OHSAA Division I Watchlist: Central

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is just a few weeks away and in this article we'll take a look at seven teams from central Ohio who didn't make our top 10 preseason rankings but are on our radar heading into this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pickerington Central</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers are quietly very experienced after having a couple of years where they were very young and inexperienced. The Snyder twins lead their backcourt alongside Division I prospect [player_tooltip player_id='2288381' first='Landon' last='Evans']. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2619275' first='Ryan' last='Donovan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2458389' first='Titus' last='O'Neal'] will both play heavy minutes in the frontcourt and [player_tooltip player_id='2443746' first='Albert' last='Moore III'] has been an emerging piece for Eric Krueger's group. Pickerington Central doesn't have the talent that brought them to back-to-back state title games, but this is their most complete team since Devin Royal was leading the charge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pickerington North</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Jason Bates has one last run with his son Jr Bates, who has become one of the top point guards in central Ohio over the past few years. Pickerington North teams always rebound well for a team that usually lacks size and they usually find ways to grind out results against more talented teams. Expect Bates to be looked upon to create a lot of the offense this season and hope a couple young pieces pop throughout the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Upper Arlington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hate to spoil initial thoughts on the season but the Golden Bears would've been in the top 10 if Ohio State commit Alex Smith had stayed for his senior season. Smith is at preseason number 1 team in the country Prolific Prep but the Golden Bears still have a talented backcourt led by [player_tooltip player_id='2204430' first='Hayden' last='Henry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2125753' first='Luke' last='Mitchell']. Add in potential breakout senior [player_tooltip player_id='2877443' first='Brody' last='Larrison'] and I expect Upper Arlington to be a tough team this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dublin Coffman</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no tougher OCC division than the one featuring Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Davidson, Olentangy Liberty and defending Division I state champion Olentangy Orange. The wars these teams have in the regular season prepares them for success come tournament time and I expect that to be the same this year. [player_tooltip player_id='2462577' first='Thomas' last='Cochran'] is a key name to watch for Dublin Coffman, he could take the leap into being a star performer this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Groveport Madison</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After making their deepest playoff run in over 50 years last season, Groveport Madison is a team to watch this season despite losing a nice core of seniors. [player_tooltip player_id='1901264' first='Tyreke' last='Ruffin'] has been a major varsity contributor over the first three years of his high school career and Groveport Madison also has a couple intriguing 2028 pieces on their roster. The toughness and defensive identity should carry over from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Newark</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Death. Taxes. Newark basketball winning games. The second winningest program in OHSAA basketball history, Newark should be a tough out once again. The second team on this list with a head coach having a star senior son, [player_tooltip player_id='2374231' first='Jake' last='Quackenbush'] is the leader for Newark. The senior wing forward is headed to Thomas More and brings leadership and toughness to a team that usually doesn't lack in either category.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Olentangy Berlin</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Olentangy schools have been dominant in sports across the board and this seems like Olentangy Berlin's best group since the school was founded less than a decade ago. [player_tooltip player_id='2830423' first='Luca' last='Filia'] leads the way offensively as the sophomore guard is one of the more talented creators in the state for his class. Expect some other names to establish themselves throughout the season as Olentangy Berlin is not short on athletes in their school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->