ohio Capital Conference in the near future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Dover</em></strong>- The Tornados were exceptionally good last year and were one of the top teams in Division I last year. Unfortunately, 4 of the top 5 are gone and leave a massive hole. <strong>Ben Hamm</strong> (Sr) will be returning but has quite a void to fill and will have to help alleviate the loss of 2 All-District players. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Lima Central Catholic</em></strong>- LCC was .500 on the year and had some decent moments throughout the year. Optimistically they return 3 of the top 4 with none being seniors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285305' first='DeMarr' last='Foster']</strong> (Jr) anchors the backcourt and has support in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432048' first='Angelo' last='Collins']</strong> (So) and <strong>Carson Parker</strong> (Jr) around him. Central Catholic has a history of postseason success and could be a sleeper in NW Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Archbishop Hoban</em></strong>- Hoban made a magical run to the Regional Finals in Division II last year before falling short to SVSM. The scary thing is they return most of that team for another run, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222351' first='Jonas' last='Nichols']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1404817' first='Logan' last='Vowles']</strong> (Sr). Hoban moves up to Division I this year which could be more of a challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Brush</em></strong>- The Arcs fell in the District Finals and graduate several starters from a 20 win team. Seniors <strong>Marlon Barnes</strong> (Pitt commit) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814555' first='Tyler' last='Williams']</strong> both will be returning and should be major contributors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1506015' first='Aliyy' last='King']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432058' first='Damari' last='Dammons']</strong> (So) will help fill the gaps as well. Division I is a gauntlet in NE Ohio and will force teams like Brush to step outside the box to win a District title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Louisville</em></strong>- The Leopards surprised many with their run to the Regional Finals last year in Division II. A younger team, they look on paper to again be a tough out even in Division I. <strong>Will Aljanic</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462979' first='Hayden' last='Nigro']</strong> (Jr) both were All-District a year ago and showed in the grassroots season they could takeover a game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1540136' first='Beau' last='Siegfried']</strong> (So) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1540137' first='Brayden' last='Gross']</strong> (So) were impact players for the Gurus of Go AAU team that excelled this Spring. Expect Louisville to again create problems for opposing teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>St. Edward</em></strong>- The Eagles made the State Semifinals last year during a more “down year”. While they lose an incredible guard in Michael Bova, Ed's has a solid senior class that can keep the Eagles competitive with whoever they matchup against. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1201831' first='Cameron' last='Grant']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163454' first='Danny' last='Lavelle']</strong> (Sr) were contributors last year and will now be the main guys to monitor as will <strong>Brian Sullivan</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1383253' first='Wendell' last='Henry']</strong> (So). Getting back to Dayton will be hard but not impossible for the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>St. Ignatius</em></strong>- The Wildcats are returning a large amount of talent from a State Semifinalist team the past 2 years. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222353' first='Ace' last='Buckner']</strong> (Jr), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222357' first='Carter' last='Jackson']</strong> (Jr), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432034' first='Damon' last='Friery']</strong> (So) all will be impact players for Iggy as they look to get back to Dayton for the 3rd straight time. Will be considered a preseason top 3 team in Division I. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Vincent-St. Mary</strong>- The defending Division II state champions are returning to Division I this year. The Irish are returning 3 starters led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867938' first='Lance' last='Hayes']</strong> (Sr) as they look to continue their dominance in the biggest division in the state. Hayes, a Kent State commit, will have experience around him in <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) that should allow the Irish to again compete for another state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Gilmour Academy</em></strong>- The Lancers were the State Runner-Ups in Division II last year after making the surprise run to Dayton. 2 of the top 3 from that team return and give Gilmour an early edge to run it back to Dayton. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163470' first='Desh' last='Molton']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163471' first='Brandon' last='Rose']</strong> (Sr) were major factors a year ago and will again be looked upon for leadership. The Lancers' path is much clearer with SVSM moving to Division I. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Lutheran Eas</em>t</strong>- THe Falcons failed to defend their 2021 state title, but returned to Dayton for the State Semifinals last year. The Lue is returning quite a bit of players from that team and are arguably the preseason favorites in DIvision III this year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222354' first='Jesse' last='McCulloch']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867939' first='Cody' last='Head']</strong> (Sr) were 1st Team All-District last year and are back and add some new faces in <strong>TJ Crumble</strong> (Fr) and <strong>Icare Bakadisula</strong> (So) to make their team even more of a force to reckon with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->