OHSAA Division III Preseason 1-5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is a few weeks away from tipping off and Prep Hoops Ohio is posting a top 10 rankings for each OHSAA Division to give our readers information on the teams we think have the best chance of making it to Dayton for the state championship. In this article we'll break down the top 5 teams in Division III.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Garfield Heights</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defending Mr Basketball winner [player_tooltip player_id='1705948' first='Marcus' last='Johnson'] returns for Garfield Heights to play his last season of high school basketball for his father, Sonny Johnson who also won Ohio Mr Basketball. The Bulldogs have a deep team with a handful of transfers helping bolster the lineup after Garfield Heights graduated numerous key pieces from last years team. [player_tooltip player_id='2140872' first='King' last='Young'] is the most notable addition to Garfield Heights as the duo of lefty lead guards will be tough to stop for most teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Lima Shawnee</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of my favorite programs in the state to watch, I've been a big fan of Lima Shawnee's program since the 2019-20 season. There have been lots of talented players to wear the Indians jersey and the duo of Beckett and [player_tooltip player_id='2434352' first='Trevick' last='Bertke'] might be the best they've had. Beckett is already committed to Findlay and Trevick has Division I potential thanks to his size, ball handling and passing ability. The northwest region is always loaded in Division III but I think Lima Shawnee has what it takes to emerge after falling in the regional title last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Bishop Hartley</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks return Kent State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1869632' first='Jakhi' last='Calloway'] as well as senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2458397' first='Marcus' last='Hemphill'] as notable pieces from last year's roster. [player_tooltip player_id='2570793' first='Caleb' last='O'Neil'] is another senior to know who had some bright flashes last season. The Hawks gave eventual state champion Louisville a thrilling game in the regional final. I think Bishop Hartley has plenty of enough talent to break through and win the region this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Toledo Central Catholic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite losing [player_tooltip player_id='2140535' first='Isaiah' last='Mack-Russell'] to Winton Woods in Cincinnati, I still think there's plenty of talent on this Irish squad to make a deep playoff run. For starters, [player_tooltip player_id='1985934' first='Manny' last='Johnson'] and Dre Wardop are an experienced senior backcourt who are both committed to play sports at the Division I level. (Manny to Eastern Michigan and Dre to Oakland for baseball) Add in energy guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1708689' first='Kaeden' last='Carruthers'] and the Irish should be improved in the always loaded Detroit Catholic League.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Akron STVM</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Irish have many top players at the college level right now and while their team might not have the superstar talent they've had in the past, this is still a talented roster. [player_tooltip player_id='2288382' first='DeCarlo' last='Prince'] is a senior who is focusing on basketball over football to play at the college level. He's a talented wing athlete and perimeter shot maker and he's surrounded by guys like [player_tooltip player_id='2719973' first='Leigh' last='Cotton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2476483' first='Elijah' last='Chapman'] in the frontcourt. With many top teams across the state on their schedule, expect Akron STVM to stay in the headlines all season long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->