Holiday Hoopla: Saturday Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Basketball returns to the greater Columbus Convention Center in December as Bleacher Republic is hosting a three day event filled with talent. In this article we'll preview the Friday games for this event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dublin Jerome Vs Archbishop Hoban 11:30 A.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opening game of the day puts a Dublin Jerome team that returns a large percentage of their core from last season with [player_tooltip player_id='1561025' first='Cooper' last='Craig'] as a player to watch take on Archbishop Hober who is led by [player_tooltip player_id='1506017' first='Kenny' last='Scott']. The Knights won the 2023 Division I state title and have had a winning history under Head Coach Tk Griffith.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dublin Coffman Vs Huber Heights Wayne 1:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dublin Coffman is one of the more talented teams in central Ohio with prospects in a variety of grades. [player_tooltip player_id='1721059' first='Colin' last='McClure'] recently committed to Thomas More and he leads the Rocks alongside Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2301451' first='Gabe' last='Schmidt'] and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2462577' first='Thomas' last='Cochran']. Wayne counters with [player_tooltip player_id='1617825' first='Boots' last='Perkins'], who will lead the Warriors with a younger group this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Johnstown-Monroe Vs Margaretta 3:00 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnstown is looking to build off a 12-11 season last year as they take on a Margaretta squad that went to the regional final in Division III last season. [player_tooltip player_id='1827697' first='Julian' last='Washington'] is the headliner in this game, the 2026 guard is one of the top prospects in Ohio from that class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Westerville South Vs Lutheran West 4:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westerville South has a new look team after star Kruz McClure transferred to prep program DME Academy in Wisconsin. Lutheran West was a top team in northeast Ohio last season and return twins Jacob Meyer and [player_tooltip player_id='2409660' first='Matthew' last=''] Meyer in the paint. Mentor transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2042514' first='Ryan' last='Calo'] will add to their guard depth as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Westerville Central Vs Lakota East 6:30 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1708714' first='Josh' last='Henderson'] will certainly draw a crowd at this game as the senior is one of the fastest rising players in the state. The Akron commit got a boost from transfer point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1432022' first='Amare' last='Spiva'] as the duo will certainly be exciting to watch together this season. [player_tooltip player_id='1285295' first='Trey' last='Perry'] is a Miami (OH) commit and he has been one of the top point guards in Cincinnati for a few years now. Expect Perry and Henderson to go bucket for bucket in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pickerington North Vs Saint Edward 8:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After playing the night prior, Saint Edward is back for day number two against the other Pickerington squad. North brings a trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1432005' first='Arness' last='Lawson'] (Duquesne commit), Jr Bates and [player_tooltip player_id='2047488' first='Favor' last='McFadden'] to the table against the Eagles. Should be fun to see Saint Edward get a look at both Pickerington squads on back-to-back nights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->