Northeast Ohio’s Preseason Mr. Basketball Candidates
You could have made a case for about a dozen Mr. Basketball preseason candidates last year. After that, we would have realistically narrowed it down by cutting half of that list. This year, however, the award is up for grabs.
As we know from our research last year, there’s three components of a résumé that voters gravitate towards: talent, productivity, and, ultimately, team success. The bench marks that have normally been hit is Division I talent, 20 points per game, and a team who threatens to make a playoff run. The more one exceeds those unofficial qualifiers (e.g. high-major Division I prospect, 25-plus points or 20 and 10 rebounds, no. 1 ranked team in the AP Poll) is where the separation occurs.
Considering those standards, along with good sense, we’ve identified candidates from each region of the state. For Northeast Ohio, we have their six candidates ranked in order.
Devon Grant (2019), 6’0” PG, Lorain
Grant is my preseason pick to take home the award. Although he was just Third Team All State last year, he hit all of the qualifiers. Grant holds Division I offers, was at 21.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG, and Lorain was a State Semifinalist. Most likely the issue was, at 17-5 in the regular season, they never even sniffed the AP Poll. Their postseason run came as a surprise and Mr. Basketball is awarded based on one’s regular season performance. Now, with Lorain planting their flag on the state radar in last year’s postseason, the award is Grant’s for the taking.
Jaelyn Withers (2019), 6’8” W/F, Cleveland Heights
Normally, we would have a hard time even considering someone playing their first season in the state of Ohio. After all, name recognition has to matter for a statewide panel of judges who all won’t see Withers play this year. However, the seemingly wide-open race allows the Louisville commit to be viable. There isn’t more than one guy in the area who can matchup with him, leading us to believe Withers might be a 20 and 10 per night kind of player. The biggest obstacle will be keeping Cleveland Heights in the top ten picture for Division I.
Brandon Rush (2019), 6’2” G, Warrensville Heights
Rush, a Division I signee to Fairleigh Dickinson, is a talented enough scorer to overcome any bias against Division III competition. Warrensville plays a D-I type schedule, too, so that shouldn’t be a problem if Rush is averaging about 24 points per game (which is what we think it would take for him).
Now, we have them ranked as the no. 6 preseason team, so this might sound weird, but: Rush’s potential ding is team success. While they will undoubtedly be a formidable playoff contender, the AP Poll has shown us that it doesn’t respect lower division teams that are barely above .500 because of their challenging schedule, which is a shame.
Davin Zeigler (2019), 6’2” G, Benedictine
Zeigler proved to be healthy this summer with TNBA after being in and out of the lineup as a junior. With the centerpiece back in action and Bene’s move down to Division II, the team’s sights should be set on a run to Columbus. Along the way, Zeigler could put together a Mr. Basketball case putting up huge numbers by getting to the rim and keeping others involved. Similar to Rush, Benedictine will need to overcome a tough Division I-like schedule in the regular season to gain the approval of voters.
Lunden McDay (2019), 6’3” St. Vincent-St. Mary
Given our high expectations for St. Vincent-St. Mary and McDay as an individual, maybe you think he’d be higher on our list. However, STVM is a share-the-ball type of team who keeps everyone involved. The Ohio Univ. commit has improved since last season, but he was their leading scorer last year at just 14.8 PPG. That’s a good number, not a Mr. Basketball winner number, though. With all of their emerging talent surrounding McDay, it would be hard for him to tack on six to eight more points a night. Stuffing the stat sheet in other ways allows for a possible path, however.
John Hugley (2020), 6’9” C, Brush
Pulling in offers from Penn State and Nebraska since the end of last season should tell you that Hugley has truly improved in the last several months. Now a more threatening offensive weapon, both as a scorer and passer, Hugley is primed to turn the corner this season as a dominate scorer for Brush. With a couple of valuable seniors still in-house, Brush should also have a near-20 win season, even if those guys subtract from some of Hugley’s counting stats. Bottom-line, there’s a scenario in which Hugley flips the switch and Brush is top five in the state, giving the junior a real chance at the award.