Furman University commit Cam Elwer leads #1-ranked and unbeaten Delphos St. John into Division VII tournament play this week against Hardin Northern. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Two unbeatens, and two #1-ranked teams in the state rankings dominate the post-season overture to the state tournament opera. But, have enough people noticed? And have you?
There exists a strange irony in the day of social media and the constant ‘fake news’ headlines on Facebook over sports stories…and what’s legitimate.
Like, how good was Indiana football, really?
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And for that matter, how bad are the Browns, really? Actually, there’s little question about that.
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But does it matter – to you – compared to local high school basketball?
Because, if you were to pose these questions last week on the eve of the OHSAA boys tournament draw, you might surely be surprised.
One…can you name the two unbeaten teams in Division VI and VII area basketball that are within an hour’s drive of each other?
Or two…can you name the two teams within that hour’s drive that are ranked #1 in the state?
Or three…can you name the area player who’s shooting an incredible 58% for the year from three-point range…and is closing in on 3,000 points?
Marion Local’s Brayden Mescher and the Flyers (21-1) are ranked #1 in Ohio Division VI basetball.
Actually, you can pose any number of questions regarding unbeaten Delphos St. John (ranked #1 in Division VII), once-beaten Marion Local (ranked #1 in Division VI), and unbeaten Tri-Village (ranked #2 in Division VI) …and it’s likely that eight out of ten cannot answer correctly.
Why?
Lack of media coverage comes to mind first, as local community newsprint has become as rare to find as truth on Facebook. And we’re kinda’ lucky in this area, but when you do find it you’ve already read last Friday’s scores on the internet.
And small-school basketball doesn’t get the broad-band attention it got in the past unless the story is about the state’s Mr. Basketball. Or if someone is a Big Ten recruit? Anyone who’s not is a sneakered wannabe from Bugtussle. And Bugtussle isn’t fictional. There really is a place by that name…in Kentucky (Monroe County).
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So it’s natural when the rank and file do not know that the trio of Delphos St. John, Marion Local, and Tri-Village are the three most compelling basketball stories in a nine-county area of west-central Ohio. Hands down!
As it’s relevant to write this year that those three represent the most interesting competitive triangle for tournament basketball in area basketball in a quarter century…because of the head-to-head possibilities along the jumbled tournament trail.
Unless someone interferes between now and then, Division VI Marion Local and Tri-Village would eventually meet in the regional round of the tournament.
And Delphos St. John, in Division VII, would eventually have to clear the Southwest regional bracket, played at Butler High School.
But is that enough? Enough for the mildly interested to drive even thirty minutes to see one, or all three, play? Because it easier, naturally, to get online and join the discussion on Facebook.
The schools are too small…and no one’s a big-time recruit except Cam Elwer. And just where is Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina)?
But……
Tri-Village guard Trey Sagester averages 25.5 ppg and leads the Patriots in their quest of a second OHSAA basketball title.
“It’s the best year for high school basketball in the MAC Conference that I can remember,” said Minster coach Mike McClurg last Friday night, following his team’s win over Coldwater. The 15-7 Wildcats (with losses to Marion Local, St. Henry, and Versailles) are currently ranked #3 in Ohio Division VII this week by Max Preps.
“When you think of Marion Local and Delphos, and consider the quality of competition from St. Henry (Div. VI #3, Max Preps), Versailles (Div. V #8, Max Preps), and even Fort Recovery (12-10), I can’t think of a better year in recent history for MAC basketball. And Cam Elwer is probably the best player in the history of the conference. He’s shooting 58% from three-point range, and who’s ever done that?”
And that’s just the MAC.
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The outlier of the above-mentioned would certainly be former state champion Tri-Village, whose 22-0 record is largely overlooked because the Patriots play in the even-more-largely-overlooked Western Ohio Athletic Conference against the likes of Tri-County North, Preble Shawnee, Mississinawa, Arcanum, and Twin Valley South.
“But our conference has good basketball and good basketball coaches,” Patriots coach Josh Sagester defends. “You don’t take anyone for granted.”
That said, Tri-Village has long been the bellwether team in that group, winners of the boys Division IV title back in 2015 against heavily-favored Harvest Prep, from suburban Columbus, on a last-second shot by Colton Linkous. Remember him? It was a big, big deal in New Madison…where basketball, itself, is a big, big deal.
And it’s relevant to appreciate, too, that no one in Division VI basketball this year has scheduled tougher competition out-of-conference than Tri-Village…just to validate their quality and as preparation for this week’s start of the OHSAA tournament.
“The idea was to prepare ourselves…give ourselves the best chance to see the kind of competition we’d see in the tournament,” says Sagester, who added Kettering Fairmont, Troy, Middletown Fenwick, Jonathan Alder, Dayton Dunbar, and Vandalia Butler to his 2025-’26 schedule.
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Sagester literally spent his off-season looking for different matchups, different styles, and different challenges for his talented Patriots roster, including a game with Delphos St. John at the Sandusky Midwest Live showcase in June. The Patriots lost in that game, by ten points – the last time they’ve lost.
So Tri-Village opens tournament play tonight at Troy High School against Houston.
Marion Local (Division IV state winner in 2018) opens later this week against the winner of New Bremen vs. Parkway, at Wapakoneta.
Delphos St. John opens this week against Hardin Northern.
And just so you know…unheralded Minster (even at #3 in Division VII) opens against Lima Temple Christian. #3 seed Versailles opens with Greenon, at Northmont.
If anyone’s interested, that is.
Sadly, the confusion and added moving parts that come with seven divisions of basketball have some saying, “No thanks”.
Or, I’ll read about it.
Three days after it happens.
The point is…what’s about to happen with area basketball over the next three weeks is more compelling than you know. But again, unless you live next to the school, how would you know?
“How do we get the recognition he (Camron Elwer) is going to need to become Mr. Basketball?” says Minster coach Mike McClurg. “And what a great thing for our league.”
Or, maybe you’re just not a basketball fan. And that’s another column for another day.
Maybe it doesn’t matter if you’re not being recruited. Someone in Dayton shared the other night that they’d never heard of Camron Elwer.
“And frankly, how do we get him the recognition he’s going to need to be Mr. Basketball,” Mike McClurg added last week. “When was the last time a MAC player got that? I mean, nothing against Marques Johnson (Garfield Heights), but he’s got the Cleveland media. How are people going to know about Cam Elwer?”
Marques Johnson doesn’t shoot 58% from three-point range. And he’s nowhere near 3,000 points.
Just a few points you might not know about what’s about to happen with area basketball.
If it matters enough. If you’re the average fan.
And if you can claw yourself away from fake sports on Facebook!
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