[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/20/06

NCH: chase for repeat

Trojans are heavily favored

BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced plans to carry on with the boys' Division III state basketball playoffs, although most know the likely outcome.

North College Hill is so favored, it's funny to many. That is, unless you are a coach of another Ohio Division III team.

The Trojans (19-1) won the state title in 2005 behind superstars O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, who are now juniors. NCH is rated No. 2 nationally by USA Today, and the Trojans' 88-74 loss Saturday to No. 1 Oak Hill Academy did nothing to alter the feeling that everyone in Ohio Division III is playing for second place again this year.

If you took NCH out of the equation, it'd be a great tournament," Madeira coach Jim Reynolds said.

"I don't know what they're going to prove by winning the state again."

Reynolds' team is seeded No. 3 in the Cincinnati sectional. The top non-NCH seeds from that bracket (No. 2 Deer Park, No. 3 Madeira) would not see NCH until the regional semifinals, while No. 4 Purcell Marian possibly could face NCH in the sectional final.

Deer Park is more concerned with a recent slump that has left the Wildcats with a 13-7 record.

"If we play (NCH) and they run us out of the gym, then they do," Deer Park coach Jeoff Gabbard said. "If we pull the 'Hoosiers' upset, then fine. We're not taking the mindset that it's all over and NCH has won it."

Division III is the second smallest classification in Ohio, based on school enrollment. With a smaller talent base than the Division I and II schools, it naturally follows that there aren't many Mayos and Walkers on the DIII level.

Unless maybe you're Bellaire.

Bellaire (20-0), ranked No. 2 in the state behind NCH, is located in eastern Ohio near Wheeling, W.Va.

Bellaire has a 6-foot-3, 220-pound point guard named Nate Davis, who averages 39.1 points and 17.5 rebounds a game. Davis also is a football star who has signed to play quarterback at Ball State.

"North College Hill has some fabulous players and we've got one special guy," Bellaire coach Gene Ammirante said.

"We're just trying to survive each game. To tell you the truth, I haven't thought much about North College Hill yet."

Ammirante was amused by the latest Associated Press Ohio media poll, where NCH got every first-place vote save one for Bellaire.

"I wonder if my mom just got tired of voting for North College Hill," Ammirante said.

Purcell Marian coach Randy Reeder, whose team could see NCH in the sectional final, is more concerned with beating Felicity (sectional opener) and then CHCA (sectional semifinals). NCH would be next, in the sectional final.

"We would treat it like any other game," Reeder said. "I certainly don't want to give them any bulletin-board material yet."

Mayo, Walker, and 6-11 junior center Keenan Ellis all moved to NCH - from out of town - within the past few years. Mayo is rated the No. 1 junior nationally and Walker is in the top five of most scouts' evaluations. Even without Ellis, who was dismissed from the team last week, NCH should have little trouble in the Division III tournament.

NCH has taken a lot of heat for winning with transfer players. The school said it has cleared every transfer with the OHSAA over the past few years.

Whenever someone e-mails OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross about NCH, Ross always responds the same way: The players all live in the district.

Everything is legal, everything checks out.

"It's tragic for some kids in that district who maybe haven't had a chance to play," Reynolds said. "But if you say bad things about them, then you come off as whining or crying. We'll just do the best we can with what we have."

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

DIII sectional seedsNorth College Hill is a heavy favorite to repeat as Division III boys' basketball state champion.

As sectional play begins this week, here is a look at the top seeds and their won-lost records:

1. North College Hill (19-1)

2. Deer Park (13-7)

3. Madeira (14-6)

4. Purcell Marian (12-8)

NOTE: NCH has a first-round sectional bye, and will play the winner of Tuesday's SCPA-Blanchester game Feb. 27 at Mason at 7:30 p.m.