2022 Region 2 Preview

 

Region 2 Teams Preview

Wednesday at 7:00 at Copley HS: Green (23-2) vs Akron Hoban (17-8) 

Thursday at 7:00 at Copley HS: 8:00 - St Edward () vs Massillon Jackson (23-3) 

 Green (10-2 in the Federal League, 20-2 in regular season, 23-2 overall)

The Bulldogs were in this position three years ago when they reached the regional round for the first time in school history in 2019. Green had one of the best regular seasons in Northeast Ohio. Playing in one of the top big school basketball leagues in the state, Green established themselves as the team to beat in the Federal League with wins over Jackson, Lake, Hoover, and Canton McKinley. They also owned wins over three very talented teams (St Ignatius, Richmond Heights, and Hoban) that are still playing in the tournament. Coach Mark Kinsley has several milestones in his 20+ years at his alma mater, highlighted by a perfect regular season in 2014-15 and the regional runner-up in 2019. Green is starting to establish themselves as one of the top programs in the area. Their path to a district title began with a sectional final win over Kent Roosevelt (61-32) that set up a third matchup this season against league foe, Canton McKinley. The Summit County Bulldogs stopped the Stark County Bulldogs, 51-38. In a rematch with one of the top teams in their area, Green closed out their second district title in four seasons by defeating Stow.  

Senior forward Zach Oddo earned the Federal League's Player of the Year award a season after being a Second Team All-District player as a junior. The 6'6 Oddo led the team in points and rebounds while being second on the team in assists. He recently became a 1,000-point scorer and will be remembered as one of the best players in program history. Senior guard Trey Martin, a DII Offensive Player of the Year in football, is a leading scorer for the Bulldogs. As a freshman, Martin was a rotational player on Green's last district title team that featured his older brother, Kaleb. The duo of Oddo/Martin are as experienced and talented as any at the Region 2 tournament. Sophomores Brady Rollyson and Jarret Taylor are a key part of the present and future for the Bulldogs. The 6'2 Rollyson is also a standout baseball player. Taylor is a 6'4 forward that brings size and athleticism into the front court. 

Coach Mark Kinsley earned the Coach of the Year honors three times in the past five seasons in the competitive Federal League. This district title was Kinsley's second in four seasons. 

Biggest regular season wins: St Ignatius, Hoban, Solon, Richmond Heights, Medina, Stow, and Jackson

Regular season losses: Hoover and Jackson

 

Hoban (15-7 in regular season, 19-7 overall)

Of all the teams that made it to this regional, Hoban may have been the biggest surprise. The Knights were the 5th highest seed at the Twinsburg District. They hadn't won a district title in 14 years, and never in Division I. During the regular season, Hoban had some ups and downs as they finished with a 15-7 record. The team was certainly battle tested as they played some of the area's best teams (SVSM, Green, Jackson, and Solon). Hoban has appeared to find their stride late in the season as they are currently riding a ten game winning streak that includes four tournament wins. Their path to the district title began with a sectional semifinal win over Cuyahoga Falls (70-34). In the sectional final, Hoban entered as the underdog to the second highest seeded team at the Twinsburg tournament. The Knights had one of their most impressive wins of the season in knocking off Hoover, 63-46. Hoban continued their winning ways with a district semifinal win over Aurora. In the district final, hot shooting and continued lockdown defense gave the Knights a win over Jackson (62-49). It was the second time during the tournament that Hoban "upset" a higher seeded team from the Federal League. The Knights held their four tournament opponents so far to an average of just 41.7 points per game. 

Unlike the other teams at the district, the Knights are a group led by underclassmen. Super sophomore Jonas Nichols, a mainstay on the team from the start as a freshman, is one of the top players in the 2024 class in the area. The 6'2 guard is often the leading scorer. Junior guard Logan Vowles is a talented shooter that can be a big difference maker. He hit four three-pointers in the win over Hoover. A week later, he shot 6-8 from three-point range to help Hoover defeat Jackson in the district final. Junior guard Will Scott gives the Knights another scorer in the back court. Up front, look for 6'6 junior Andrew Griffith to be a strong inside presence on both ends of the floor. Junior Jayvian Crable is a 6'3 forward that rounds out the heavy emphasis on underclassmen in the starting lineup. As we see a contrast between Hoban's youth and the experience of some of the other teams remaining in the tournament, we will see how the lack of seniors impacts the rest of their tournament run. 

Coach TK Griffith is in his first year as principal of the school in addition to his duties as coach. Griffith is in 29th season for his alma mater and has well over 400 victories. 

Biggest regular season wins: Jackson, Benedictine, Massillon, ISA and Dalton

Regular season losses: Green, Youngstown East, Gilmour, Maple Heights, Solon, Walsh Jesuit, SVSM

Mentor (7-3 in the GCC, 16-6 in regular season, 20-6 overall)

Mentor won their 16th district title since Coach Krizancic took over the program. The 2013 state champions are making their fifth trip to regional play in the last six seasons. During the regular season, Mentor went 16-6 and finished tied at the top of the league standings with Solon. Sweeping Brunswick and a late-season win over Solon helped secure a share of the GCC title. Their path to the district crown included a pair of comfortable sectional wins against Lakeside (108-50) and University (74-37). The district semifinal against Mayfield was a battle from start to finish. The Cardinals overcame a herculean effort from Mayfield's Hayden Nahara (game-high 32 points) to finish with a 75-68 victory. Collins had a team-high 17 points in the win. The district final saw Mentor go up against the heavy favorite Brush Arcs, the top overall seed in the three DI East districts. Playing without the District Player of the Year Elmore James, Brush was shocked by the Cardinals in a 62-46 loss. Mentor started the game with an early 19-4 explosion led by sophomore Ian Iopollo's four three-pointers in the 1st quarter on his way to a game-high 17 points. Mentor hit 13 three-pointers for the game as they cruised to possibly their most unexpected district championship seasons. 

Mentor is led by senior Sean Collins (15 ppg), a Second Team All-District selection. Collins is the only one on the roster that was in the rotation on last year's team that advanced to the state semifinals. A quiet reserve a season ago, Collins has become the team's go-to scorer and leader. Fellow senior Jake Ferrito helps handle some point guard duties and has been the team's most dependable three-point shooter. Junior Ryan Iopollo has been a "jack of all trades" this season as he has taken on the roles of point guard, knock down shooter, and often defending the opposing team's best guard. The two sophomores in the starting lineup (Ian Iopollo and Matthew Biddell) are capable of a big scoring night with their versatile offensive games both inside and out. Ian Iopollo showed his value to the team with five three pointers in Mentor's district final win over Brush. In that district final, Mentor rarely went to their bench. Senior guards Austin Kiggins, Nick Farley, and Mike Harrison are available to provide some depth if the moment is needed.  

Coach Bob Krizancic has enters the regional tournament with 699 wins in his career that are highlighted by his two state championships (1995 with Girard and 2013 with Mentor). 

Biggest regular season wins: Solon, Medina, Brunswick (twice), Glenville, and Rhodes

Regular season losses: Cincinnati Princeton, Pickerington Central, Solon, Chaney, Medina, and Strongsville 

 

St Edward (17-5 in regular season, 20-5 overall)

The Eagles were voted the top overall seed at the three-district pool of teams at the DI West super district. They handed a very talented Brush team one of their only losses of the season. Wins over Lutheran East and Glenville (a pair of teams that won their district) also stand out. But as always, no wins during the regular season matter more than defeating their longtime rival, St Ignatius. The Eagles swept the season series with the Wildcats, proving themselves to be one of the elite teams in Northeast Ohio once again. The Eagles cruised through the early rounds of the tournament with convincing wins over Berea-Midpark (80-51) and Midview (66-33). This set up a district final clash with the Medina Bees, a program that has won district titles the previous two seasons. St Eds controlled the game from the start as they held the Bees scoreless through most of the 1st quarter. Defense was the difference as the Eagles limited Medina to just 26 points in the first half. Michael Bova was the leading man once more for the Eagles as he had a game-high 21 points. Zyion Freer-Brown (10 points) was the only other Eagle who scored in double digits. Five different St Edward players hit a triple as the Eagles would hold off a late surge and defeat the Bees, 65-52.

Few programs in NEO have the kind of cache and success in the 2000's as the St Edward Eagles. The talent on this team may be a bit unheralded compared to some of the Flannery's past teams, but there is still plenty of talent wearing the green and gold. It starts with senior point guard Michael Bova, one of the top players in the area. The 6'2 guard averaged 19 points per game and will continue his career playing Division I college basketball at Bellarmine. Bova earned First Team All-District honors during his junior and senior seasons. After averaging 26 points per game in last year's tournament, Bova has a strong case as being the best player in this region. Another player on the Eagles roster that will be playing at a high level of college basketball next season is Jair Knight, a Marist commit. Knight and Bova give the Eagles one of the more talented backcourt duos in the state. Zyion Freer-Brown, a standout linebacker on the football team, is also a key player to watch. Cameron Grant is a 6'7 junior forward that can be a load to handle in the front court. Myles Reynolds is another talented senior guard that provides another scorer and solid defender. 

Coach Eric Flannery just picked up his 500th career victory as the head coach for the Eagles. Flannery is one of the country's elite high school coaches as he has been involved with a variety of Team USA coaching opportunities. His 26 seasons have included 20 district titles, 10 regional titles, and two state titles (1998 and 2014). 

Biggest regular season wins: St Ignatius (twice), Brush, Lutheran East, Solon and Glenville

Regular season losses: Richmond Heights, Reynoldsburg, SVSM, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, and DeMatha (MD)

Mentor/Brush Basketball Time Capsule

Mentor and Brush will play Saturday night at Euclid for the 12th time since 2003 - seven of those are in district finals. Most games were extremely competitive and close. As someone who has been at every single one of these games, I have summed up some of the big names and events from the games. Between my own memory and research, be prepared for plenty of information on the recent history basketball between Mentor and Brush:

2003 District Final: Mentor 71 Brush 62
Mentor's 2003 team had a talented senior class that were a part of three straight district titles at Euclid and a regional final appearance in 2002. All-Ohio guard Eddie Zienkowski led the way for Mentor. Brush had a couple of very talented players, Marcel Frost and Ray Mosby. Mosby and Zienkowski went toe-to-toe answering one big shot for another all night long. Frost was a talented post player for Brush that went on to OSU as a tight end.


2004 Sectional Final: Brush 60 Mentor 55
Brush was led by E.B. Davis, a standout sophomore that was the younger brother of Cavalier Ricky Davis. After his brother got traded from the Cavs, Davis left the NEO area and went on to play at Oak Hill and eventually in college at a couple different DI schools. Mentor had a super sophomore of their own in Adam May. In the 2000's, this was one of only two times (2007 was the other) that Mentor did not make it to the district level of the tournament. This was also the only time Brush has beaten Mentor at the Euclid tournament in the 2000's. Due to a punishment from the OHSAA over a violation with missing school for an out of state tournament, Mentor was without their head coach for this loss. Therefore, Coach Krizancic is undefeated against Brush at the Euclid district tournament. 


2005 Sectional Semifinal: Mentor 75 Brush 71
A year after losing to the Arcs, Mentor beat Brush in the only time they met in the first round of the tournament. By this point, E.B. Davis left Brush. Mentor would lose in the district semifinals this season to Kenston.


2008 District Semifinal: Mentor 81 Brush 73
Brush was coming off an upset of St Ignatius in the sectional final. A young and talented sophomore,  Nate Tait, was a big part of that upset. The 2008 Mentor team was young and very small. Cole Krizancic was starting as a freshman. Sophomore PG Jaron Fritts and senior guard Joey Meyer were also under six foot guards that started. Mentor defeated Brush in the semifinal and then went on to defeat Glenville in the district final. This would be the first of three consecutive seasons that Tait's season would end with a district tournament loss to the Cardinals.


2009 District Final: Mentor 59 Brush 50
As a junior, Nate Tait erupted across the NEO basketball scene. He was one of the finest guards in Ohio and would be the News-Herald's Player of the Year. Tait finished the game with 40% of Brush's total points, but it wasn't enough. For the second season in a row, Brush's season ended at the hands of Mentor. Junior guard Jaron Crowe led Mentor with 23 points. It was the first of what would be four straight district final matchups between the two schools.


2010 District Final: Mentor 88 Brush 73
This may have been the most exciting and talented offensive team Mentor has ever had. They were led by senior guard Jaron Crowe (the Cleveland.com POY this season), all-time leading scorer Cole Krizancic, and future Mr. Basketball Justin Fritts. This trio of guards was as good on the high school level as you will ever find. They all had 20+ points in this game and they combined for 73 of the 88 points. Brush senior Nate Tait gave everything he had, but just couldn't overcome Mentor during his career. Tait struggled in this game, only scoring 15 points. Sophomore Pharaoh Brown and freshman Curtis Oakley (nephew of Charles Oakley) played well and gave Brush something to look forward to in the post-Tait days. Mentor hit 28 of 30 free throws in the game to help give them separation. Mentor would go on to beat Avon Lake and upset St Edward at the CSU regional to give the program their first ever trip to the state tournament.


2011 District Final: Mentor 76 Brush 67
Mentor replaces the departed Jaron Crowe with transfer Collin Barth to maintain a crazy-good backcourt trio. Barth joined Cole Krizancic and Justin Fritts to help lead of the top teams in Ohio. Oakley/Brown combined for 41 points for the Arcs. Amazingly, Cole was able to match their scoring all by himself with a career-defining performance of 41 points in a district final. The senior guard hit five three-pointers in the game. Fritts was second on the team in scoring this night with 16 points. Mentor defeated Berea in the regional semifinal before falling to Garfield Heights in the final.


2012 District Final: Mentor 76 Brush 72
Of the four straight district finals these two played from 2009 to 2012, this was by far the most nerve-wrecking for Mentor. Behind the strong physical play of Pharaoh Brown (24 points and 24 rebounds) and Curtis Oakley, Brush found themselves in great position to cut down the nets. With Brush out to an 11-point lead, Mentor dug deep and outscored the Arcs 24-9 in the 4th quarter. Once again, Brush struggled at the free throw line (10-26), which essentially cost them the game. With a foundation of a state championship team (a year away) playing with Mr Ohio Justin Fritts and steady senior PG Danny Wallack, this was one of the best teams Mentor has put on the floor. Fritts (24 points) and Wallack (17) led the way for Mentor. This was the 4th straight district final win over the Arcs, and 5th straight win overall against the Arcs at Euclid.


2018 District Semifinal: Mentor 65 Brush 61
Brush, featuring a young and talented core, came up a little short against Mentor's deep senior-laden team. Mentor's Shane Zalba had a big time performance with a game-high 22 points, including nine in the 4th quarter. Tadas Tatarunas also chipped in nine big 4th quarter points. Brush was led by Tyler Williams (18 points), Andre Harris (16), and DJ Dial (12). Mentor went on to the district final before losing to a very talented Solon team.


2019 District Final: Mentor 77 Brush 73
There have been some big time battles over the years between the two, and this was as big as any. The crowd was probably the largest it has been too. Brush was loaded with talent, led by senior guards DJ Dial and Andre Harris. Junior John Hugley is one of the top recruited big men in the Midwest. Mentor's talented trio (Luke Floriea, Chad Rogers, and Luke Chicone) were up to the task. Mentor grabbed the lead at the end of the 1st quarter and never let it escape. Luke Floriea had one of the best big games I have seen a Mentor player have. Floriea scored 30 points, including perfect on all of his three-point attempts. He attacked the hoop, hit his free throws, and was the emotional leader on the court in what was one of the very best district wins ever for Krizancic/Mentor. Hugley led the Arcs with 20 points.


2020 District Final: Mentor 71 Brush 69
The 2019 game was a difficult one to live up to, and yet these two talented teams found a way to do it. Brush returned All-Ohio star John Hugley (Pitt commit), one of the most highly recruited big men in the country. Hugley, 35 points and 15 games in this district final, proved to be one of the most dominant individual players Mentor has ever gone up against. Super sophomore Elmore James scored 23 for the Arcs. Together, they helped build a multiple possession lead early in the 4th quarter. Mentor's super trio of Luke Floriea, Chad Rogers, and Luke Chicone still had another big moment left in the tank as all three scored 20+ points for the Cards. Clutch shotmaking by Mentor legend Floriea and critical free throws by Chicone (YSU basketball commit) helped bring Mentor out of a 4th quarter deficit. Mentor closed the game by hitting 11 of 14 free throws in the final quarter to seal the victory, which was their 13th district title in 18 seasons under Coach Krizancic.