OHSAA Region 3 (Central) Playoff Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA playoffs are just about here and it's now time to break down which teams have the best shots at making deep playoff runs. I broke down regions 1 and 2 and Tony Peters took region 4 so that leaves region 3 as the final Division I region to discuss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Central 1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olentangy Orange is the top seed with their senior guard trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1090150' first='Elias' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='1467907' first='Jordan' last='Edwards'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1163459' first='Mikey' last='McCollum'], but they could have a tricky district semifinal with either Columbus DeSales or Grove City. DeSales just took Westerville North to overtime and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1432030' first='PJ' last='Noles'] is gaining confidence. Grove City has size with [player_tooltip player_id='1519638' first='Kraig' last='Gilbert'] and steady guard play with experience. A good combo for a Cinderella run. On the bottom side of the bracket a first round battle between Reynoldsburg and city league champ Northland should be fun. Two of the better underclassmen in central Ohio going at it when [player_tooltip player_id='1432017' first='Jordan' last='Fisher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1571121' first='King' last='Kendrick'] take the court. Delaware Hayes and Pickerington North are the top seeds from that side of the district, both led by Division I recruits [player_tooltip player_id='1222373' first='Jesse' last='Burris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1432005' first='Arness' last='Lawson'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District title prediction: Olentangy Orange over Delaware Hayes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Central 2</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olentangy Liberty took the bottom side of this bracket and they could be met by OCC Division rival Dublin Coffman in the district semis. Liberty has impressive senior talent and have hit a new stride ever since [player_tooltip player_id='1480851' first='Tyler' last='Kropp'] returned from an early season injury. On the top of the bracket, Newark, Gahanna and New Albany are all capable of making deep runs. Newark might have a tricky first round game with Olentangy, but Newark has a history of deep playoff runs. Gahanna has good size and are sound defensively, making them a potential tricky match-up for Liberty if that was the battle in a district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District title prediction: Olentangy Liberty over Gahanna</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Central 3</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pickerington Central got the number 1 seed despite losing some tight games to out of state powerhouses. The defending state champs are led by [player_tooltip player_id='867951' first='Devin' last='Royal'], who is a leading candidate for Mr. Basketball this season. The top side of the bracket also features Olentangy Berlin and Marion Harding, which is a sneaky good round 1 game. At the bottom, Hilliard Bradley and St Charles will likely meet in a district semifinal and those teams love to slow down the tempo. Bradley is playing as good of basketball as any team in central Ohio as Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1222352' first='Cade' last='Norris'] is hitting his stride late this season, recently scoring his 1,000th career point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District title prediction: Pickerington Central over Hilliard Bradley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Central 4</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A potential city rivalry between Westerville North and South gets all the attention in the top half of this district. Two teams loaded with talent, North has seniors like [player_tooltip player_id='1399902' first='Carter' last='Reese'] and Sophomores like [player_tooltip player_id='1432010' first='Micah' last='Young'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1480850' first='Tai' last='Perkins']. On South they have senior talent like [player_tooltip player_id='1468671' first='Jujuan' last='Ray'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1467183' first='Jalen' last='Wheeler'] while Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1432011' first='Kruz' last='McClure'] is settling into his role nicely. I will be very excited to catch this game if it happens in a district semifinal. On the bottom side, Dublin Jerome is back and looking for a district title with a core led by Marshall commit [player_tooltip player_id='922602' first='Ryan' last='Nutter']. Westerville Central is their biggest hurdle for a district title game as the Warhawks have some impressive 2024 talent but might be a year away from winning a district title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District title prediction: Westerville South over Dublin Jerome</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->