OHSAA Division II Watchlist

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is just a couple weeks away and Prep Hoops Ohio is previewing the top teams in each Division to give our subscribers an idea of which teams we think have the best chance to compete for a state title in the spring. In this article we'll break down four Division II teams who didn't quite make our top 10 but are still teams we are closely monitoring heading into this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Columbus Northland</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To win the Columbus City League, you'll have to go through Northland who have taken control of the conference the past three years. Despite losing King Kendrick and Jaden Shoultz to transfer the past two years, Northland has still found ways to win the city league title. [player_tooltip player_id='2476431' first='Diante' last='James'] is an experienced lead guard who brings an edge and scoring ability. The Vikings also have size with [player_tooltip player_id='2877972' first='Vandell' last='Slade Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='2877971' first='Pharoahe' last='Zaire'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2796628' first='Owan' last='Mburugu']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Warren G Harding</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another team with loads of size on the interior, [player_tooltip player_id='2377837' first='Myles' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2444584' first='Xavier' last='Clark'] are one of the best senior forward duos with the ability to play above the rim, score on the interior and run in transition. Losing current Penn State star edge Chaz Coleman from last year's team is a big blow but Warren G Harding still has plenty of bodies to throw at their opposition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cincinnati Aiken</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moving from Division III to Division II is a challenge for Aiken as they welcome in the start of the Sean Davis era. The youngest head coach in Cincinnati City Schools history for boys basketball, Davis takes over a program with a winning tradition and returns star forward [player_tooltip player_id='2775797' first='Deandre' last='Carr-Short']. Aiken also added stud 2027 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2694033' first='Chris' last='Washington'] to pair with Carr-Short to form one of the most talented pick and roll duos in the 2027 class. Aiken needs some other guys to step up to fill out the roster as they graduated numerous impact players and lost a couple key rotation players to transfer as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clayton Northmont</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The GWOC is very interesting this season because I think the depth of the conference is as good as it has been in years. I think teams around the top to middle of the conference will battle it out every night with college level players on a majority of the rosters. Clayton Northmont returns senior [player_tooltip player_id='2881370' first='Chisom' last='Ibe'] as well as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2898275' first='Kaleb' last='Kelly'], who had a breakout summer with Phenom United on the 3SSB circuit at the 15 U level. Expect a lot of tight games in the GWOC this season and if Northmont wins enough of them, they could find themselves in our top 10 sooner rather than later.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->