Earley, Roberts in the SCOL 'hot seat'
By
Bob Patton-
Earley, Roberts in
the SCOL ‘hot seat'
By BOB PATTON
For The Highland County Press
Coaches Rick Earley of Hillsboro and Carlos Roberts of Wilmington found themselves in the hot seat immediately as the 1990-91 SCOL basketball season began.
Earley was coach of the defending champion Hillsboro Indians, and Roberts was coach of the league favorite Wilmington Hurricane.
Neither had ever coached a varsity basketball game in the South Central Ohio League.
At Hillsboro, Earley was taking over the reins of a program that had back-to-back SCOL titles but had no returning starters and only one player who saw action on last year’s championship team.
Roberts’ Wilmington team had finished 3-7 in SCOL competition and 6-14 overall in 1989-90. But the Hurricane, who returned nine of 11 players from last year’s team, was nearly a unanimous choice of the league coaches this season.
Roberts had been a varsity assistant under Coach Mike Haley at Dayton Dunbar for the past two seasons. Howard Johns, a six-foot guard appeared to be the top player on this squad. He had been impressive in pre-season scrimmages and in the preview. When teamed with 6’3” center John Sharp, he gave the ’Cane an inside-outside presence that presented a challenge to opponents.
At Hillsboro, only four members of the 1989-90 team returned, and only Aaron Boone had seen extensive playing time. Boone would be the team leader, but senior Tyler Anderson and junior Derrick Lyons showed some promise as well.
The Indians had no dominant players, but there were several who could compete in the SCOL. Coach Earley had worked with this group in the eighth and ninth grades, so he knew their strengths and weaknesses very well.
Elsewhere around the league, Kirk Hardman was back for his second year at the helm at Miami Trace. The Panthers won only two games last season, but that was a notable improvement over the two previous seasons. The team did
show consistent improvement and played some good teams very tough.
Todd Henry and Tobin Hoppes would, in all likelihood, be the team leaders, but 6’0” guard Ross Matthews showed real promise, as did 6’1” Chad Walters. Walters, a center/forward, played basketball as a sophomore but sat out his junior season. He was the only running back in the SCOL to gain more than 1,000 yards in football, and Hardman thought he could be a great help to the basketball program as well.
At Washington, veteran coach Gary Shaffer had lost both Aaron Kidney and Ben Davis through graduation. This was a major loss, since Kidney and Davis accounted for two-thirds of the Lions’ scoring. But Shaffer was counting on
Jason Pittser, Terry Rose and Chad Wise to pick up the slack.
The question marks for this team would be rebounding and defense, since they were not overly large and had little speed. Monte Smith, a 6’4” junior, gave them some size inside, but it remained to be seen how he would perform
against varsity competition.
At McClain, Rick Van Matre had lost eight seniors from his 18-6 team of a year ago. Now in his 10th year at McClain, he had always had at least one proven guard to lead the Tiger attack. This year, he did not, but 5’11” Doug Moon appeared to have the inside track for a guard slot. At times, last year, he shot the ball well. At other times, his shooting was a little suspect.
Marcus Coleman was back, along with Richie Bunner. It was hoped that they could pick up some of the scoring load this season. But Bunner weighed in at almost 225 pounds, which helped him as quarterback of the football eam but was a handicap on the basketball court. He would need to shed at least 15 to 20 pounds. At best, McClain would be an unknown factor this year.
In their first game of the young season, Hillsboro peeled visiting Whiteoak, 63-46. Neal Huffman, Derrick Lyons and Brian Fulton racked up 14 points each, while Aaron Boone added 12. While the Indians were not overpowering, they did demonstrate an unselfish style of play, featuring great scoring balance and excellent shot selection. For the first game of the season, it was not a bad performance.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Miami Trace hosted Dayton Stebbins and grabbed a 73-68 overtime win. Wins had been scarce for the young Panther squad, but Coach Kirk Hardman had them believing in themselves now. Todd Henry’s 21 points led the MT team, but sophomores Tobin Hoppes and Jason King added 12 each to aid the cause.
Richie Bunner hit for 18 points, including 12 from 3-point range, and the McClain Tigers thumped Zane Trace on the Greenfield court, 55-36.
On Saturday, Nov. 24, East Clinton visited Hillsboro and snapped the Indians’ 26-game home winning streak by edging the Tribe, 54-50. Hillsboro played well enough to win but converted only 16-of-35 free-throw opportunities. The Astros didn’t get nearly as many opportunities from the line but hit 80 percent to capture a close win.
On the 27th, McClain got a really tough win at Paint Valley, when they grabbed a one-point overtime win over the Bearcats, 49-48. Paint Valley, who was big and fast, wanted to race up and down the floor, but the Tigers were able to control the tempo of the game and keep it close. Tiger Doug Moon, who had not shot well all night, hit a couple of key shots in overtime to help his team win.
Jason Pittser’s hot hand gave the Washington C.H. team a 78-58 win over Logan Elm on the WCH court, Nov. 27. The 6’3” forward racked up 31 points for the blue-and-white to lead all scorers.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
Coaches Rick Earley of Hillsboro and Carlos Roberts of Wilmington found themselves in the hot seat immediately as the 1990-91 SCOL basketball season began.
Earley was coach of the defending champion Hillsboro Indians, and Roberts was coach of the league favorite Wilmington Hurricane.
Neither had ever coached a varsity basketball game in the South Central Ohio League.
At Hillsboro, Earley was taking over the reins of a program that had back-to-back SCOL titles but had no returning starters and only one player who saw action on last year’s championship team.
Roberts’ Wilmington team had finished 3-7 in SCOL competition and 6-14 overall in 1989-90. But the Hurricane, who returned nine of 11 players from last year’s team, was nearly a unanimous choice of the league coaches this season.
Roberts had been a varsity assistant under Coach Mike Haley at Dayton Dunbar for the past two seasons. Howard Johns, a six-foot guard appeared to be the top player on this squad. He had been impressive in pre-season scrimmages and in the preview. When teamed with 6’3” center John Sharp, he gave the ’Cane an inside-outside presence that presented a challenge to opponents.
At Hillsboro, only four members of the 1989-90 team returned, and only Aaron Boone had seen extensive playing time. Boone would be the team leader, but senior Tyler Anderson and junior Derrick Lyons showed some promise as well.
The Indians had no dominant players, but there were several who could compete in the SCOL. Coach Earley had worked with this group in the eighth and ninth grades, so he knew their strengths and weaknesses very well.
Elsewhere around the league, Kirk Hardman was back for his second year at the helm at Miami Trace. The Panthers won only two games last season, but that was a notable improvement over the two previous seasons. The team did
show consistent improvement and played some good teams very tough.
Todd Henry and Tobin Hoppes would, in all likelihood, be the team leaders, but 6’0” guard Ross Matthews showed real promise, as did 6’1” Chad Walters. Walters, a center/forward, played basketball as a sophomore but sat out his junior season. He was the only running back in the SCOL to gain more than 1,000 yards in football, and Hardman thought he could be a great help to the basketball program as well.
At Washington, veteran coach Gary Shaffer had lost both Aaron Kidney and Ben Davis through graduation. This was a major loss, since Kidney and Davis accounted for two-thirds of the Lions’ scoring. But Shaffer was counting on
Jason Pittser, Terry Rose and Chad Wise to pick up the slack.
The question marks for this team would be rebounding and defense, since they were not overly large and had little speed. Monte Smith, a 6’4” junior, gave them some size inside, but it remained to be seen how he would perform
against varsity competition.
At McClain, Rick Van Matre had lost eight seniors from his 18-6 team of a year ago. Now in his 10th year at McClain, he had always had at least one proven guard to lead the Tiger attack. This year, he did not, but 5’11” Doug Moon appeared to have the inside track for a guard slot. At times, last year, he shot the ball well. At other times, his shooting was a little suspect.
Marcus Coleman was back, along with Richie Bunner. It was hoped that they could pick up some of the scoring load this season. But Bunner weighed in at almost 225 pounds, which helped him as quarterback of the football eam but was a handicap on the basketball court. He would need to shed at least 15 to 20 pounds. At best, McClain would be an unknown factor this year.
In their first game of the young season, Hillsboro peeled visiting Whiteoak, 63-46. Neal Huffman, Derrick Lyons and Brian Fulton racked up 14 points each, while Aaron Boone added 12. While the Indians were not overpowering, they did demonstrate an unselfish style of play, featuring great scoring balance and excellent shot selection. For the first game of the season, it was not a bad performance.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Miami Trace hosted Dayton Stebbins and grabbed a 73-68 overtime win. Wins had been scarce for the young Panther squad, but Coach Kirk Hardman had them believing in themselves now. Todd Henry’s 21 points led the MT team, but sophomores Tobin Hoppes and Jason King added 12 each to aid the cause.
Richie Bunner hit for 18 points, including 12 from 3-point range, and the McClain Tigers thumped Zane Trace on the Greenfield court, 55-36.
On Saturday, Nov. 24, East Clinton visited Hillsboro and snapped the Indians’ 26-game home winning streak by edging the Tribe, 54-50. Hillsboro played well enough to win but converted only 16-of-35 free-throw opportunities. The Astros didn’t get nearly as many opportunities from the line but hit 80 percent to capture a close win.
On the 27th, McClain got a really tough win at Paint Valley, when they grabbed a one-point overtime win over the Bearcats, 49-48. Paint Valley, who was big and fast, wanted to race up and down the floor, but the Tigers were able to control the tempo of the game and keep it close. Tiger Doug Moon, who had not shot well all night, hit a couple of key shots in overtime to help his team win.
Jason Pittser’s hot hand gave the Washington C.H. team a 78-58 win over Logan Elm on the WCH court, Nov. 27. The 6’3” forward racked up 31 points for the blue-and-white to lead all scorers.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
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