(FILE PHOTO / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
TOP RETURNING SCORER … Stryker senior Daniel Donovan gets up a shot in a double overtime loss to Pettisville last December.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
PETTISVILLE – Last season’s BBC Player of the Year Jack Leppelmeier returns for the Blackbirds as they look for another BBC title after sharing the top spot with Montpelier last year.
The afore mentioned Locos must replace five letterwinners from last season, including their top two scorers in Grant Girrell and Brayden Brink.
The BBC race promises to be interesting with all the teams chasing last year’s league champs featuring returners who played a key role last season.
Here are the previews for each team in order of their finish in the BBC last season.
T1. Pettisville (14-9, 6-1 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Stryker, 42-29)
HEAD COACH: Brian Leppelmeier (9th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Joey Ripke (11.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Johnny Fenton (7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Kaleb Wyse (2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg), Zach Morris
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Mason Wyse (1.1 ppg), Caden Bishop (1.3 ppg); Juniors – Jack Leppelmeier (17.0 ppg, 3.2 apg, 4.9 rpg), Creighton Aeschliman (2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Aiden Crawford (Jr.), Ryan Bishop (So.), Josh Morris (So.), Alex Galvin (Fr.)
STRENGTHS: “We return two our two primary ball handlers from last year’s team in Jack Leppelmeier and Creighton Aeschliman along with 6th man Mason Wyse and 7th man Caden Bishop.”
WEAKNESSES: “We will be challenged with replacing 12 rebounds a game with the loss of our top two rebounders from last season. Year in and year out defending the paint and clearing the glass is the primary challenge.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “The conference will be balanced and very competitive.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 27 – Fayette (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Holgate (A)
T1. Montpelier (11-12, 6-1 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Patrick Henry, 51-34)
HEAD COACH: Nick Ramos (4th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Grant Girrell (11.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), Brayden Brink (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), James Camper (3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg), Drake Sommer (7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg), Chavez Martin (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Hayden Sharps (4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Kenneth Smeltzer (7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Gavyn Bass (So.), Wes Hartsock (So.), CJ Fidler (Fr.)
STRENGTHS: “We have a few senior leaders that know what it takes to make varsity, we know our system, we shoot the ball well, and we are coachable.”
WEAKNESSES: “We are a very young team and will need to learn to play together and for each other.”
OUTLOOK: “We continue to make strides each year with this program and look to continue that trend. What it always comes down to is buying in from the players, so far, we are heading in the right direction and look forward to another great league season and a better out of conference win/loss record.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 29 – Hilltop (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Edon (H)
3. Stryker (12-12, 5-2 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to Patrick Henry, 58-44)
HEAD COACH: Tyler Woolace (8th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Jacob Cadwell (5.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 4.0 rpg), Gavin LaBo (7.0 ppg), Michael Donovan (6.0 ppg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Daniel Donovan (14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Jacob Myers (4.0 ppg), Junior – William Donovan (7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Seniors – Owen Rupp, Braylen Wickerham
STRENGTHS: “I believe we have a very good starting five that can score and defend inside or outside. We are tall and athletic with some key experience returning.”
WEAKNESSES: “Depth & Injuries. We currently have a key player out with an injury for the entire preseason. We also need to develop our bench players in this preseason.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “This could be a great year for our team. With the switch to 7 divisions our tournament outlook is much more promising.”
“We need to make sure we are in shape and ready to play without or with minimal subs in games.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “The BBC looks as good as ever. Montpelier & Pettisville will again be at the top of the league with so many other teams right behind them ready to knock them off.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 30 – North Central (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Fayette (H)
T4. Holgate (8-16, 3-4 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to Antwerp, 58-31)
HEAD COACH: Anthony Jackson (4th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Xavier McCord (11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Logan Miller (4.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg), Dylan Boecker (6.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Kaiden Giesige (3.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Holden Hartman (5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Zack Boecker (4.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Jerett Engle (1.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg), Matt Healy (1.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Ricky Buckley, Vincent Peck, Austin Ramos, Zander Distel
STRENGTHS: Returning experience, solid guard play, post play
WEAKNESSES: Consistent scoring and rebounding
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We look to continue to grow from last year and we want to build on the momentum we had at the end of last season.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 30 – Antwerp (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Pettisville (H)
T4. Edon (5-18, 3-4 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Toledo Christian, 65-39)
HEAD COACH: Matt Ripke (4th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Peyton Trausch, Brennan Duvendack-Hickman
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Cohen Hulbert, Max Radabaugh, Briggs Gallehue, Carter Steinke, Corbin Chrisman, Christian Owens, Kyler Sapp
NEWCOMERS: Kadin Stantz, Emilien Manel, Blake Baker, Hayden Tennant
STRENGTHS: “Our returning letterwinners from last season provide us with varsity experience along with a group of newcomers that are hungry and will be counted on to provide much needed depth throughout the year.”
WEAKNESSES: “We have yet to consistently compete day in and day out, possession after possession understanding the urgency needed to play the game of basketball.”
“We have spent an extensive amount of time this preseason on fundamentals both offensively and defensively.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “The Buckeye Border Conference will be very competitive this year. We think our early season schedule helps prepare us for BBC play and we hope to be in the mix come February.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 29 – Ayersville (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Montpelier (A)
T6. Hilltop (7-16, 2-5 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to MVCD, 58-18)
HEAD COACH: Connor English (3rd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Raace Haynes, Anthony Eckenrode
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Devin Dempsey (6.2 ppg), Brock Kesler (4.0 ppg), Cameron Schlosser (5.2 ppg), Carson Crossgrove (1.1 ppg); Junior – Drew Bailey (10.2 ppg)
NEWCOMERS: Brian Guillen (Sr.), Brycen Grubbs (Jr.)
STRENGTHS: “We have a lot of returning players in our program this year. We have five seniors and two returning juniors to the varsity team at Hilltop. We also will have a deep bench coming into the start of this season.”
WEAKNESSES: “Our bench does not have a lot of returning varsity players. While we are confident in the play that we can get from them, they do not have very many minutes combined in varsity experience.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are excited for the season to roll around. We are looking to play fast and fundamental basketball throughout the season.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: Our league is going to be very competitive this year, from top to bottom. There are a lot of good basketball players, new and returning, that will provide valuable minutes to their respective teams.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 29 – Montpelier (H); BBC Opener: January 2 – North Central (H)
T6. North Central (8-16, 2-5 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to MVCD, 57-47)
HEAD COACH: Ben Scofield (2nd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Joey Burt (16.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), Cohen Meyers (10.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Ethan Beard (6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Johnny Hicks (4.0 ppg), Ben Pettit (7.0 ppg), Gage Kidston (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Sophomores – Zach Whitley (4.0 ppg), Anton Hegler (3.0 ppg, 4.0 ppg)
NEWCOMERS: Tyler Meyers, Logan Clark, Jackson Poynter
STRENGTHS: Speed, passing, continuity
WEAKNESSES: Size, experience
SEASON OUTLOOK: “This is a young team without much varsity experience, but they have played a lot of basketball together and it shows in the way that they perform together.”
“We look to constantly improve, compete in every game and make a run for the BBC championship.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “This is a very competitive and exciting league. We believe even though the player of the year (Pettisville’s Jack Leppelmeier) is returning it is a fairly wide-open race for the championship.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 30 – Stryker (A); BBC Opener: January 2 – Hilltop (A)
8. Fayette (8-15, 1-6 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to Toledo Christian, 54-27)
HEAD COACH: Kyle Lindsay (1st Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Wyatt Mitchell, Xander Dunnett
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Xander Goble, Caden Leininger, Evan Beauregard; Junior – Carter Lavinder
NEWCOMERS: Juniors – Dane Andrews, Keagan Patterson; Sophomores – Wyatt Bieber, Kruez Lichtenwald
STRENGTHS: Returning varsity experience.
WEAKNESSES: “Outside of some varsity experience, we are a relatively young team.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We have an extremely high ceiling. Lots of room for growth and development. Our kids love basketball.”
“If we commit to improving daily, we will experience success sooner rather than later. Besides our returning upperclassmen, the future is very bright for a lot of our younger players.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: November 27 – Pettisville (H); BBC Opener: January 2 – Stryker (A)
