2018-19 Fairfield Lions Basketball Preview
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It is a new season for the Fairfield Lions boys basketball team, and they are looking to build off last season when they were .500 on the year. This year, there are new faces not just in the starting lineup, but players in positions that will be of great importance for success.
Fairfield finished 12-12 overall last season, as they were also 4-9 in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, where they were fourth in the standings. From that team, the Lions lost their top two scorers in Tucker Ayres and Cody Gragg. During the 22-game regular season, Gragg scored 344 points (15.6 points per game), and Ayres scored 327 points (14.9 points per game).
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“We lost a lot of athleticism, and Cody was elite for us. He and Tucker were super competitive, so we are going to miss them,” Fairfield second-year head coach Josh Howland said.
In Highland County last season, the Lions had three of the Top 5 scorers, with one of those players, Sam Buddelmeyer, returning to the court for his senior season. Buddelmeyer was the third-leading scorer for the Lions last season with 264 points (13.2 points per game) in 20 regular-season games.
Buddelmeyer also averaged 6.1 rebounds per game and shot 35.7 percent from the field, 70 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 2.1 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game. Buddelmeyer was a OPSWA All-District special mention selection last season.
Buddelmeyer is one of two seniors returning to the Lions, with the other being Austin Setty, who this past fall was a member of the Fairfield Division III state-qualifying cross-country team.
Juniors this season are Wyatt Willey, Bryson Simmons, James Bentley and Ethan Saunders. There will also three sophomores on the roster in Connor Priest, Caleb Payne and Tucker Watson.
Willey finished with 130 points (5.9 points per game), while Simmons had 121 points (5.5 points per game) in 22 regular-season games a season ago.
“We lost two starters from last year, but even with James out for several games and Sam missing games last year, all five of the starters this year have some experience starting,” Howland said. “Four of them have half a season or more of starting experience.
“We have high expectations with returning the three juniors. Yes, we did lose our top two scorers, there is no question about that, and we lost our top rebounder, but James was right there with him (average per game).”
With the point guard from last season graduated, the role of running the offense this season will be led by Willey, and Coach Howland is excited to see what occurs with his new point guard.
“Wyatt will run the offense this year, and he’s geared like a one guard where he looks to pass first and shoot second even though he is a pure shooter,” Howland said. “He’ll look to pass first, and he can see the floor. We are excited for that.”
There is also Bentley, as the Lions will want to use the height and build of the junior to their advantage this season.
Bentley averaged 6.2 points per game last season in 18 games played, scoring 111 points in the regular season.
“We might slow down more because we don’t have Cody Gragg and Tucker Ayres anymore. We’ll still look to push it some, but not as much because we need to kind of tailor our game toward James Bentley because he is so big,” Howland said. “One thing with James is he worked awful hard this offseason. He played All Ohio this offseason and they took him up another level, and he came in here in better shape and ready to go.
“Wyatt did the same thing and played AAU over the summer.
“The same with Bryson Simmons – he was in the gym every day. That type of work gets a coach excited by what they do during the offseason.”
Speaking of the offseason, the Lions believe they have put in the necessary work to battle in the SHAC and make the conference as athletic as possible.
“So far the offseason has been good, as scrimmages will give us a better look to see what we do have,” Howland said. “The boys come in and work so hard that it is tough for me to think we aren’t going to come in and reach our expectations.”
Although the Lions expect to compete in within the SHAC, Howland said the conference schedule will be a challenge.
“The league will be tough this year,” Howland said. “Whiteoak will be tough with their transfer of (Hunter) Ruckel, so the league will be tough. There is no question about it.”
Fairfield’s non-conference schedule consists of Cedarville, Adena, East Clinton, McClain, Hillsboro, Portsmouth Notre Dame, Blanchester, Wellston and Washington.
For the Lions to have success this season, they need to play as one unit, and Coach Howland believes Fairfield is capable of doing that.
“There is a lot of camaraderie with these guys, and they come in and work their tails off,” Howland said. “They are hardworking kids, and the respect is there for the coaching staff and each other.
“They are great kids.”
The Fairfield Lions opens their 2018-19 boys basketball season on Friday, Nov. 30 in a game hosted by the Ripley Blue Jays in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference showdown, followed by three straight home games to start the season.
Fairfield finished 12-12 overall last season, as they were also 4-9 in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, where they were fourth in the standings. From that team, the Lions lost their top two scorers in Tucker Ayres and Cody Gragg. During the 22-game regular season, Gragg scored 344 points (15.6 points per game), and Ayres scored 327 points (14.9 points per game).
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“We lost a lot of athleticism, and Cody was elite for us. He and Tucker were super competitive, so we are going to miss them,” Fairfield second-year head coach Josh Howland said.
In Highland County last season, the Lions had three of the Top 5 scorers, with one of those players, Sam Buddelmeyer, returning to the court for his senior season. Buddelmeyer was the third-leading scorer for the Lions last season with 264 points (13.2 points per game) in 20 regular-season games.
Buddelmeyer also averaged 6.1 rebounds per game and shot 35.7 percent from the field, 70 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 2.1 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game. Buddelmeyer was a OPSWA All-District special mention selection last season.
Buddelmeyer is one of two seniors returning to the Lions, with the other being Austin Setty, who this past fall was a member of the Fairfield Division III state-qualifying cross-country team.
Juniors this season are Wyatt Willey, Bryson Simmons, James Bentley and Ethan Saunders. There will also three sophomores on the roster in Connor Priest, Caleb Payne and Tucker Watson.
Willey finished with 130 points (5.9 points per game), while Simmons had 121 points (5.5 points per game) in 22 regular-season games a season ago.
“We lost two starters from last year, but even with James out for several games and Sam missing games last year, all five of the starters this year have some experience starting,” Howland said. “Four of them have half a season or more of starting experience.
“We have high expectations with returning the three juniors. Yes, we did lose our top two scorers, there is no question about that, and we lost our top rebounder, but James was right there with him (average per game).”
With the point guard from last season graduated, the role of running the offense this season will be led by Willey, and Coach Howland is excited to see what occurs with his new point guard.
“Wyatt will run the offense this year, and he’s geared like a one guard where he looks to pass first and shoot second even though he is a pure shooter,” Howland said. “He’ll look to pass first, and he can see the floor. We are excited for that.”
There is also Bentley, as the Lions will want to use the height and build of the junior to their advantage this season.
Bentley averaged 6.2 points per game last season in 18 games played, scoring 111 points in the regular season.
“We might slow down more because we don’t have Cody Gragg and Tucker Ayres anymore. We’ll still look to push it some, but not as much because we need to kind of tailor our game toward James Bentley because he is so big,” Howland said. “One thing with James is he worked awful hard this offseason. He played All Ohio this offseason and they took him up another level, and he came in here in better shape and ready to go.
“Wyatt did the same thing and played AAU over the summer.
“The same with Bryson Simmons – he was in the gym every day. That type of work gets a coach excited by what they do during the offseason.”
Speaking of the offseason, the Lions believe they have put in the necessary work to battle in the SHAC and make the conference as athletic as possible.
“So far the offseason has been good, as scrimmages will give us a better look to see what we do have,” Howland said. “The boys come in and work so hard that it is tough for me to think we aren’t going to come in and reach our expectations.”
Although the Lions expect to compete in within the SHAC, Howland said the conference schedule will be a challenge.
“The league will be tough this year,” Howland said. “Whiteoak will be tough with their transfer of (Hunter) Ruckel, so the league will be tough. There is no question about it.”
Fairfield’s non-conference schedule consists of Cedarville, Adena, East Clinton, McClain, Hillsboro, Portsmouth Notre Dame, Blanchester, Wellston and Washington.
For the Lions to have success this season, they need to play as one unit, and Coach Howland believes Fairfield is capable of doing that.
“There is a lot of camaraderie with these guys, and they come in and work their tails off,” Howland said. “They are hardworking kids, and the respect is there for the coaching staff and each other.
“They are great kids.”
The Fairfield Lions opens their 2018-19 boys basketball season on Friday, Nov. 30 in a game hosted by the Ripley Blue Jays in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference showdown, followed by three straight home games to start the season.