OHSAA Division II Preseason 1-5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is a couple weeks away and in this article we'll break down the top 5 teams from our preseason Division II rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Lima Sr</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No team in Ohio had more offseason shuffling than the Spartans. For starters, their star Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140877' first='Shawn' last='Foster'] made the move to Spire before returning to Lima Sr. Nate Miles was planning on making the transfer from Emmanuel Christian to Lima Sr and played with the Spartans in June but opted to join a prep school in Tennessee. Jeff Williams III and [player_tooltip player_id='2530726' first='Aazaad' last='Burton'] both made the move from Lima Central Catholic to Lima Sr. Toss in returners like [player_tooltip player_id='2376402' first='Willie' last='Foster'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2347406' first='Noah' last='Simpson'] and the Spartans are loaded heading into this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Toledo St Francis</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The duo of senior post [player_tooltip player_id='1705954' first='Alan' last='Horton'] and sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2195059' first='Chris' last='Poellnitz III'] is as good as it gets for post-guard duos in the state as these two were dominant throughout the month of June together. The key for the Knights will be getting consistent production from the rest of their rotation, Jameson Heck was the face of the program for a few years and losing him to graduation is a key piece the knights will have to adjust to playing without.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Cincinnati Winton Woods</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team that's consistently won in the ECC, Winton Woods looks to have another deep playoff run after beating Lima Sr and falling to Toledo St Francis in the playoffs last year, our top 2 teams for this upcoming season. [player_tooltip player_id='2140535' first='Isaiah' last='Mack-Russell'] adds some star power to a team that adds [player_tooltip player_id='2871901' first='Dasai' last='Bronson'] to pair next to football star [player_tooltip player_id='2316118' first='Nate' last='Dawson']. Expect this team to make a lot of noise in the greater Cincinnati area this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. New Albany</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A unique matchup for a lot of teams, New Albany has plenty of size and experience with their team headlined by Toledo commit [player_tooltip player_id='1943740' first='Marco' last='Mattucci']. New Albany also has size with [player_tooltip player_id='2877445' first='Cam' last='Kolar'] able to space the floor from the wing forward position. This team also has coaching experience with one of the winningest coaches in central Ohio leading them from the sidelines in Tim Casey. New Albany has the recipe required to win a region and contend for a state title this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Toledo St John's</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three Toledo teams in the Detroit Catholic League are all teams I'm very high on going into this season and the Titans are another team with an elite point guard - forward duo. [player_tooltip player_id='2370700' first='Ethan' last='James'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1827695' first='Race' last='Kowalczyk'] both have years of varsity experience together and have played in countless big games. That experience together will be a driving force for the Titans success as they have some talented returners, transfers and multi-sport athletes on their roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->