GWOC National West Preseason Preview
Last season, Northmont ran through the GWOC West and dominated everyone in route to a conference championship and sectional title. This time around, the Thunderbolts will be replacing almost all their varsity roster, which means the race for a league title is wide open. Here is the preseason preview for the GWOC West.
Lebanon– 3 starters return for a Warriors team that showed improvement last season, but still need a little more to crawl out from the bottom of the West division. Of the returning guys, Brendan Lamb (2020) is the most intriguing and one of the top athletes returning. The big issue will be offensive scoring, as a team and individually.
Miamisburg– The Vikings battled early season injuries last year, and as a result only won 2 games in league play. This year, they look to rebound and have a strong chance of winning an outright conference championship. In the frontcourt, Jason Hubbard (2018) returns as well as Duncan Hall (2019) who led the conference in rebounding last year. The backcourt will be a huge question mark as the Vikings graduated their starting point guard.
Northmont– Last season, Northmont not only won the GWOC West but exceeded their own expectations by finishing as one of the top 3 teams in Dayton. This year will be more difficult to repeat, as the T-Bolts replace 8 seniors. Jabari Perkins (2018) leads the returning players and many new faces will be asked to fill these voids giving Northmont a chance to be a dark horse this year.
Springboro– The Panthers had serious potential last season, but injuries plagued them all year and a 13-12 finish was the best they could do. Springboro lost their head coach in the offseason and now look to rebuild into the new season with a new coach. The good news is, Thomas Arrington (2018) and Kaleb Tabor (2019) return and give Springboro a real chance at redeeming themselves this season.
Predictions
- Miamisburg– They have arguably one of the best frontcourts in the GWOC and will dominate the glass almost every night.
- Northmont– Although they lose 8 seniors, the replacements have had success at JV levels and Perkins has serious potential.
- Springboro– Having Arrington is definitely helpful, but they have to replace too many role players to be considered a favorite this year.
- Lebanon– Still not ready to challenge the top of the division, but this year should be even better than last.