At 6’3″ Marion’s Bradyen Mescher is as athletic on both ends of the court as any guard you can name in Division VI and VII (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
After last week’s seismic basketball schedule to conclude the season’s first half, here’s our response to five FAQs about area basketball we’ve seen. And the complaint department is off now until March.
Bless your hearts…all those who take the time to visit at area basketball games, who send texts and emails in response to stories posted, and those who are just proud of their area teams.
We hear you…..
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“How good is so-and-so?”
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“Who’s the best team you’ve seen?”
“I notice you haven’t written about Bug Tussle? How come?”
I repeat. Bless your hearts. Because someone texted Monday morning after Sunday’s LCC-Delphos St. John game, “You drove to Lima, but you never go to Bug Tussle? Whiskey, tango…foxtrot!”
So at the midpoint of the schedule we’re going to do a deeper dive on some of those questions because it’s fair, and now, in mid-January, we’ve seen enough (including Bug Tussle) to answer any of the five most frequent…about divisions, leagues, schedules, and the state tournament.
And the one most frequently heard this past week, after seeing Marion Local, Versailles, Tri-Village, Lehman, Troy Christian, Minster, Botkins, Delphos St. John, and LCC (all in a matter of five days), ”Do you still think the five you wrote about last week are the best?”
And Sunday, during halftime of the LCC-St. John’s game someone asked: “How would Tri-Village (our best on last week’s list) match up with these two?
Tri-Village shooter Trey Sagester and his supporting complement makes them competitive with any team in the area in Divisions V, VI, and VII.
Answer #1: Probably very well. Every good team we’ve seen has the same requisites. They have good guards. They can shoot. They play defense, and they rebound. That said, when you consider the shooting and point guard qualities of Trey Sagester, the rebounding and low-post skills of Dominic Black, and the athletic makeup of Tri-Village, they’re going to match up very well in Division VI with a team like LCC. And the rim actually did shrink for Delphos St. John on Sunday and they still found a way to win because of their guard play and ability to attack the rim from all angles. No panic, and I’ve seen Tri-Village do that, too.
The second FAQ we hear: “How do you compare this Marion Local team with last year’s. They don’t have a 6’8” player anymore.”
Answer #2: No, they don’t. But overall, they’re probably more athletic, and I believe they’re a better defensive team than last year. Having seen them now three times, they also look like a more confident offensive team. And the other part of that answer relates again to being a year older. It takes a team a while to grow into all that they can become. And like Tri-Village, Marion is Division VI, and if the two teams meet it’s worth $12 to watch because 1) there won’t be many clean looks at the rim, and 2) there’s going to be some hellacious coaching. One more thing, Kurt Goettemoeller says that they have three good perimeter shooters – Kremer, Everman, and Mescher – that he trusts. I believe him. And trust is worth the one win you need when there’s nothing else you can do as a coach.
The third FAQ we hear is actually a statement: “A team with a dominant post game can beat Delphos St. John.”
To the point about size in the paint being Delphos St. John’s kryptonite, LCC’s Dom McKee (above) scored 12 but could not prevent Cam Elwer from scoring 31 in Sunday’s overtime win.
Answer #3: “And that may be, if it’s Wilt Chamberlain. But who in Division VII has that? We saw a glimpse of that Sunday with LCC’s 6’6” Dom McKee, who scored 12 points down low. But the essence of basketball is the ability to shoot the ball on offense beyond the impact of tank warfare in the paint. After all, it was LCC guard Jordan Priddy who scored 30 for the T-Birds. And St. John had a horrible shooting day from the perimeter, missing a lot of wide-open looks. They only shot 67% from the foul line. And yes, it can happen, but it’s not going to happen very often. And I’ve heard Aaron Elwer say more than once, “I have confidence in all those guys to take those shots.” So you tell me. What athletic high school team with five guys that can shoot 50% from three point range (and has a 30 point scorer and a Division I college recruit) have you seen that’s suspect to a post player that’s 6’6″ and scores 12 to 15 a game?
The fourth FAQ we’ve heard: “Who’s the best MAC team…St. John (12-0), Marion Local (10-0), or Versailles (10-1)?”
Answer #4: I don’t know if this satisfies that question, but if I had to put it into categories, here you go. The most overall athletic team is Marion Local, and probably the best defensive team. The most dangerous shooting team is Delphos St. John, and that’s proven. Plus, they have great guard play and YOU HAVE TO HAVE that. And the team that’s capable of sneaking up on you with their overall quality is Versailles, because they have good guard play and they’re such good role players. And consider this about Versailles. They’ve played the past three weeks with injuries to two starters who are now coming back…and they’re still 10-1. Depth! And if you’re satisfied with a cliche’. All three of them seem to find a way. So it comes down to…play the game.
Versailles’ Drake Ahrens is athletic, can score, defend, and is surrounded by good role players.
The fifth FAQ we’ve heard: “Who do you think has the best chance of winning the state tournament in their respective division?”
Answer #5: Without question it’s Delphos St. John, because they play in Division VII. So consider all of the above, and who’s better in Division VII…while Marion Local, and Tri-Village have to slug their way through Division VI and Versailles through Division V, which according to all we’ve seen…has more dangerous teams.
That said, teams in other parts of the state have to play the same game.
Rims shrink in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, too. Anything can happen….
And once in a lifetime you get a Tyler Mescher standing at the foul line in double overtime…with a chance for a title.
And he does it!
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