Midseason snapshot: Ranking Summit County-area high school boys and girls basketball teams

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Midseason snapshot: Ranking Summit County-area high school boys and girls basketball teams

Michael Beaven and Brad Bournival, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Tue, Jan 10, 2023 ·

8 min read

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The high school basketball season is into January, meaning the pursuit of league championships are heating up and thoughts already begin to turn to the the upcoming OHSAA tournaments.

That makes this a good point to take stock of what is happening in Summit County-area high school basketball, where several talented boys and girls teams have emerged in the area.

Think of this as a snapshot of the local boys and girls hoops scenes roughly midway through the season where a number of teams own impressive wins and number of players have delivered big-time performances.

Here is our power poll of the top teams so far in the Greater Akron area. We've made separate Division I and Division II-IV polls to get a broader view, ranking the top three teams in each.

Boys Basketball

Division I

Walsh Jesuit forward Zach Halligan, left, makes a pass against STVM during the second half, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.

1, Walsh Jesuit (7-3)

Despite some struggles recently, the body of work this season is hard to ignore. WJ started its season in impressive fashion with a string of wins against Brush, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, St. Ignatius, Gilmour Academy, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Youngstown Chaney. The Warriors then lost to Stow, Austintown Fitch and Medina before regrouping and defeating Solon.

WJ coach Kevin Byrne likes what he is seeing from seniors Zach Halligan, Max Matta and Keith Rivers and juniors Tyler Bell, Sean Spicer, Ruel Tomlinson Jr. and Jesse James.

The Warriors had "The Dome" filled with excitement in the victories over Ignatius and STVM , and will look to make more memories in the second half of the season.

More STVM coverage: STVM tops Gilmour Academy to win Division II boys basketball state championship

St. Vincent-St. Mary's Kevin Hamilton drives on South Oak Cliff's Jayden Miller during their game at STVM last Wednesday.

2, St. Vincent-St. Mary (9-3)

STVM features seniors Lance Hayes and Kevin Hamilton Jr., who helped the Irish win the Division II state championship last season .

Hayes and Hamilton are dynamic scorers, and are joined by seniors Darius Stratford and Torell Hopson and juniors Jayson Walker, Daniel Ajose and SirCharles Gordon this season.

More STVM coverage: Sencire Harris, Ramar Pryor, Lance Hayes lead STVM basketball into OHSAA state tournament

Coach Dru Joyce II has led STVM on an adventurous schedule with nine of the first 12 games away or on a neutral court. STVM has wins over Reynoldsburg, Moeller, Toledo Central Catholic, Princeton and Chaney. Its four wins over out-of-state teams include beating Sierra Canyon of California, as well as teams from Pennsylvania and Texas.

The Irish have lost to Walsh Jesuit, St. Ignatius and Mater Dei (Cal.). The Mater Dei game was this past Saturday in the Chosen 1's Invitational at USC.

More Hoban coverage: Jonas Nichols, Will Scott lead Hoban into Division I boys basketball regional final

Hoban guard Jonas Nichols, right, celebrates after hitting the game-tying 3-pointer beside Green forward Brady Rollyson late in the fourth quarter of a 2022 Division I regional semifinal at Copley High School.

3. Archbishop Hoban (9-1)

The Knights are led by four returning starters : junior Jonas Nichols and seniors Will Scott Jr., Logan Vowles and Andrew Griffith. Nichols scored 30 points in a win over Cleveland VA-SJ on Jan. 6.

Hoban , a Divison I district champion last year, played eight of its first 10 games away or on a neutral court. Its resume features wins over Gilmour Academy, East and Spire Academy. The Knights also went 3-0 in the KSA Holiday Showcase in Orlando after Christmas by beating three Florida teams.

Hoban's lone loss came against GlenOak, one of the top teams in the Federal League.

Coach T.K. Griffith has nine seniors on the roster, including Mr. Football Lamar Sperling and the versatile Jayvian Crable, but Crable sustained a shoulder injury against East and could be done for the season.

Keep an eye on: Green , Nordonia and Stow each have quality wins through the first half of the season, and should contend for league titles and be ready to make noise in the postseason.

More boys basketball: Who are Greater Akron's top boys basketball players for 2022-23? Here are 12 to watch

Division II-IV

CVCA guard Darryn Peterson looks for a one-handed dunk during the second half against Canton South, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.

1. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (8-3)

Sophomore Darryn Peterson is continuing to dazzle local basketball fans with his athleticism and scoring prowess . Peterson scored 51 points in three quarters in a victory over against Tuslaw in December and has an assortment of scholarship offers from college basketball's elite programs .

The Royals are more than Peterson , though, as Niles Nuru is enjoying a solid sophomore season and Jackson Shelby and Jonathan Fridline are senior leaders for coach Matt Futch.

CVCA's wins include beating Chaney, Woodridge and Triway. The losses are to Imani Christian (Pa.), Lutheran East and Pickerington North.

More Buchtel coverage: Khoi Thurmon, Amire Robinson 'helping galvanize' the Buchtel boys basketball team

Buchtel's Amire Robinson dunks during the first half at Firestone, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.

2. Buchtel (8-4)

Buchtel has traveled quite a bit in its first 12 games with games in five states: Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Nevada and Missouri. The time in cars and planes has allowed senior scorers Khoi Thurmon and Amire Robinson to continue to star . Marcel Boyce Jr. and Jayden Maxwell are other key seniors for coach Rayshon Dent.

Buchtel defeated Cleveland Heights in the Cleveland Play-By-Play Classic at John Carroll University on Jan. 8. The Griffins went to Las Vegas before Christmas to win the Nike Division of the Jerry Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High School. They beat Centennial (Ariz.) and Miami Country Day (Fla.) and lost to Rancho Santa Margarita (Cal.).

Buchtel's other wins are over Detroit Renaissance (Mich.), Garfield, Ellet, Firestone and North, and its additional losses are to Huber Heights Wayne, Woodford County (Ky.) and St. Louis Vashon (Mo.).

Revere's Carson Banks shoots over Cuyahoga Falls' Le'Aaron Austin at Revere High School, Friday. Dec. 10, 2021.

3. Revere (9-2)

Revere is off to a hot start with junior Carson Banks, and seniors Chris Muntean and Baron Bania providing scoring from beyond the 3-point arc and inside for coach Dean Rahas. Junior Evan Oravecz and senior Alec Laramore also play key roles for Revere, which played eight of its first 11 games away or on an neutral court.

Revere's resume includes non-league wins over Woodridge, Brookside and Bay. The Minutemen have league wins over Tallmadge, Highland, Copley, Cuyahoga Falls and Barberton. The losses are to Wooster and Elyria.

Keep an eye on: East and Mogadore are both 9-2 and look like teams capable of postseason runs in Division II and IV, respectively.

Girls Basketball

Division I

1. Stow (11-1)

Canfield (Dec. 10, 45-40) has been the only team to beat the Bulldogs this season. Stow is coming off an impressive 35-33 Suburban League National Conference win against Wadsworth on Jan. 4 and has rolled off six wins in a row heading into the week, including a 34-24 victory over Nordonia on Jan. 6.

The Bulldogs will be without starting point guard Anna Hurst, who suffered a torn ACL against Wadsworth and is out for the season. Sisters Kennady Dodds and Kadence Dodds, Alaina Ray and Mallory Fischer are stepping into larger roles for coach Bob Podges.

Kadence Dodds delivered the game-winning layup against Wadsworth and Rachel Frailey made a game-winning 3-pointer to lead Stow to a 30-29 victory over Medina on Dec. 30.

2. Green (9-2)

Green's Mallory Oddo (2) looks for a teammate during a game at Perry on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.

Jenna Slates (9.5 points per game), Mallory Oddo (9.4) and Riley Chmielewski (7.0) have Green thinking about returning to the Division I regional semifinals after falling to Jackson last season.

Coach Alicia Manning's team already righted the loss to the Polar Bears with a 41-32 win on Dec. 3. Chmielweski banked in a 3-pointer off glass three steps past midcourt as time expired in the fourth quarter to lift Green to a 38-35 win over Lake on Dec. 14 for another highlight this season.

3. Highland (10-3)

Copley's Emily Kerekes looks to pass from the floor as Highland's Aleena VanKirk defends at Copley High School.

Last season, Highland's only in-season loss came to Medina. The Hornets went on to win a Division I district championship under coach James Madison. They've already beaten the Bees this season (Dec. 19, 51-32) and have only lost to Cleveland St. Joseph Academy, Copley and Brunswick. Those three teams are a combined 27-6.

Alayna Tessena, Aleena VanKirk and Kennedy Morgan are three key players for Highland.

Keep an eye on:Wadsworth, Hoban and Walsh Jesuit all have the talent and ability to emerge in a future ranking and make a deep tournament run.

More girls basketball coverage: Who are Greater Akron's top girls basketball players for 2022-23? Here are 12 to watch

Division II-IV

Highland's Kennedy Morgan shoots as Copley's Ashley Kerekes defends at Copley High School earlier this season.

1. Copley (11-1)

Copley pointed to this season and has everyone healthy at the halfway point under new coach Julie Solis.

Expect Hoban transfer Izzy Callaway (17.1 points per game), Ashley Kerekes (13.0), Kami Ayoup (7.6) and Shelby Emich (7.2) to continue to lead the way. A second showdown with Highland is coming up Jan. 18. The two met Dec. 7. Copley won 48-39.

Copley won a Division II district title last season. Copley also features several players from its Division II state championship girls soccer team from last fall.

Head coach Carley Whitney gathers her St. Vincent-St. Mary girls basketball team prior to a practice earlier this season.

2. St. Vincent-St. Mary (9-3)

The Fighting Irish returned to Akron after venturing to Los Angeles and losing to Mater Dei in the Chose 1's Invitational at USC. They have a solid 51-49 overtime win over Gilmour Academy on their resume.

Hoban transfer Erika King (11.1), Kendal Batchik (10.5) and Jazmin Torres (9.9) have been a tough trio for coach Carley Whitney.

3. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (11-2)

CVCA's Gia Casalinova gets tangled with Wadsworth's Ana Pickerton on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.

The Royals' only defeats came by a total of five points to Walsh Jesuit (56-54) and Gilmour Academy (54-41), proving they can hang with the upper echelon with coach Andy O'Keefe on the sidelines.

Expect 1,000-point scorer Gia Casalinova to keep CVCA headed in the right direction as the postseason approaches.

Keep an eye on:Norton and Woodridge each have quality wins in the first half of the season, and are contenders for a league title. Norton enjoyed a dream season last year by winning Division II sectional, district and regional championships and advancing to a state semifinal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Greater Akron high school girls, boys basketball rankings

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