OHSAA DII Watchlist Part 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've been breaking down the top teams in each Division to get our readers prepared for the upcoming OHSAA season. We've already broken down the top 10 teams in our preseason Division II rankings and northeast Ohio teams on our watchlist, in this article we'll look at northwest and southwest teams that just missed our preseason top 10 that we'll be keeping our eyes on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lexington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After an impressive season last year, Lexington returns two of their three key pieces and should once again be one of the toughest teams in the northwest regional. [player_tooltip player_id='1705955' first='Brayden' last='Fogle'] is a match-up nightmare with his strength and skill plus [player_tooltip player_id='1494486' first='Elijah' last='Hudson'] has taken some big steps this summer. Losing Baden Forup to graduation is a big blow but I expect the Minutemen to once again win a lot of games this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mansfield</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A nearby rival of Lexington, Mansfield plays a frantic style of play that can turn over teams that don't take care of the basketball. They played a tough schedule last season and lost in a thriller against Sandusky, who made the move up to Division I.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dayton Chaminade Julienne</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A final four participant last season, Cj loses all three of the Washington brothers (one to graduation and two to transfer out of state) but return some solid pieces. [player_tooltip player_id='1955281' first='Cal' last='Weatherspoon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1467912' first='Devin' last='Rakestraw'] are seniors who are tough and Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1701134' first='David' last='Cartwright'] is a breakout candidate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cincinnati Woodward</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1368789' first='Ru' last='Mills'] was one of the top players in the greater Cincinnati area last season and is set for an even bigger 2023-24 season. While Woodward graduated some talented seniors from last season, [player_tooltip player_id='2321700' first='Donte' last='Ferrell'] averaged 11 PPG as a Junior and will be a nice sidekick to Mills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cincinnati Taft</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most talented teams in southwest Ohio last season, Taft lost a couple key seniors to graduation and had [player_tooltip player_id='1432054' first='Kieran' last='Granville-Britten'] transfer to Princeton plus DeShaun Jackson to Newport. Taft reloads with [player_tooltip player_id='2286920' first='Jordyn' last='Buchanan'] moving in from Florida. Taft went unbeaten in the CMAC last season and will look to keep their spot atop the league.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->