Boys basketball: Springfield seeks state breakthrough

The Springfield High School boys basketball program has established itself as a Division I powerhouse in recent years.

The Wildcats have won at least 18 games each of the last five seasons and have advanced to the D-I regionals three times in the last four years.

The next goal? Breaking through to the state tournament.

»RELATED: Tuesday’s high school roundup

»RELATED: Tuesday’s high school scoreboard

“We’re trying to continue the success and take it a step above,” said Wildcats coach Isaiah Carson.

The Wildcats return seven players from a squad that went 21-5 last season before falling to eventual state champion Moeller in the regional semifinals. The key is having “laser sharp focus,” Carson said.

“A lot of those tough games, especially in the regionals, they come down to possessions,” he said. “Almost every possession counts. If we can just think laser sharp focus, stay the course and be consistent, I think we’ll be just fine.”

The Wildcats got a late start this season as Springfield’s football team played into mid-November, advancing to the Division I regional semifinals. Several football players are working themselves into shape, Carson said.

“We’re working on getting into some basketball shape, but we’re starting to round out pretty good,” Carson said.

Springfield’s schedule is the toughest his program has ever faced, Carson said. The Wildcats travel to Beavercreek on Friday and play Pickerington Central on Saturday in the All-Ohio Classic. They’ll also play Hilliard Bradley in the Capital Classic on Dec. 22, as well as Prolific Prep (Calif.) in the Flying to the Hoop tournament on Jan. 19.

“We’ll play anybody, any place, anywhere,” Carson said. “We want the challenge night-in, night-out. We want to be known as one of the better programs in Ohio.”

The schedule was made to help prepare the Wildcats for tournament time, he said.

“We want to be challenged and see as much adversity as possible so we can get better and be ready when it comes tournament time,” Carson said.

The offense will revolve around senior guard RaHeim Moss, who averaged 14.9 points and 6.5 rebounds last season en route to being named second team All-Ohio. He’s got multiple offers for both football and basketball, including the University of Cincinnati.

Carson also expects senior captain David Sanford and junior guards Larry Stephens, Jeff Tolliver and Jordan Howard to be scoring threats.

“A lot of the stuff we do we do around (Moss), but we’ll do it by committee,” Carson said. “We’re not going to put everything on him. We’ve got a system. Some guys have it going some nights and some guys don’t. We’ll do it by committee and rely on our defense.”

The Wildcats lost three seniors to graduation, including post player Leonard Taylor (12.9 points, 8.9 rebounds per game) and guard Michael Wallace (9.9 ppg). Two juniors — JaJuan Rodgers and Sam Towns — transferred to Pickerington Central.

Junior guard Jalan Minney moved to the district this season this season after averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 assists per game at Northwestern last season.

Sophomore Ani Elliott and junior Raymans Cole are both prepared to take over for Taylor in the paint, Carson said.

“They’ll help us out inside a lot,” he said.

The Greater Western Ohio Conference National East Division will be as tough as its always been, Carson said. Wayne lost to eventual state champion Moeller in the regional finals, while Centerville and Fairmont each had winning records.

“We have to show up and play every night,” Carson said.


SEVEN PLAYERS TO WATCH

RaHeim Moss, Springfield: The senior averaged 14.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season, named D-I All-Ohio Second Team.

Sabien Doolittle, Catholic Central: The senior averaged 14.0 ppg for the Irish, named D-IV All-Ohio Honorable Mention a year ago.

Trey Dunn, Catholic Central: Irish senior point guard earned Southwest District third team honors in D-IV last season, averaging 7.5 ppg.

Colby Cross, Cedarville: Junior averaged 19 ppg and was named D-IV All-Ohio Honorable Mention a year ago.

Brevan King, Graham: Senior forward averaged 11.4 points per game, named first team All-CBC Mad River Division.

Tyler Eberhart, Kenton Ridge: Sophomore forward averaged 12.3 points for the Cougars last year, named second team All-CBC Kenton Trail Division.

Reid Taylor, Urbana: Senior forward named second team All-CBC Mad River Division last year for the Hillclimbers, who’ve won six of the last seven league titles.

About the Author