The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
High school boys basketball watch list
Players to watch
(in alphabetical order) CJ Charleston, senior, point guard, Gilmour: Dynamic point guard will become the focus of Gilmour’s offense after the graduation of Dechlan Kirincic. Charleston averaged 19.8 points and 5.1 assists per game as a junior. Garvin Clarke, junior, point
guard, Euclid: Two-year starter at Euclid will add leadership duties to his responsibilities this season. Clarke scored 13.7 points and handed out six assists per game as a sophomore. DJ Dial, senior, point
guard, Brush: Arcs are supremely talented with Dial, Wright State commit Andre Harris and John Hugley but will count on Dial to help their pieces mesh. Scored 15.5 points per game last season. Luka Eller, junior, forward, Lake Catholic: Averaged a double-double of 20.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Versatile 6-foot-9 forward picked up a handful of Division I offers this summer.
Luke Frazier, junior, guard, Lake Catholic: Lanky guard received collegiate offers during the summer and is poised to showcase his development. Scored 15.8 points and notched 2.1 steals per game as a sophomore.
Luke Floriea, junior, guard, Mentor: Coach Bob Krizancic will count primarily on Floriea to assume the
leadership duties vacated by Shane Zalba running Mentor’s fast-paced offense. Floriea, one of the area’s most explosive athletes at 5-foot-8, averaged 9.2 points and 3.4 assists per game last season. Jaden Hameed, sophomore, guard, VASJ: No one player will be able to replace Jerry Higgins, but Hameed’s offensive ability allows his to shoulder some of that load. Averaged 13.2 points and 3.6 assists per game last year. Curtis Houston, senior, guard, Richmond Heights:
Experienced guard leads a deep, experienced Richmond Heights team that has an avenue to make a deep postseason run. Recorded 13 points, six rebounds and five assists per game as a junior. John Hugley, junior,
forward, Brush: Hugley already has nearly two-dozen Division I college offers and is only halfway through his high school career. He spent the summer playing highlevel AAU competition and attended the Nike Elite 100 camp, where he worked with NBA champion Rasheed Wallace. Josh Irwin, sophomore, forward, West Geauga:
Irwin averaged a doubledouble as a freshman with 15.2 points and an area-best 11 rebounds per game. Now unquestionably the leader of the Wolverines, the 6-foot6 forward with Big Ten interest is ready to make another leap. Andrew Keller, senior,
forward, Riverside: Keller helped spark a season Riverside hopes will be a
turning point in the program. Dynamic forward scored 18.2 points and notched 6.6 rebounds per game as a junior. Nick Stoltz, senior,
forward, Geneva: Do-itall forward leads a gritty Geneva team. Averaged 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.6 steals per game last year. Damion Williams, senior,
forward, South: Williams’ recruitment gained traction near the end of the summer and he should carry that momentum into his senior year. Williams has shown flashes of his dominance in recent years. Jayson Woodrich, senior, forward, Beachwood:
Arguably the area’s best shooter, Woodrich was hurt for the first half of what turned out to be an arduous season at Beachwood. He still managed to average 17 points and 10 rebounds per game, and should put up huge numbers in his final high school campaign. Davin Zeigler, senior,
guard, Benedictine: Bowling Green commit may be the favorite to fill the void vacated at the top of the area by the graduation of Michael Bothwell, Jerry Higgins and Alex Sulka. 6-foot-3 guard will run the show for coach Rob Stircula this season after averaging 18 points and 3.5 assists per game last year.
Games to watch
Nov. 30: Gilmour at Lake Catholic, Harvey at North
Dec. 1: Chardon at West Geauga, Euclid vs. Lorain at Midview, VASJ at Pickerington North
Dec. 4: Geneva at Madison, Richmond Heights at Lorain, Newbury at Fairport
Dec. 6: Cleveland Heights at VASJ
Dec. 7: Beachwood at Chagrin Falls, Brush at Chardon, Riverside at South, Richmond Heights at Benedictine, University at NDCL
Dec. 8: Harvey at West Geauga, Gilmour at Cornerstone Christian, Solon at Benedictine, Hawken at Fairport
Dec. 11: Euclid at Garfield Heights
Dec. 14: Perry at West Geauga, Euclid at Solon, Mentor at Shaker Heights, Akron Hoban at VASJ, Cleveland Central Catholic at Benedictine, Riverside at Brush, South at Mayfield
Dec. 15: Berkshire at Madison
Dec. 18: Cardinal at Kirtland, Fairport at Wickliffe, Cornerstone Christian at South, St. Edward at Brush
Dec. 21: Shaker Heights at Euclid, Solon at Mentor, Kenston at South, Mayfield at Riverside, VASJ at Cleveland Central Catholic
Dec. 27: Cornerstone Christian vs. Maple Heights at Garfield Heights, Euclid vs. Shaw at Garfield Heights, Brush vs. Warrensville Heights at Garfield Heights
Dec. 28: Revere vs. Beachwood at Garfield Heights, Akron Buchtel vs. Gilmour at Garfield Heights, Richmond Heights vs. Padua at Garfield Heights
Dec. 29: Cardinal at Berkshire, Glenville vs. Andrews Osborne at Garfield Heights, West Geauga vs. Wadsworth at Garfield Heights, Lake Catholic vs. St. Ignatius at Garfield Heights, Benedictine vs. Mentor at Garfield Heights
Jan. 4: Mayfield at Brush, Chardon at Riverside, Harvey at Geneva
Jan. 5: Cornerstone Christan vs. Cleveland Heights, St. Edward at Benedictine
Jan. 6: Brush vs. Garfield Heights at Elyria Catholic, Lake Catholic vs. Solon at Elyria Catholic
Jan. 8: Euclid at Mentor, VASJ at Cornerstone Christian
Jan. 11: Benedictine at VASJ, Beachwood at Perry, Geneva at Chagrin Falls, NDCL at Lake Catholic, South at North
Jan. 15: West Geauga at Perry
Jan. 15: SPIRE Institute at Brush
Jan. 18: Gilmour at VASJ, Brush at South Jan. 19: Mentor at Massillon Jackson Jan. 21: St. Ignatius at
VASJ
Jan. 22: Harvey at Perry, Wickliffe at Berkshire, Lutheran East at Cornerstone Christian
Jan. 24: West Geauga at Harvey, Trinity at NDCL, Chardon at South, Andrews Osborne at Cornerstone Christian
Jan. 26: Akron St. VincentSt. Mary at Benedictine
Jan. 27: Chet Mason Invitational at Brush
Jan. 29: Shaker Heights at Mentor, Solon at Euclid
Feb. 1: Mentor at Solon, Euclid at Shaker Heights, Cleveland Central Catholic at VASJ, Brush at Riverside, Mayfield at South, North at Madison, Kenston at Chardon
Feb. 2: Benedictine at St. Ignatius, Riverside at Perry
Feb. 7: Benedictine at Garfield Heights
Feb. 8: Brunswick at Mentor, Lake Catholic at Cleveland Central Catholic, SPIRE at Cornerstone Christian, Brush at Mayfield Feb. 9: VASJ at Euclid Feb. 12: Mentor at Euclid, North at South, Bedford at Lake Catholic, Richmond Heights at Lutheran East, Feb. 14: Perry at Harvey Feb. 15: Lake Catholic at NDCL, VASJ at Benedictine, South at Brush
Feb. 16: Cornerstone Christian at Harvey Feb. 18: Mentor at VASJ Feb. 19: South at Gilmour, VASJ at Akron St. VincentSt. Mary Feb. 21: VASJ at St. Edward Feb. 22: Benedictine at Gilmour, Madison at Perry
Feb. 23: Lake Catholic at Mentor