Greater Columbus high school boys basketball: 5 storylines after the holidays
The first month of the boys high school basketball season is in the books, and teams continue to learn about themselves — and perhaps turn some heads in the process.
League play continues across central Ohio this week, as do showcases. The Challenge, an annual event pitting teams from the City League and OCC, takes place Saturday with five games at Africentric.
With January underway, here are five storylines in boys basketball:
1. Reynoldsburg looks to regain momentum
The Raiders rode several close wins to a 5-0 start, and coach Andy Moore entered the new year needing a roster that features four players with at least two Division I offers to recapture that form after three consecutive losses by a combined six points.
Juniors Jordan Fisher (6-foot-6, 180 pounds) and Toby Nwokolo (6-6, 190) and sophomores Jordan Bowens (6-6, 185) and Xavier McKinney (6-2, 150) lead the way for Reynoldsburg (5-3, 1-1 OCC-Buckeye). Fisher and Nwokolo hold multiple offers, while Bowens has three and McKinney has two.
The Raiders were 12-12 a season, losing two games by a point and three more by three or fewer.
They opened this season with a 55-53 win over two-time defending Division IV state champion Richmond Heights.
“(My question was) would we be unselfish?” Moore said. “They can’t all score 20 points a night. And would we play hard enough consistently? We didn’t play hard enough consistently last year and that was my fault. …
“We’ve matured, but we do have good balance. We have three (or) four guys who can score out on the floor at all times. Certainly that helps, and our leadership has been good so far.”
2. Olentangy Liberty switches style, keeps winning
Predominantly powered by guards the past few years, the Patriots (6-3, 1-1 OCC-Central) now are thriving with a larger lineup led by 6-9 junior center Tyler Kropp and two 6-5 forwards in junior Nick Butterfield and sophomore Parker Van Engelenhoven.
Kropp, the only returning starter from last year’s Division I district runner-up team, has six Division I offers, including from Miami University, Ohio and Toledo.
Van Engelenhoven has committed to pitch at Louisville and is the 41st-ranked recruit nationally by Prep Baseball Report.
“We’re learning to play with each other,” coach Greg Nossaman said. “We have probably the biggest lineup that we’ve had in a long time. With (Kropp and Van Engelenhoven), the high-low goes very well. You look at Butterfield and those two, it’s a three-headed monster … and we can move the ball. Most of our stuff has been perimeter in the past, but we’re going inside more now because we have those bigger guys.”
3. Deep starting lineup carrying Westerville Central
Mostly using a six- or seven-player rotation, Central is 6-3 entering Friday's game at Gahanna Lincoln. All five starters are scoring in double figures.
“We’ve played some pretty good basketball,” coach Kevin Martin said. “Our schedule is challenging. With some of the teams that we played and our losses, I don’t have too many complaints.”
The Warhawks split their first two OCC-Ohio games, beating Pickerington North 53-44 on Dec. 8 and losing to Grove City 37-35 on Dec. 22. Gahanna and Grove City are both 2-0 in the league.
“We were fortunate enough to get Pickerington North at home,” Martin said. “We go to Gahanna and that will be a big game for us in terms of our position and chances to compete for a league championship.”
Senior guard Dallas Tucker leads the way at 13.9 points per game, followed by junior wing Josh Henderson (13.1), senior wing Isaiah Brown (12.0), junior guard Maceo Harper (10.2) and senior guard Devin Martin (10.0).
Brown leads in rebounding (7.0) and Martin, the coach’s son, leads in assists (7.1).
Senior forward Connor Stinson has been the team’s sixth man in most games. At 6-5, Brown and Stinson are the tallest players on the roster.
“We have five starters who do play significant minutes,” coach Martin said. “We’re looking for more depth. As we move into January, we’re going to have to find some, because January is always a grind. We have a lot of important games through the month.”
4. Grove City set for challenging stretch
Since losing 67-63 to visiting Dublin Coffman on Dec. 1, Grove City has won eight consecutive games, building momentum for a crucial part of its schedule.
The Greyhounds (8-1) play OCC-Ohio games Friday at Pickerington North and Tuesday at home against Gahanna. They also face Olentangy Orange in the Battle in the 614 on Jan. 13 at Ohio Dominican.
Orange (8-0) is the lone remaining Division I unbeaten team in central Ohio.
“When you go Pick North, Gahanna, Olentangy Orange, you’re playing probably three of the top six teams in the city,” coach Eric Saxton said.
Grove City has been led by two seniors in 6-8 post player Kraig Gilbert (17.0 points, 6.9 rebounds) and 6-0 guard Kevin Gallagher (13.0 points).
Gilbert has committed to Division II Concord University in Athens, West Virginia.
“The ball is bouncing our way right now,” Saxton said. “We have two kids (in Gallagher and Gilbert) who are pretty consistent, and then it just seems like somebody else chips in with an above average night. Almost every game it’s a different kid.”
5. Dublin Scioto excelling under Anderson
A 76-64 loss Dec. 8 at Westerville South is the only blemish on the record of first-year Scioto coach Tony Anderson entering Friday's game at Delaware Hayes.
The Irish and Delaware are both 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the OCC-Capital.
“For us, internally, this is what we expected the season to go like,” Anderson said. “People on the outside don’t know all the work that we’ve been putting in up to this point.”
Anderson succeeded Mike Moler, who stepped down after 10 seasons.
“The cupboard wasn’t bare,” Anderson said. “Coach Moler and his staff did a good job. These guys had a pretty good foundation of how to play, what to expect. We just tweaked a little how we play offensively (with tempo) and changed some little things defensively. ... (The players) took it and ran with it. A lot of credit (goes) to the players for their buy-in.”
The Irish have been led by 6-1 junior guard Aaron Foster (15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals per game). Other top players have been 6-4 senior forward Kaden Haywood (12 points, 7 rebounds) and 6-2 senior forward Winsten Lomax (11 points, 8 rebounds).
A 56-46 win at Dublin Jerome on Dec. 23 was an early season highlight.
“I know that was a big game for our guys because they played them last year at Scioto and the result (a 58-25 loss) wasn’t what we wanted,” Anderson said. “These guys were really focused and really wanted to play well that game.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio boys basketball: 5 storylines after the holidays
