Divisional movement abundant on hardwood

Division III just got a lot more crowded in boys basketball.

OHSAA announced the division realignment for winter sports June 14, and the trio of Chagrin Falls, Lake Catholic and Perry all saw they have a new home.

The Tigers (12-11) and Cougars (11-13) both reached a district semifinal last season, while the Pirates (16-7) won the CVC Lake and earned the No. 4 seed in their district pool. Chagrin Falls coach David Bargar sees a team led by second-team all district James Kosmides as a team that can improve on last year’s finish.

“We thought that there was a chance of us moving because we saw our enrollment dropping on the boys side,” Bargar said. “It doesn’t really get any easier for us. We get away from St. Vincent-St. Mary and we get Lutheran East. Regardless of division, we bring back three starters and a lot of underclassmen that got experience last year, so we feel pretty good going into the season and if we do things the right way we should have a good season.”

Lake Catholic takes it a step further with its entire varsity roster returning from last season. Among the returnees is Aidan Fitzgerald who has been the lead scorer for the Cougars the past two seasons.

Matt Vespa is excited with the new opportunity for the Cougars as they look to build off last year’s run in the postseason.

“It’s definitely an exciting opportunity for our basketball program,” Vespa said. “We get to see some new teams during the postseason, but that doesn’t change our overall goal. We want to have the best season and run possible. Every division has good players and coaches. It’s going to be a difficult challenge but one that myself and players are ready for.”

Perry also brings back an experienced group of players, headlined by Jake Cubbison and Brayden Richards. The duo both averaged over 18 points to lead a younger Pirates’ contingent, and Coach Al Iacofano knows the pair’s leadership will be important once the season starts.

“There are a lot of good teams in every division,” Iacofano said. “If you want to make a run in any division you’re going to need talent, experience, a good mentality and a way to stay healthy throughout the whole season.”

Other movement among News-Herald coverage area teams included:

• Chardon is the only team to move up a division after the realignment, as its enrollment of 377 sees it get above the cutoff for D-I. The Hilltoppers were 15-8 last season and made their second straight trip to the district round where they fell to Poland Seminary, 73-67, in overtime.

University was also declared a new D-I team based on competitive balance with its adjusted enrollment of 374. D-I ranges from the largest school in St. Ignatius at 1,436 to the lowest of Trotwood-Madison with 349.

• D-II has three teams join its ranks. Harvey and Madison come in near the top of the enrollment list, as the Red Raiders post a 342 enrollment figure while the Blue Streaks have a 329, both in the upper tier of the maximum for the division (348).

Kenston also dropped from the D-I ranks to D-II, as its 298 enrollment number puts it square in the middle of the division.

• D-IV almost had its defending state champion make the jump to D-III, but Richmond Heights found itself right at the top of the enrollment number as competitive balance put it at the maximum for the division at 119.

However, the Spartans do see a new challenger fall into their division as Cardinal makes the move to D-IV with its enrollment of 117. Coach Jon Cummins is happy with the move but also knows they will be in the same region as Warren JFK and Bristol.

Andrews Osborne also is among the higher enrollment numbers in D-IV, as the Phoenix post a 114 enrollment.

• The biggest moves outside the coverage area see two defending state champions move up as well as another state finalist. D-II stalwart St. Vincent-St. Mary makes the move to D-I as competitive balance pushed its enrollment figure to 370.

Taft, which won the D-III state championship last season saw its enrollment (205) fit it squarely into D-II before any competitive balance numbers came into play. TriVillage, which lost in the D-IV state final to Richmond Heights, moved to D-III as competitive balance pushed its enrollment to 122.