Takeaways from December hoops In Dayton
As December comes to an end, we can reflect on the great start to the season for Ohio high school hoops. There has been many big storylines in Dayton and many surprise teams and players. The beauty of basketball however, is any team can win on any given night and there is still plenty of basketball to be played, and plenty of players that have time to shine. Here is a look at some of the storylines from December in the Dayton area.
- The Lebanon Warriors have been shocking everyone this season.
The Warriors are currently sitting at the top of the GWOC West division with an 8-1 record and have been winning at a high rate since the start of the season. In fact, if it weren’t for a one point overtime loss against Miamisburg last week, Lebanon would be among one of the remaining unbeatens in the Dayton area. This is a team that in a 3 game span, knocked off Xenia, Beavercreek, and Fenwick and has a real strong chance of taking the West division title come February.
- Jonathan Alder is adjusting well to their new life in the CBC.
In their first season in the CBC, Alder is already off to a 3-0 start in the conference and 6-0 overall. Strong defense has been the main reason for their success as they are allowing 33.7 points per game in their six wins. Time will tell if Alder has the potential to continue this success as they await matchups against Columbus South and Bellefontaine in the coming weeks.
- The power in the GWOC still rest in 3 teams.
For another season, it appears Wayne, Springfield, and Trotwood-Madison are the main powers in the GWOC. As of today, the combined records of the 3 teams was 17-1. Wayne has knocked off Pickerington North and Lima Senior, Trotwood has scored 100+ points in their last 4 games, and Springfield has one of the top lineups in the area and they are still missing a few key players. Wayne will take on Trotwood on December 29th and will be one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season.
- There are plenty of high scorers in the Dayton area this season.
Plenty of players have shown this season they can score at a high level. Just this past week, 3 players joined the 1,000 point club. Andre Gordon ( POH #6 ’19), Samari Curtis (POH #8 ’19), and Amari Davis (POH #9 ’19) all joined the club and will continue to add onto their great starts as January comes along. Curtis and Gordon are averaging almost 30 points per game while Davis is closer to 25 points.
- Division 3 is going to be a fight between 2 teams.
As of right now, it looks like there are 2 teams that are going to battle it out as Dayton’s top team in Division 3. Justin Ahrens (POH # 6 ’18) and the Versailles Tigers are currently undefeated and are considered #1 in the Dayton area. Meanwhile, the Bethel Bees are considered #2 and are also undefeated. The crazy thing is Bethel is missing one of their top players in Caleb South (2018). Once he returns he will join Ryan Rose (2018) who has been one of the hottest players in the CCC and in Dayton this far. They may be enough to challenge Ahrens however a Regional playoff matchup may be needed to decide this one.