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'06 OH SF Josh Chichester (Louisville Verbal)

jjhuddle.com (free)

11/2/05


Quote:

Ohio’s Best Boys Basketball Players
Buckeye state boasts more talent than ever before


By Steve Helwagen

Over the course of the summer, Ohio’s best boys basketball players showed their stuff in various AAU and summer camp events from coast to coast.
These events helped Ohio’s best players earn reputations as the nation’s very best. The national rankings supplied by ScoutHoops.com are dotted with players from Ohio.

Five of the current seniors are in the national top 100, led by Dayton Dunbar’s Daequan Cook at No. 16. Even better is the Class of 2007, where seven Ohio prospects are listed among the top 50. That group is led by the North College Hill duo of O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, ranked first and fourth nationally, respectively.

The sophomore class in Ohio also boasts two of the nation’s top 15 prospects, including Cincinnati Hughes’ Yancey Gates at No. 5.

“You would be hard pressed to go back and find three years consecutively where there is this type of talent in the state of Ohio,” said HoopScoopOnline.com Ohio editor Chris Johnson. “And there is not only talent but also some size. In that sophomore class, there are four or five really good players who are already 6-8 or taller.”

The Ohio talent quotient would be even better if Herb Pope, a 6-8 forward considered a top-10 national junior, had followed through with his stated plan to transfer to a school in Ohio. Instead, he began the new school year at his old school in Aliquippa, Pa.

With the summer camp and AAU season over, Johnson has reassessed his lists of Ohio’s top prospects and updated them. The following is a look at the top prospects in each class in Ohio high school boys basketball, as rated by Johnson.

Seniors-To-Be (Class of 2006)

* 8. Josh Chichester, 6-8, power forward, West Chester Lakota West – Chichester averaged 13 points and eight rebounds per game. Chichester, ranked by Scout as a national top-100 prospect in football as a wide receiver, committed to Ohio State for football on July 1. He picked OSU over Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Louisville. He plans to play both sports at OSU.

“I think if he wants to play basketball, he could help them defend and rebound,” Johnson said. “He is a tremendous defender and shot blocker. There are not too many walk-ons who are 6-7 or 6-8 and do the kind of things he can do. He is very athletic.”
 
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11/30/05

Chichester leads by example
Firebirds’ big man set for successful 2005-06 campaign


Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What Josh Chichester does on the basketball court once the ball goes up on Friday nights makes him a great player.

But what Lakota West High senior does on the practice court away from the crowds and hoopla makes him special.

“I don’t think anybody would question that Josh is the most talented player on our team,” veteran Lakota West coach Mike Mueller said. “Come to our practices and watch us run sprints. He’ll win every sprint. When your most talented players are your most hard-working players you know you’ve got something special.”

Chichester, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound center, had a special season in 2004-05. He averaged 13.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season en route to first-team, all-Greater Miami Conference, second-team, all-district and honorable mention all-Ohio honors.

Chichester, who has accepted a football scholarship to Ohio State University and also will play basketball for the Buckeyes, helped lead the Firebirds to a 19-4 record and a trip to the Division I district finals.

West’s soft-spoken big man is hoping for much more in 2005-06.

“Hopefully we can surpass that mark,” Chichester said. “I just feel great about the season because we have a lot of seniors, ones that contribute and play their roles. Plus, we’ve got a couple of younger kids willing to do their part to help us win a championship.”

With the firepower the Firebirds have returning — three of their top four scorers and five senior starters — championships (GMC, district and beyond) are a distinct possibility.

“(A state championship) is something that everyone’s wanted,” Chichester said. “We’re a really good team. We’ve all played varsity for a while so now everybody has the feel of it. This year we just have to go out and do it.”

What Chichester does best is run the floor in the Firebirds’ transition offense and provide an intimidating presence down low in the middle of the their half-court defense.

“He’s such a gifted athlete who runs the floor incredibly well,” Mueller said. “He has great timing with his defense and rebounding. ... It’s not just the shots he blocks but the ones he changes and the ones he discourages people from taking.”

Chichester owns nearly every school record for blocked shots, including game (seven), season (50), season average (2.2) and career total (96). He’ll also own the career average mark once the season is over.

Chichester’s challenge this season is keeping those blocks in play instead of sending the ball 10 rows back.

“I need to tip them instead of swatting them,” he said. “The swats are good for the crowds but when we really need the ball, I’ll try to tip it to my teammates instead of sending it to my friends (in the crowd).”

In addition to his shot-blocking prowess, Chichester, a three-year starter, ranks second on West’s all-time rebounding list. He stands just 28 boards behind 2004 grad Brian LaChapelle, who finished his career with 418.

Chichester hasn’t set any individual goals for his final high school season.

“I’ll just take whatever comes,” he said. “I’m not going to try too much or do too little. I just have to do what I can do because we’ve got so many different guys who can contribute in so many different ways. I’m happy as long as we get the ‘W’.”


CONTACT JOHN BOYLE at (513) 755-5114 or [email protected]
 
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So is Chichester playing both sports for sure, or is that just what he wants to do? I'm sure Matta, like any coach, would be annoyed at having to wait until January to get an important player into uniform. And we all know that Chichester will be busy with Buckeye football in January all four years.
 
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