5 Questions: Southwestern Buckeye League
In this article:
The SWBL will look a little different this year as Preble Shawnee, Dixie, Northridge and Milton-Union all left for various different leagues. The 10 remaining schools still have a ton of talent and will continue to keep the SWBL competitive.…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe SWBL will look a little different this year as Preble Shawnee, Dixie, Northridge and Milton-Union all left for various different leagues. The 10 remaining schools still have a ton of talent and will continue to keep the SWBL competitive. Today I look at answering some of the top questions ahead of the 2021-22 season for the league.
1- Is the East division the better division?
Looking at the new divisions, it appears the best talent and teams made their way in the East division. The theme of the East is experienced as 4 of the 5 teams return their top players. Meanwhile in the West, the majority of the teams watched their top talent graduate. Overall the East could send a team deep in the postseason.
2- Can Bellbrook take the next step?
The Golden Eagles finished 10-11 a year ago but were 8-4 in the SWBL. This was without their best player Gabe Pavlak Gabe Pavlak 6'6" | SF Bellbrook | 2022 OH who missed the season due to injury. Now, Pavlak is back and looked great this offseason. The Eagles also add freshman Austin Webb Austin Webb 6'3" | SG South Point | 2021 State OH who impressed at Fairmont’s Summer League in June. Seniors Ashton Ault and Caleb Fugate also return after being central figures for the Golden Eagles a year ago. They have the coaching. They now have the personnel. Is it enough though to beat out Franklin and Oakwood?
3- Will Franklin be able to continue their D1 success?
The Wildcats found some success last year beating Stebbins in the Sectional tournament before falling to Lebanon 66-59. This year could see some similarities. The Wildcats have the size in Nate Paarlberg Nate Paarlberg 6'6" | PF Franklin | 2022 State OH and Noah Rich Noah Rich 6'5" | SF Franklin | 2022 State OH that is needed to succeed at the D1 level. Franklin has a real chance to be a top 5 seed again come tournament time.
4- Can anyone dethrone Franklin in the East?
Beating Franklin in the SWBL is hard to do. The last time they lost an SWBL game was January 2020. The team that has a chance to dethrone them this year is likely Oakwood. The duo of Keon Wright Keon Wright 6'0" | PG Oakwood | 2022 State OH (2022) and Will Maxwell Will Maxwell 6'5" | SF Oakwood | 2023 State OH (2023) is impressive and has a chance to do some special things in the league as a whole. Guard play is what helps teams win and Oakwood has it.
5- Who is going to win the West?
It’s hard to pick a winner in the West division due to the lack of experience overall leaving. 3 of the 5 schools will have new coaches and will be a little unknown with what is going to happen. Madison brings back a few more pieces than the other schools, but Valley View has JT Ferguson (2022) coming back. End of the day, it’s too early to tell who wins.