St. John’s Cam Elwer hit seven three-pointers on his way to 31 points in Friday’s win over Versailles. (Press Pros Fearture Photos)
The rare confluence of three good area basketball teams in a twenty four hour period, the contrast in styles and athletes, and the example of three really good coaches and how they manage things.
I enjoyed it…the MAC showdown Friday night between Versailles and Delphos St. John, the state’s #1-ranked team in Division VII…and the Saturday weekend followup finale between Versailles and, at present, the undefeated and #2-ranked Division VII Russia Raiders.
The Minster Bank is the official banking partner of Press Pros Magazine.com.
Enjoyed it, and anticipated it for the past month. I actually set my weekend schedule by it because I wanted to see for myself what so many people have asked about since December. Who do you think is better…St. John or Russia?
And while they didn’t play each other, they played a top-twenty Division V team in Versailles (14-5), ranked #17, who on their home court has a history of beating anyone. The Tigers are well-coached by Travis Swank, have leading men with Drake Ahrens and Blake Monnin, and good complement pieces with which to compete.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Here’s what I saw.
In the day of teams wanting to feast on the three-point shot, Delphos St. John can put four or five on the court at one time who can actually pull it off. Yes, they are the rare exception of teams that can both live, and die, with the three-point shot at the same time…because among the five shooters the odds are very good that one of them is going to be on if the others are not. The percentages are in their favor, starting with all-state candidate, junior Cam Elwer, who hit 7 of 10 on his way to 31 points, and who has the gall of a cat burglar to do it.
And if it’s not him, you can’t turn your back on his younger brother, Andrew, who hit four of his own. Or another Elwer, Easton, who hit two on back-to-back shots in the third quarter. And if someone named Elwer doesn’t get you, there’s one named Jackson Wiechart (Week-ert) who hit five threes against Marion Local two weeks ago, including three in a span of two minutes that handed the Flyers their first loss of the year. He had two in the win over Versailles.
Delphos St. John can score with a variety of Elwers (Andrew, above).
Coach Aaron Elwer has an embarrassment of ‘shooting’ riches and he manages it well, and confidently. But this group is much more than a collection of shooters. They’re sound with who they are, they make free throws at the end of games, and the only question is one commensurate with high school basketball…depth?
Can St. John be beaten? Of course. Spencerville did it a week ago, 65-61. But they didn’t lose that game necessarily because of their dependence on the three-point shot. Spencerville matched up well, made plays of their own, and in high school basketball you compete and you take your chances sometimes. Hoosiers can happen!
Bottom line on Dephos: They’re a very confident group, confident in their leader, Cam Elwer, who’s special…and in their ability to attack teans in both the halfcourt and in transition. They’re small, but everyone rebounds. And when they rebound they don’t stand and admire the basketball. They immediately put teams on the defensive with the presence of Elwer, first, then the question of it not him, who? They’re fun to watch.
Dorsten Contracting proudly supports Shelby County League sports on Press Pros.
Comparing to Russia…Russia is more veteran team with eleven seniors, and that rare advantage of a group that has the experience of two state semi-final games against an ultimate opponent. And they didn’t lose on a fluke to Richmond Heights the last two years, they made the Heights earn it.
Then can score in transition, and Russia (Vince Borchers, above) can find the open man and play in the halfcourt.
What you sense about Russia is they’re equally comfortable now with transition or the halfcourt game, as coach Spencer Cordonnier talked about Saturday. I think people showed up expecting to see the Russia of last year, feasting off turnovers and scoring points off the fast break, and might have left wondering what happened to ‘that’ Russia.
As it was, they were patient, and skilled enough to find a different way to win, and let’s face it, against a good Versailles team – the kind of team that can beat any unsuspecting team in the tournament.
” We’re good enough to sit down in the halfcourt and just guard people,” says Cordonnier. “So we’ll feel some things out, we may do some runnin’ and jumpin’, and we may not. Now if we get the rebound we’ve got to go. We’ve got to rebound very well, and when we do we’ve got to get out and go…push things.
“We can still get to that extra gear,” he adds. “We just haven’t done it for four quarters, yet.”
They’re still capable of that, but it was their defense and patience for learning how to play another way that impressed me most. And they have more size across the court than many Division VII teams they’ll see in whatever comes in this year’s tournament shakeout, whatever that turns out to be.
And this is a group that really believes in each other, and they should. Three years is a long tine to be good together, to trust in each other, and live through some disappointment together.
Kremer Roofing supports the Midwest Athletic Conference on Press Pros Magazine.com.
And no one should overlook Versailles. At 14-5 we’ve seen Versailles now beat a 16-3 Tipp City team (64-45), push a very good Marion Local team before losing (56-51), and beat thirteen other teams that they were better than on that particular night.
Bottom line…with Ahrens and Monnin, Jace Watren and Ethan Wilker, they have four skilled and competitive athletes that know how to win from diverse experiences.
Versailles’ Chase Watren reaches for the rim in the Tigers’ 64-45 January win over Tippecanoe.
But they all have to be on the floor, and they have to be in synch on both ends. And Friday, against St. John, Drake Ahrens had foul trouble and when he’s not on the floor they’re hampered, offensively.
And honestly, how many area high school teams that you’ve seen is going to beat a team that hits 16 three-point shots in 35 attempts? They ran into a buzz saw, and twice on back-to-back nights.
Glass half full? I came away impressed, as always, with coach Travis Swank. He does a great job of handling his players, his preparations, and the game itself. He saw opportunity to coach, and learn both nights, and that’s what he did.
““It was a tough weekend, but it gets us ready for a bigger prize at the end of the year,” Swank said. “So you want to play tough teams to see where you stand and the two teams we played this weekend have a really good shot at being in the Final Four.”
That’s called having seen the elephant, and Swank doesn’t run from any elephants, regardless of size. It’s part of the reason why the Tigers had that stunning run to last year’s regional round of the tournament. They had played good competition throughout the year, including non-conference, and know what it feels like to beat a favored team.
They finish now with Fort Recovery (6-13) at home this week, with Anna (8-10), and next week against St. Henry (7-11) on the road.
And if they win all three, at 17-5, how’s that not impressive in the Division V tournament, whatever it turns out to be?
Wilson Health proudly sponsors your favorite area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.