North College Hill High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)

[bucknut11]

NCH is ranked #3 in the country in SI.com's power rankings

The junior-dominated Trojans draw huge crowds wherever they go and last week was no exception as they raised their winning streak to 36 with three victories. O.J. Mayo (6-5) thrilled a capacity crowd of 10,560 with 23 points in an 82-70 victory over previously unbeaten Cincinnati Taft. Bill Walker (6-6) scored 22 points, including five thunderous dunks, and 6-3 sophomore guard Courtney Davis scored 20 points. The Trojans drew 4,200 at Frankfort, Ky., where they had their toughest game of the year, edging defending-state champion Laurel County, 65-57. Laurel County actually forged a 43-37 lead in the third quarter while Mayo was benched with four fouls. However, Mayo made six straight free throws in the game's final minute to secure the victory, finishing with 18 points. Walker scored all 12 of his points in the second half and grabbed seven rebounds. Keenan Ellis (6-11) scored 14 points. Former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins continues to shadow the College Hill team (he saw two games last week) while searching for a head college job.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ONN

1/28/06

Three years post-LeBron, new national power emerges
Email to a FriendPrinter Friendly Version if (document.layers) {document.write('\\'); document.close();}coreAdsCreate('wnsz_20', 'loc', '100');










CINCINNATI -- The arena packed with more than 10,000 fans is rocking to pregame music while outside, scalpers demand $25 to $50 for tickets with face value of $10, and frantic motorists scramble for rapidly disappearing parking spaces blocks away.
All this for a high school basketball game.

The drawing card for the Jan. 16 game at Xavier University was North College Hill High's Trojans. Featuring prospective NBA players O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, Ohio has another high school dream team, three years after LeBron James joined the Cleveland Cavaliers after leading Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School's "fab five" to national prominence.

Big crowds and big games are nothing new for North College Hill, which has also played in large arenas in Columbus, Kentucky and West Virginia and as far away as California.

"It's very intense. You just have to be prepared and don't look ahead," coach Jamie Mahaffey said of his team's schedule. "But our players are very mature about it. They stay focused."

Mayo, a smooth shooting and ball-handling guard, and Walker, a powerful, inside-dominating player, are widely considered the nation's top two juniors. They are joined by 6-11 junior Keenan Ellis and a strong supporting cast on a team that lost only one game last season and headed into this weekend unbeaten.

"They're a great team," said Cincinnati Taft coach Mark Mitchell, whose team lost 82-70 at that Jan. 16 game for its first loss and earlier beat three teams from other states in a New York tournament. "The difference in knowing that you're good and being arrogant about it is that they know they're good and they play together. Everybody works for the common good."

After losing to the Trojans in last year's Division III state championship game, Ironton coach Roger Zornes commented: "It was like playing an all-star team out there."

The Trojans have won most games by lopsided margins, beating Wellston by 104 points and avenging last season's lone loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier with an 87-49 victory.

The players have been low-key in assessing their standing. After their closest call this season, a 69-67 victory over defending Division I champion Canton McKinley in Ohio State's Value City Arena, Mayo wouldn't offer an opinion on whether the Trojans are best in Ohio.

"The main thing was to get the win," Mayo said.

A big test, and big crowd, will come Feb. 18 when they play perennial national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy of Virginia at the U.S. Bank Arena here. A sellout crowd of more than 16,000 is likely.

USA Today's rankings have Oak Hill and North College Hill as Nos. 1-2 nationally.

"We know it's out there," Mahaffey said. "But if you start focusing on stuff like that, we told the kids, then you're like the Indianapolis Colts. They were supposed to be the team to beat (in the NFL), and they're gone."

The school's athletic director, Joe Nickel, says much of his time is taken up fielding requests for tickets. In the third season for Mayo and Walker, the school beefed up its schedule and arranged with its league, the small-school Miami Valley Conference, to not play a full league schedule this year or compete for the league title.

As it was with James' team, there is no shortage of schools and venues that want to take on the Trojans and their fan-pleasing show of powerful dunks, alley-oop plays and fast breaks. Nickel even called Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary officials for advice on scheduling.

"That was a difficult issue," Nickel said. "We were looking to find competition that would help us get better. Our league stepped in and helped us. It's still a learning process."

Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary athletic director Grant Innocenzi agreed that it's a challenge to balance demand to see the team against what's best for the students. He said the players wanted to face a national schedule, and unlike the NBA-bound James, most wouldn't get another chance to play on some of the nation's storied basketball courts.

"We thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of these kids," Innocenzi said. "How many kids can say they played at (UCLA's) Pauley Pavilion, the Palestra (Philadelphia) or Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum?"

Ohio athletics officials have taken steps to keep "national schedules" in check, limiting high school teams each year to one out-of-state trip other than to bordering states. North College Hill's trip was to southern California, where the Trojans defeated teams from North Hollywood and Compton in December.

State high school athletic governing bodies set their own rules on out-of-state games, and interstate matchups are then sanctioned by the Indianapolis-based National Federation of High School Associations.

"You certainly see that a lot of places like to attract those great teams and great players, with the opportunity to match them up," said John Gillis, assistant director of the federation.

With the proliferation of high school basketball Web sites, prep games being carried nationally on ESPN, and star players such as James and Mayo who were nationally known before they could drive a car, some wonder whether the interest in marquee matchups will lead to a national tournament like the NCAA college basketball championships.

Gillis said he thinks the consensus of state-level administrators is that playing in statewide, end-of-season tournaments "should be the peak of the high school experience, that a national tournament would really not serve any educational purpose."

But he added: "You never know."

Jack Keefer, head coach of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis for three decades, agrees with limits on travel.

"We've been invited to play everywhere, from Hawaii to New York to Orlando," said Keefer, whose unbeaten team is led by 7-foot-tall center Greg Oden and guard Mike Conley, both bound for Ohio State. While Keefer's team will travel to Chicago for a Feb. 11 game against Glenbrook North of Illinois, he said: "The bottom line is I just want us to be a high school team and to play the local teams."

Nickel said the schedule limits help make sure hometown fans get opportunities to see the team, a major source of civic pride in North College Hill's suburban community of some 10,000 people besides being a godsend financially for the school. A basketball program that annually brought in less than $10,000 a year now often reaps that in one game. The high school will be able to build an all-weather track, and the athletic program should be financially comfortable for years after this team is gone, Nickel said.

But as good as the Trojans may be, Innocenzi knows his pick in a match with James' high school team.

"We would beat 'em," Innocenzi said. "Believe me."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

1/30/06

Boys' basketball roundup

Mayo puts on a record show

ENQUIRER STAFF REPORTS

O.J. Mayo scored 40 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists to lead North College Hill to a 95-88 victory over Woodrow Wilson of West Virginia at the Charleston Convention Center Saturday night.

Mayo's 40 points gave him 1,850 in his career, breaking the school record of 1,847 formerly held by Leon Murray.

Bill Walker added 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Keenan Ellis chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds for NCH.

The Trojans, who are ranked second in the nation by USA Today, are off until Saturday, when they face Summit Country Day.
NCH (16-0) - Glover 2 0 4, Davis 3 1 7, Walker 11 1 23, Butler 1 2 4, Mayo 14 11 40, Leary 1 0 2, Ellis 6 3 15. Totals: 38 18 95.
Woodrow Wilson - Deweese 10 1 29, Thompson 8 4 23, Manns 1 6 9, Walton 8 1 17, Coleman 2 2 6, Parkwo 2 0 4. Totals: 19 (12) 14 88.

[bucknut11]

NCH remains at #3 in SI.com's rankings...

North College Hill (Cincinnati) (16-0)
The Trojans continue to put on a show of Barnum and Bailey proportions as they outlasted Beckley Woodrow Wilson (W.Va.) in a 95-88 shootout before a crowd of 6,210 -- which included pro football star Randy Moss -- at the Charleston (W.Va.) Civic Center. Junior guard O.J. Mayo totaled 40 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. He broke the school's career scoring record (1,847 points) late in the game. He was presented the game ball and had his picture taken with his mother. Then he delighted the big crowd by heaving the ball 20 rows up into the bleachers. Junior forward Bill Walker had 23 points and 12 rebounds, while junior center Keenan Ellis had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Mayo and Walker, who are natives of Huntington, W.Va., combined to ram home 11 of their team's 14 dunks. Chase DeWese scored 29 points, drilling 8-of-11 3s, for the losers. The Trojans' winning streak now stands at 37.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

2/3/06

Oak Hill-NCH nears sellout

BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Tickets are about gone for the Feb. 18 boys' basketball game matching Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and North College Hill, who are rated Nos. 1-2 nationally by USA Today.

Jim Moehring, US Bank Arena Vice President for Business Development and Programming, said only about 1,500 tickets remain for the game, all $15 reserved upper-deck seats.

The arena seats 16,200 for basketball.

To order, visit Ticketmaster.com under Cincinnati Scholastic Play by Play.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/5/06

NORTH COLLEGE HILL 86, SUMMIT COUNTRY DAY 54

O.J. Mayo had 27 points as North College Hill remained unbeaten.

Former Summit Country Day stars Dexter Bailey, Dan Fleming and Walt McBride had their jerseys retired during ceremonies.

North College Hill (14-0) - Glover 5 0 11, Davis 5 0 11, Butler 5 0 10, Parks 1 0 3, Mayo 11 4 27, Leary 2 5 9, McPhearson 2 1 5, Ellis 5 0 10.
Summit Country Day (11-4) - Koepfer 5 0 14, Buckingham 0 4 4, D. Madden 0 1 1, Shannon 2 0 4, Berry 0 1 1, P. Madden 5 8 19, Wilson 1 2 4, Cosgrove 2 1 7. Totals: 15 17 54.
NCH24173015-86SCD1118169-54
3-pointers: NCH 4 (Mayo, Parks, Davis, Glover); SCD 7 (Koepfer 4, Cosgrove 2, P. Madden).

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/11/06

NCH 85, CHCA 45

CHCA (12-7) - Richardson 1 1 3, Hall 2 2 4, Browne 1 0 3, Peterson 3 2 9, Barnhart 2 0 6, Scovanner 1 2 4, Coyer 0 2 2, Riewald 0 2 2, Shacksfield 5 2 12. Totals: 15 11 45.

North College Hill(18-0) - Glover 1 1 3, Horne 1 0 2, Davis 7 2 17, Butler 7 1 16, Walker 10 3 24, Leary 2 2 8, Green 0 2 2, McPherson 2 0 4, Parks 2 2 6, Ellis 1 1 3. Totals: 33 14 85.

CHCA1115712-45North College Hill22193014-85
3-pointers:C 4 (Barnhart 2, Brown, Peterson); N 5 (Leary 2, Davis, Butler, Walker).

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/13/06

One star enough for Trojans

Walker dominant as O.J., Ellis sit

BY RYAN ERNST | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Big Three of North College Hill was reduced to one, and yet the Trojans still had enough firepower to easily handle Northern Kentucky's top team.

Those who traveled across the river expecting the O.J. Mayo Show got the Bill Walker Experience instead.

NCH played Holmes without Mayo and fellow junior standout Keenan Ellis, but beat Holmes 100-68 Sunday at Fairfield. Walker, the team's other nationally ranked junior talent led the Trojans with a career high 50 points and 25 rebounds.

Mayo, a 6-foot-5 guard, sat out the game due to a stress fracture in his foot and is expected to return for the Trojans' next game.

NCH, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, next will play Saturday at U.S. Bank Arena against Oak Hill Academy, the top-ranked team in the nation.

Ellis, a 6-10 center whom NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey said is suspended for disciplinary reasons, is questionable for that game.

"A lot of people are excited about (Saturday's) game," Mahaffey said. "The side we control is on the court, and that's where we'll try to do our best. They're the No. 1 team and we're No. 2. We treat them as No. 1. They get all respect because they deserve to be No. 1."

The Trojans seemed tuned up for Saturday's game, barely missing a beat without Mayo and Ellis. They jumped out to a 53-36 halftime lead behind Walker, who tallied 28 first-half points and seemed to score at will. During one stretch in the second quarter, Walker scored 18 of 20 points for NCH, including a jump hook over a triple-team.

"He played like an animal," Mahaffey said. "That's how Bill is. He's a player who, no matter what the odds are, he's going to go out there and fight."

Walker got his first rest of the game with 3:54 remaining and the Trojans leading 90-65. He had 48 points at the time. He came back in 37 seconds later to tally his 50th point for the game and 1,000th for his career at NCH. The single-game mark was the second most in school history, behind only a 57-point performance by Mayo.

"I knew I was going to have to pick up the load today," said Walker, a 6-6 swingman. "I was going to have to be aggressive on the glass . . . That was my first time playing without both (Mayo and Ellis). I just couldn't make mistakes.

Every play I had to maximize."

The highlights included:

Back-to-back 3-pointers that put NCH ahead 39-17.
A one-handed follow dunk that gave the Trojans a 59-36 lead early in the second half.
A two-handed dunk off a behind-the-back pass from point guard Damon Butler.
The baseline drive and reverse layup that gave him 1,000 career points.
"Well, we shut out two of their top three players," quipped Holmes coach David Henley. "But I've never seen anything like (Walker). I've never seen any high school kid play that well."

Holmes began the game on a 6-0 run, but was outscored 36-9 over the next 11 minutes.
Arrez Henderson led Holmes (17-5) with 18 points. Butler helped pace the Trojans (19-0) with 16.

E-mail rernst@enquirer.com
Holmes (17-5) - Miller 0 2 2, Jefferson 3 0 6, Edmondson 6 0 17, Henderson 8 2 18, Avery 0 4 4, Hill 6 3 17, Nelson 2 1 5. Totals: 25 11 69.
North College Hill (19-0) - Glover 2 4 9, Horne 2 1 5, Davis 5 0 10, Butler 6 3 16, Parks 1 0 2, Walker 18 11 50, Leary 2 0 4, McPherson 2 0 4. Totals 38 19 100.
Holmes14221713- 68NCH23302126- 100
3-pointers: H 7 (Edmondson 5, Hill 2), NCH 5 (Walker 3 Glover, Butler).

Cincy

2/13/06

No. 1 vs. No. 2

A super matchup in prep basketball; NCH awaits top-ranked Oak Hill from Virginia

BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

It could be the biggest prep basketball game in Cincinnati history.

The top two teams in the country will meet when junior superstar O.J. Mayo and North College Hill face six-time national champion Oak Hill Academy (Va.) at U.S. Bank Arena at 8 p.m. Saturday. Oak Hill is rated No. 1 and NCH No. 2 in the USA Today national ratings.

It is not the first time USA Today's No.1 and No. 2 teams have met, but it is the first time it has happened on Cincinnati turf. It's expected to be the largest prep basketball crowd in city history. The 16,500-seat U.S. Bank Arena is sold out.

This game is enormous," said Chris Lawlor, who has compiled USA Today's national poll for six years. "It will go a long way toward deciding our national champion, and with 16,000 people in there it'll be rocking. It'll be crazy."

The New Jersey-based Lawlor is among more than 100 media representatives expected at the game.

Arena officials have heard from Sports Illustrated, ESPN and others about covering the event.

Numerous college coaches also are expected, said arena spokesman Sean Lynn.

Saturday's crowd will see probably the most talent ever assembled for one prep game in Cincinnati.

The rosters include NCH juniors Mayo, Bill Walker and Keenan Ellis, all ranked among the top 50 players nationally in their class. Mayo is No. 1 and Walker in the top five of most scouts' ratings for the class of 2007.

NCH, 20-0, has won 41 straight games, including the Division III state title last season. The Trojans began the year ranked No. 6 by USA Today. By early January, they rose to No. 2 after beating then-No. 16 Canton McKinley.

Dave Krider, who began the USA Today poll in 1982 and now rates teams for Sports Illustrated, said his records do not show a Cincinnati team ever rated this high in the national boys' basketball polls. (Krider currently has Ohio State recruit Greg Oden's Lawrence North, Ind., team as No. 1 nationally, with Oak Hill at No. 2 and NCH at No. 3 in his SI.com poll.)
Oak Hill, 35-0 this year with a 51-game winning streak, features seven players signed by or committed to Division I colleges. The school has won six USA Today mythical national titles, including the last two.

Senior point guard Tywon Lawson is rated in the top 10 of his class nationally by recruiters, and has signed with North Carolina. Junior forward Michael Beasley and junior guard Nolan Smith - son of the late former NBA player Derek Smith - both are rated in the top 10 nationally in the class of 2007.

Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com, said fans will be seeing numerous future National Basketball Association players, if not future NBA All-Stars.

"Even if this was a college basketball game, that would be a ton of talent on one floor," Telep said. "It's pretty rare to have that many elite-level players in one game."

Mayo is The Man in this one, Telep said. Mayo's national reputation as the next LeBron James is well-documented, as Mayo gained national coverage from CNN, ESPN and Sports Illustrated before he even reached high school.
"Mayo is the headliner, the guy who puts the fannies in the seats," Telep said. "He's the best player in most games he plays, but Tywon Lawson is awfully tough too."

NCH is a small Division III school in enrollment, but is the best team in Ohio in any class. The Trojans' wins this season include a 69-67 decision over reigning Division I state champion Canton McKinley and an 87-49 rout of 2005 Division I runner-up St. Xavier.

Oak Hill beat Canton McKinley 51-50 earlier this season, but did it without Lawson, who missed the game for what was termed a disciplinary measure.

For NCH, Oak Hill will be the last game of the regular season. It also is probably the last big 2005-06 challenge for the Trojans, who are expected to blow through the Ohio Division III postseason and hoist another state trophy come March.

"One of our goals is to be national champs, and we have to beat Oak Hill to do that," NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey said. "It's a big game for our team, and the city is making it a big game too. It's one our kids really wanted to play."

The game was arranged with the schools through Philadelphia promoter Jeremy Treatman, whose Scholastic Play By Play Network is in its seventh year of such events. Treatman this year is doing six such events in Philadelphia and seven elsewhere, including an event in Columbus that included the Canton McKinley-NCH game in January.

The buzz for NCH-Oak Hill started last spring when it was revealed the schools were talking about playing. The hype has only increased with both teams unbeaten.

Other Cincinnati schools have found themselves swept up in Mayo mania, and some coaches like the attention it brings to town.

Lakota West coach Mike Mueller, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer Division I area coaches' poll, said NCH-Oak Hill is a rare treat for local fans.

"It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in America, and the eyes of high school, college and probably even the NBA will be on Cincinnati for this game," Mueller said.

"That's good for all of us. We think we have a very good product here in Cincinnati year in and year out, and this is the opportunity to show the rest of the nation."

The game is expected to draw the largest crowd ever for a high school basketball game in Cincinnati.

John Perin, sports director of WOBO-FM radio in Batavia and a longtime Cincinnati basketball historian, has kept a log of large area crowds that includes the past six decades.

The largest local prep crowd is believed to be 13,649 for a regular season game on Jan. 17, 1958, at Cincinnati Gardens, featuring future NBA star Jerry Lucas' Middletown team against Hamilton in a regular-season game.

More recently, a standing-room-only crowd announced at 10,560 jammed into Xavier's Cintas Center for an NCH-Taft game in January. That is the biggest local crowd in recent city history.

Nationally, a few other 1-versus-2 USA Today meetings included DeMatha (Md.) and Mater Dei (Calif.) in the early 1980s and Tolentine (N.Y.) vs. St. Anthony (N.J.) in the late 1980s. There hasn't been such a 1-2 boys' meeting in recent years, Lawlor said.

Oak Hill Academy is located in tiny Mouth of Wilson, Va., and is a small Baptist-affiliated, coed boarding school (grades 8-12). The school has just 130 students but, for the past two decades, it has become known for attracting some of the best prep basketball talent in America.

The Oak Hill coach is Steve Smith, who is 638-38 in 21 seasons. His gallery of stars has included future NBA players such as Carmelo Anthony, Ron Mercer and Jerry Stackhouse.

Oak Hill plays a national schedule and does not compete in a state tournament and therefore plays nearly 40 games a year.

Smith is used to playing in big games, and said he hasn't had much time to think about NCH. At this writing, Oak Hill still had a few games to play before meeting the Trojans.

"I'm sure it'll be a challenge for us in Cincinnati," Smith said. "I know they have two really good players in Mayo and Walker, and also the center Ellis is supposed to be a great young player."

Oak Hill will bring about 50 or 60 fans to the game, Smith said.

"You probably won't hear them, in a crowd that big," Smith said. "We're used to traveling a lot, and playing in front of big crowds doesn't affect us much."

The game will not be televised, but will be carried locally on Hamilton radio station WMOH-AM 1450.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

The top twoOak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., and North College Hill are rated No. 1 and No. 2 nationally in the USA Today boys' prep basketball poll. Their game Saturday marks the first time America's top two prep basketball teams have met in Cincinnati.

Some details:

What: Oak Hill Academy (Va.) vs. North College Hill

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: US Bank Arena

TV: None

Radio: WMOH-AM (1450)

Tickets: The 16,500-seat arena is sold out.

Covington Catholic will meet Ryle at 4:30 p.m. and Taft will play Dayton Dunbar at 6:15 on the same card at U.S. Bank Arena.

Leading the lineup
Oak Hill Academy and North College Hill are rated 1-2 nationally by USA Today, with each featuring some of America's elite prep basketball stars.

A look at some of the top players:

OAK HILL ACADEMY Tywon Lawson, 6-0 Sr. point guard: Rated No. 5 senior by Hoop Scoop and No. 8 by Scout.com. Averages 24.1 points. (Signed with North Carolina.)

Michael Beasley, 6-9 ½ Jr. power forward: Rated No. 2 junior by both Hoop Scoop and Scout.com. Averages 18.7 points. (Oral commitment to UNC Charlotte.)

Nolan Smith, 6-3 Jr. shooting guard: Rated No. 6 junior by Hoop Scoop, No. 16 by Scout.com. Averages 16.3 points. (Oral commitment to Duke.)

NORTH COLLEGE HILL O.J. Mayo: 6-5 Jr. guard: Rated No. 1 junior by both Hoop Scoop and Scout.com. Averages 27.9 points. (Not committed to a college.)

Bill Walker: 6-6 Jr. forward: Rated No. 3 junior by Hoop Scoop, No. 4 by Scout.com. Averages 20.3 points. (Not committed to a college.)

Keenan Ellis: 6-11 Jr. center: Rated No. 43 junior by Scout.com, No. 89 by Hoop Scoop. Averages 11.5 points. (Not committed to a college.)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/15/06

The bigger the arena the better for national power Trojans

BY JOHN ERARDI | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The North College Hill Trojans probably will play more games in bigger arenas next season. It doesn't mean they will play more games at U.S. Bank Arena.
"You need (a big gate)," Nickel said. "This year, with our kids, and, of course, Oak Hill coming in with their great talent, we could do it. But I don't think (the buzz) would be quite as big (for NCH-Oak Hill) if we tried it again next year."
Already on the schedule for next year is a game against LaSalle, probably at Fifth Third Arena at the University of Cincinnati, Nickel said. There could be a game against Moeller in a big arena, too. Both schools want it to happen.Fans say, 'Just schedule it!,' " Nickel said. "But you can't just callFifth Third at UC and say we want this date," Nickel says. "Same with Xavier at Cintas. They have to take care of their schools first. And U.S. Bank Arena has scheduled events, too. You have to have the right school to go down there."
Already booked for next year are the Martin Luther King Classic at Cintas, two games in California, games in Charleston and Huntington, W.Va., and one at the University of Dayton Arena.
NCH wants to play some games at its home gym, Nickel said. The Trojans played four games there this year. Last year, five. Next year, two.
"One is Coronation, which is like Homecoming," Nickel said. "We'd like to have our Senior Night here, too. We had it (Senior Night) at Fairfield(this year) and ... it works OK, but we want to consider the people here."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/15/06

Trojans' boom days

School aims for long-term effects from recent profits

BY JOHN ERARDI | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

North College Hill officials will remember O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker long after the basketball superstars graduate next year.
Because of those players, the relatively small high school will generate an estimated $75,000 in revenues this year and $100,000 next year - more than five times the annual revenue the basketball team generated before the duo enrolled at the school.
For the Division III program, the money already is benefiting - or will benefit - students throughout North College Hill.
According to NCH athletic director Joe Nickel, NCH varsity basketball, which in its pre-Mayo days generated $10,000 to $12,000 in good years, will generate at least $75,000 this season, and probably at least $100,000 next season, Mayo's final one with the Trojans. NCH generated about $60,000 last year.
Those numbers are before expenses, but Nickel said the money could help pay for a track-and-field facility, as well as keep elementary school students in North College Hill from having to "pay for play" during the length of their stay in the district.
NCH presently cannot host track and field events because it doesn't have an appropriate track - only a gravel one. The track itself will cost $250,000, and much of it probably will come from the basketball-generated money.
"You'd still have to have the hurdles, jumping pits and a screened-in discus area," Nickel said. "It's my hope the board of education would help us with some of that, and maybe somebody will step up and provide us with a donation ...
"We want to get the project started so that (Mayo and Walker, et al) can see the impact they've had here."
While it's mostly business as usual for the other NCH teams, there are some perks for the varsity boys' basketball team, even beyond the travel and big crowds the Trojans have experienced. Reebok has donated uniforms to the team, and Nickel was happy to accept them.
"If I get those uniforms, then I don't have to pay $1,500 to $2,000 a year for that uniform rotation (and) now I have money to use elsewhere," he said. "For example, we ordered new track uniforms to supplement some of the old ones. Maybe we wouldn't have been able to do that (without the donated basketball uniforms)."
Mayo's first season with the Trojans, 2003-04, was played mostly at NCH and similarly sized gyms.
"That turned out to be mistake," Nickel said. "We had (too many) people outside trying to get in and (others) outside scalping tickets."
Even in the mostly smaller gyms, the Trojans still generated $35,000.
Profit on this season's $75,000 take will be about $55,000 to $60,000, Nickel said. If the revenues go as high as $100,000 this season, about $75,000 will be profit, he said.
It isn't hard to generate big money when tickets for Saturday's game at U.S. Bank Arena between Virginia's Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today, and No. 2 NCH are priced from $10 to $25, except court-side seats, which cost $40.
Most of the effects of that money will be apparent after Mayo and Walker leave NCH.
"We can take O.J. and Bill over to one of the elementary schools to give out something - and we've done that - and point out a fourth-grader and note what a difference (Mayo and Walker) are going to make in those kids' lives," Nickel said.
"But unless they come back here for a visit in (nine) years and talk to that kid (as a graduating senior), they're not going to know what it meant for that fourth-grader to be able to participate (in extracurricular activities) without having to do pay-to-play."
By no means is NCH a wealthy school district. Nickel said if NCH were to institute a $50 pay-to-play fee, 30 percent to 40 percent of the students now participating in extracurricular activities probably wouldn't be.
The ripple effect of all those student experiences enriched with after-school activities over the next 10 years cannot be measured, Nickel said.
For the most part, the basketball windfall has not significantly changed the trappings of the non-basketball athletes at NCH. The football team had to sell a hundred $10 "Trojan Cards" forrestaurant discounts to raise $1,000 toward their new home jerseys. The girls' basketball team is on a four-year rotation which has new home uniforms purchased the first year, new road uniforms the second year, new warmups the third year and new practice gear the fourth year. The fifth year, those varsity uniforms are handed down to the reserve team, which then goes on its own four-year cycle.
It's all part of keeping school life normal and having funds for the future, Nickel said.
What surprises Nickel most about the current basketball phenomenon?
"That somebody (a promoter) would fly us to California (for a game) and pay all our expenses and give us that money - and the fact that they were able to sell out court-side seats at $50 apiece," Nickel said.
Nickel said he isn't at liberty to divulge North College Hill's take from this Saturday's game at U.S. Bank Arena.
But, as he noted, 16,000 seats multiplied by mostly $10-$25 tickets is what will be split among the various parties after expenses.
"Sooner or later the money (from the Mayo-Walker boom) is going to run out," Nickel said. "Our school administration feels that it's important that we take care of not only today's kids, but our future kids, and that's what this is about. And I agree with them."
E-mail jerardi@enquirer.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

PlainDealer

2/15/06

North College Hill faces storied Oak Hill

2/15/2006, 5:50 p.m. ET By DAN SEWELL
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — After a series of tough tests this season that has led to a 19-0 season, Cincinnati North College Hill High School's basketball team takes a final exam Saturday night.

The Trojans face Oak Hill Academy of Virginia in their final regular season game. Some 16,500 fans are expected at sold-out U.S. Bank Arena.

USA Today ranks Oak Hill first and North College Hill second, giving the winner the chance to stake a claim to the newspaper's unofficial national championship.

Such nationally significant games are nothing new for Oak Hill, which beat LeBron James' Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School teams in two of three meetings and claims six national titles. It will be, however, North College Hill's biggest challenge ever.


"They've played across the country, played the best teams," North College Hill coach Jamie Mahaffey said of Oak Hill. "It's going to be a very, very tough game. They play the teams that prove they need to be No. 1."

In the third season for stars O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, the defending state champions toughened their schedule this season with games against top teams around Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and California. Playing "national schedules" has become common for leading high school teams.

"They're just tests," said Walker, a 6-6 forward fond of spectacular dunks while able to hit 3-pointers. "We just wanted to see where we're going to be this year. I want to compete to see where I'm at."

Oak Hill coach Steve Smith's 35-0 team boasts of at least seven players headed to Division I schools, led by North Carolina-bound senior guard Tywon Lawson and junior guard Nolan Smith and junior forward Michael Beasley. Lawson scored 33 points Saturday night in a hard-fought 78-72 victory over St. Benedict's Prep of New Jersey.

"Anytime, any one of those players can do anything," Mahaffey said. "Steve Smith is an excellent coach. We respect them very much."

With Mayo, a 6-5 guard who is Ohio's reigning Mr. Basketball, resting an injured foot and 6-11 junior Keenan Ellis out after leaving the team, Walker scored 50 points and had 25 rebounds in a 100-68 victory over Covington (Ky.) on Sunday.

"We see it's there," Walker said. "It's hard not to think like 'Aw, national championship!' but we've just got to stay focused."

While private-school Oak Hill has played teams in Las Vegas, Houston, Greensboro, N.C., among other out-of-state trips, Ohio athletic officials limit cross-country schedules to one out-of-state trip other than to neighboring states. North College Hill's trip was to California, where the Trojans defeated teams from North Hollywood and Compton in December.

North College Hill's success has helped bring attention to other top teams in the Cincinnati area.

A Jan. 16 game with Cincinnati Taft drew more than 10,000 fans to a sold-out Xavier University Cintas Center. Taft will play Dayton Dunbar and Kentucky teams Covington Catholic and Ryle play before North College Hill's game Saturday.


"Tickets went fast for this game, a lot of people have been excited," Mahaffey said of Saturday's game. "The side we control is on the court, and that's where we'll try to do our best."

___
On the Net:
North College Hill City Schools athletics: http://my.spinsite.com/nchcityschools/index/mn25714/Athletics-Home
Oak Hill Academy athletics: http://www.oak-hill.net/athletics/

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

North College Hill (19-0) vs. Oak Hill (Va.), Saturday, 8 p.m. at U.S. Bank Arena;* vs. SCPA/Blanchester, 6:30 p.m., Feb. 27 at Sycamore.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/17/06

NCH cuts Ellis' season short

BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

North College Hill center Keenan Ellis was removed from the basketball team for the remainder of the season Thursday, just two days before the Trojans' showdown with Oak Hill Academy (Va.) on Saturday.

NCH athletic director Joe Nickel said Ellis, a 6-foot-11 junior averaging 11.5 points a game, is still enrolled in school.

Nickel would not say why Ellis is off the team. Ellis was held out of Sunday's 100-68 win over Holmes and missed NCH's game against St. Xavier in December in another disciplinary action.

NCH (19-0) is rated No. 2 and Oak Hill (36-0) No. 1 in the USA Today national ratings entering Saturday's 8 p.m. game at sold-out U.S. Bank Arena, which has a capacity of 16,500.

NCH star junior guard O.J. Mayo is expected to play despite a stress fracture in his foot, NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey said.

GAME HOT TICKET ON EBAY

Some results for auctions on eBay for tickets to Saturday's contest:

A pair of front-row tickets went for $451 Feb. 7 and had 12 bids.

A pair of tickets for floor seats at midcourt went for $330 Feb. 11 with 22 bids.

A pair of tickets for floor seats sold for $247.50 Thursday with 10 bids.

Three tickets for seats in Section 124, Row J went for $242.50 Thursday and had 21 bids.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

2/17/06

Small program, big success

No. 1 rankings, wins have put it on national map

BY MIKE DYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Oak Hill Academy basketball coach Steve Smith gets so many calls, he often has to turn off his cell phone in the evening.
Smith and his wife, Lisa, who works in the school's athletic office, might value caller I.D. more than anyone else in Mouth of Wilson, Va.
"Sometimes I put my phone on 'do not disturb,' but it only makes my wife mad at me because the calls will roll over to her office. I will say, 'Will you please take some messages, because I've got cauliflower ear.' "
If it's not a reporter calling, then it's a college coach, recruiter, scout, promoter or another high school coach.
Smith knows those involved have something at stake. And it just so happens that Cincinnati is at the epicenter of a mythical national championship game this weekend.
Oak Hill, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today, plays No. 2 North College Hill at sold-out U.S. Bank Arena at 8 p.m. Saturday.
"They know it's a big game," Smith said of his players. "They're not used to being in front of 16,000 fans, so obviously it's a big venue."
U.S. Bank Arena seats 16,500. Though that large an audience isn't the norm for Oak Hill (36-0), the team routinely plays in front of bigger crowds than most high school teams and has a national schedule of about 40 games because it does not participate in a conference or a state tournament.
Oak Hill's gym seats 350.
"Kind of like something you would see on (the movie) 'Hoosiers,' " Oak Hill president Dr. Michael Groves said.
What Oak Hill lacks in gym capacity, it makes up for in star power. Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Rod Strickland, Ron Mercer, Jeff McInnis, DeSagana Diop, Steve Blake and Josh Smith all played at the school before reaching NBA fame.
Under Smith's guidance, Oak Hill has won six mythical national championships (1993, '94, '99, 2001, '04, '05) and has been runner-up four times (1990, '92, 2000, '02).
This season, seven players have signed or verbally committed to an NCAA Division I program.
Senior Tywon Lawson, a 6-foot, 190-pound point guard who is bound for North Carolina is the team's leader. He averages 24.2 points, 9.0 assists and 4.9 steals per game.
"He is the whole package," Smith said. "He is hard to stay in front of. He's a hard guy to guard."
Senior 6-6 forward Jeff Allen has signed with Virginia Tech; 6-10 senior center Albert Jackson has signed with Georgia, and 6-6 forward Landon Milbourne is bound for Maryland. Three Oak Hill players have made verbal college commitments: 6-6 senior guard Anthony Wright (Michigan), 6-3 junior guard Nolan Smith (Duke) and 6-9 junior forward Michael Beasley (Charlotte).
The talent level of this season's team isn't unusual for Oak Hill, but Groves refutes the notion that the school is a "basketball factory."
"Basketball is one of the things we do well, but it's ultimately not what we do best," said Groves, who has been Oak Hill's president since May 2002.
Still, Oak Hill has had 20 players selected as McDonald's All-Americans - more than any other high school in the country. Two players - the Mavericks' DeSagana Diop and the Hawks' Josh Smith - have gone straight from Oak Hill to the NBA.
Smith says he doesn't have to recruit such talent.
Said Diop: "So many kids read the (newspapers). ... So many kids want to go there because they get a lot of exposure."
Smith, who also serves as athletic director, says Oak Hill has another advantage in attracting players: It offers an environment that helps prepare them for college.
"We try to promote exactly what college is like," he said. "... They have to fit in and carry their grades and also get used to traveling."
Oak Hill is a private, co-ed, Baptist-affiliated boarding school with 130 students. It's located in an isolated section of southwest Virginia. It does not accept postgraduate or fifth-year students. Tuition is $21,500 per year, and no player attends Oak Hill for free, according to Smith.
Hawks guard Josh Smith, who played three years at an Atlanta high school before transferring, said it was a difficult adjustment.
"It was nothing but farms, horses, cows and the school," said Smith, the 2005 NBA slam-dunk champion. "It is a really small town. But I knew I was up there for a reason.
"It was a little boring at times, but now I really miss the guys I played with and Coach Smith, too."
For all Oak Hill's basketball success - it has won 52 straight games - Steve Smith might be the main reason players want to go there.
And whenever Smith leaves or retires, continuing Oak Hill's dominance won't be as simple as plugging in another coach, said recruiting analyst Dave Telep.
"The New York Yankees have the most talent, and they don't always win," Telep said. "... Steve knows how to run the program better than anyone else."

About Oak HillLocation: Mouth of Wilson, Va. (pop. 1,447)

Opened: 1878

Description: A co-ed, Baptist-affiliated boarding school that has 130 students in grades 8-12. About 95 percent of its graduates will attend college.

Tuition: $21,500

Athletics: Besides the nationally renowned boys' basketball team, Oak Hill also has soccer, baseball, volleyball, tennis, cheerleading and equestrian programs.

Interesting fact: The closest stoplight to the school is 15 miles away; the nearest McDonald's is 35 miles.

NOTABLE ALUMNI
Carmelo Anthony

Steve Blake

DeSagana Diop

Ron Mercer

Jeff McInnis

Josh Smith

Jerry Stackhouse

Rod Strickland


CURRENT COLLEGE PLAYERS

Rajon Rondo, Kentucky

Chadd Moore, Cincinnati

Brian Johnson, Louisville

Ivan Harris, Ohio State

Justin Gray, Wake Forest


DIVISION I SIGNEES

Tywon Lawson, North Carolina

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech

Albert Jackson, Georgia

Landon Milbourne, Maryland

Related News From The Web

• Prep sports blog

The Steve Smith file
Age: 50

Born: Alliance, Ohio

Coaching record: 640-38

Education: A 1977 graduate of Asbury College in Wilmore, Ky.

Family: Wife Lisa; two children - daughter, Stephanie (23), a Xavier graduate student; son, Sean Christian (22), a University of Kentucky student

Coaching honors: USA Today's National High School coach of the year in 1994, 1999 and 2004

Did you know? Smith is an avid golfer and a big fan of the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and Ohio State Buckeyes.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

jjhuddle.com (free)

2/18/06

Game preview of NCH vs Oak Hill.