Top notes, quotes & anecdotes

On March 24, as I was watching the Campbell High boys basketball team fall behind by 18 points in the first nine minutes of a Div. III district final, I turned to the reporter next to me and said, “Well, this game’s over.”

He smirked. I’d famously made that same prediction at a district semifinal and, in both cases, I was — if you want to get technical — wrong.

Campbell, of course, rallied to win. Midway through the fourth quarter, I turned to him and said, “Just ignore whatever comes out of my mouth. I’m an idiot who has no idea what he’s talking about.”

I mention this story because this is my annual winter wrap-up column and I want to make sure I display my credentials up front.

This was an odd winter for me. I only covered about 30 prep basketball games (lower than usual), I didn’t cover any swim meets (I usually make it to a few), some boxer took up my time in February and I took my first trip to Spring Training a few weeks later, visiting Goodyear, Ariz., to see a couple Indians games.

(I spent my own money, so don’t throw garbage at me.)

(Also, I got a sunburn.)

I did get an Ursuline pepperoni roll — barely. I also covered the state wrestling meet, which also happened to be my first wrestling meet.

When Canfield wrestling coach Dean Conley heard that, he said, “Shame on you.”

In my defense, I cover a lot of other “minor” sports like cross country, track and swimming. And I’ve always admired wrestlers because I think they have the most torturous practices of any sport.

But covering the state wrestling meet is maddening. It’s like covering the state track meet if they ran eight races at the same time.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the winter season. Here are my highlights.

Boys game of the year

Campbell-Waterloo

Red Devils junior Jerah’me Williams scored 36 points and he may have taken one bad shot. The game had big momentum swings, big performances and, during the medal ceremony afterward, Campbell coach Brian Danilov told me a pretty decent joke about the three little pigs.

Girls game of the year

Howland’s 39-37 double overtime win over Salem

The game almost went to triple overtime but Howland freshman Taylor Williams (the best freshman prospect I’ve seen in years) made a buzzer-beating putback. Afterward, Howland coach John Diehl admitted, “We were very, very lucky to win tonight.”

Boys performance of the year

Warren Harding senior Desmar Jackson had 29 points, five rebounds, five steals and four blocks against Columbus Northland in the Division I state final.

I thought he was the best player on the floor even though he was going up against Mr. Basketball Jared Sullinger and Xavier recruit JD Weatherspoon. That performance convinced me that Jackson is the Valley’s best boys basketball player I’ve seen since I was hired in 2001.

If I were to make a starting five, it’d look like this: Jackson, Harding senior Sheldon Brogdon, Ursuline grad D’Aundray Brown, Fitch grad Terrell Eargle and Poland grad Ben Umbel. We’d be undersized, but good luck getting the ball across the half-court line.

Girls performance of the year

Jillian Halfhill’s Tony Parker-esque 25-point gem in the regional semifinals against Canton South. She scored 19 straight points and 25 of 27 and single-handedly kept the Cardinals in the game.

Boys coach of the year

Harding’s Steve Arnold. He lost Brogdon (arguably the team MVP) at midseason and still led the Raiders to their first state berth in 40 years.

Youngstown Christian’s Dolph Carroll made a strong push for this but he was hurt by admitting he went to Olive Garden the night before the regional final. Going to Olive Garden in Youngstown is like going to Taco Bell in Dallas.

Girls coach of the year

Diehl, who lost his best player (Taylor’s sister Alexa) and still went 20-0 in the regular season.

Runner-up: Lowellville’s Tony Matisi, who won a league and district title despite starting three freshmen.

Five favorite boys athletes to watch

Brogdon (it sometimes seemed like he scored 20 points on three shots), Jackson (gravity doesn’t seem to work the same way with him), Boardman freshman wrestler John Dillon (he makes watching wrestling fun — no small feat), Warren JFK senior Nick Brown and Poland junior Niko Fatimus.

Five favorite girls athletes to watch

Halfhill, Williams, Salem junior Amy Scullion, Boardman senior Katie Fiffick and Liberty senior Melissa Dykes. (Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Crestview’s Chelsea Bowker.)

Five favorite athletes to interview

Canfield senior wrestler Aron Brenner, Jackson-Milton senior wrestler Dan Clawson, Canfield senior swimmer Garrett Trebilcock (I wish I could have watched him at the state meet), Hubbard senior basketball player Sam Bellino and United senior basketball player Maggie Miller.

Favorite coaches to interview

Matisi, Danilov, Boardman girls coach Ron Moschella, Poland boys coach Ken Grisdale and Boardman indoor track coach Dave Pavlansky.

And finally …

10 quotes I loved the most

UMatisi, on guarding Scullion: “Oh man, we’re gonna put two people on her,” he said. “We’re gonna have somebody on somebody else’s shoulders.”

UMore Matisi, on playing Berlin Hiland in the regional semis: “I talked to four guys and two of them said you can’t play zone against them and the other two said you can’t play man. I don’t know what to do. The more information I get, the less I want to play.”

UMooney girls coach Jack Bermann, on his team’s third-quarter struggles against Warren Harding in a 50-43 loss: “I knew it was coming. When it did, we went bleek. She starts off with that 3 and from that point on, it was eek. “So you got a bleek and an eek.”

UGrisdale, on Boardman junior J.T. Moore: “He scares the crap out of me, in two ways. One, if he wanted to, he could kick my butt. Two, I know he’s gonna get every loose ball and maybe hurt a few of my guys trying to get it.”

UDanilov, on the state of today’s youth: “Most of the kids are better at Wii basketball than real basketball,” he said, referring to video games. “The only thing in shape is their thumbs.”

UMore Danilov, on leaders: “Leaders are like eagles. They don’t flock. You have to find them one at a time.”

UBrenner, on what he would take from the state wrestling meet: “A lot of pain.”

UArnold, on senior Paris Bruner’s contributions on the offensive end: “Every blue moon he might get a 3. And that’s every blue moon, trust me.”

UCanfield boys coach John Cullen, on Mike Podolsky scoring 36 points in a win over Poland: “He wouldn’t score that much if you left him in the gym overnight.”

UAnd, finally, more Danilov, on Campbell’s victory in over God’s Academy in the Dunkin Donuts Shootout: “A lot of people in Kentucky were joking about how the Red Devils beat God’s Academy.”

X Joe Scalzo covers sports for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.