5 C’s Classic Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Capital City Coaches for a Cure Classic returns to Capital University for two days of exciting action. In this article we'll preview the event with headlines on each team and players to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sunday, December 17th</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The event begins with St Charles and Dublin Coffman squaring off at 1:30 P.M. St Charles has a new look squad after graduating star Chase Walker, who is now at Illinois State. They'll play a Dublin Coffman squad with a new head coach and guard [player_tooltip player_id='1721059' first='Colin' last='McClure'] has had a fast start to his junior season. The second game puts Springfield against Harvest Prep. Springfield is coming off a third straight OHSAA Division I football state championship game appearance, so they are behind the curve schedule wise with their first game coming on Friday night against conference rival Springboro. Harvest Prep was a team I just caught at Shawnee State with a nice win against Wheelersburg. They play at another college neutral site event with a deep roster filled with college talent. Third game puts Richmond Heights against Pickerington Central, two programs coming off state title appearances with Richmond Heights winning their second consecutive Division IV title last season. It's been a struggle for the Spartans with one of the toughest schedules in the Midwest, but they'll look to bounce back with high major talent like [player_tooltip player_id='1432015' first='Dorian' last='Jones'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1705953' first='Tj' last='Crumble'] leading the charge. Pickerington Central has a new look squad but seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1222377' first='Juwan' last='Turner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1359618' first='Braylin' last='Wells'] provide stability to a younger team that is playing with a chip on their shoulder. Maybe the top game of the event is scheduled to tip off at 6:40 P.M. when Saint Ignatius takes on Reynoldsburg. Ignatius was ranked first in my Division I preseason rankings and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1491436' first='Reece' last='Robinson'] has been excellent to start the season for Cam Joyce and company. Reynoldsburg got a huge season opening win over Richmond Heights and followed that up with a win on the road over Akron STVM. Transfers [player_tooltip player_id='1475111' first='Damon' last='Griffin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1705956' first='Xavier' last='McKinney'] have provided a boost to an already talented roster. Finally, the opening day wraps up with Pickerington North going against Olentangy Liberty. 2025 Division I recruits [player_tooltip player_id='1432005' first='Arness' last='Lawson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1480851' first='Tyler' last='Kropp'] are facing off, the duo played together on the EYBL circuit for [program_tooltip program_id='2320052' first='All' last='Ohio Red']'s 16 U group this spring and summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Monday, December 18th</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second day of the event has two games, starting at 6:45 P.M. with Upper Arlington taking on Worthington Christian. The Golden Bears have had a solid start to their season with their only loss coming on the road to Hilliard Bradley in overtime. They take on Pickerington North tonight in a game that should tell us a lot about both teams. Worthington Christian has beefed up their schedule to prepare for a Division III playoff run, taking on Bishop Hartley on Thursday and already holding a win over Africentric. The final game of the event is a Columbus Vs Cincinnati City League showdown between Northland and Taft. Taft has a new look squad with some talented freshman gaining experience this season while Northland has a strong 2026 trio of guards in [player_tooltip player_id='1571119' first='King' last='Kendrick'], [player_tooltip player_id='2113258' first='Jaden' last='Shoultz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2476431' first='Diante' last='James'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->