Pressure greets Harding boys team

December 13, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Andy Vlajkovich knows there are high expectations placed on his Warren Harding High School basketball team.

It goes with the territory of being a reigning conference and district champion. It’s part of the process when you’re coming off a 23-4 campaign.

Vlajkovich is quick to point out that this year’s edition of the Raiders shouldn’t be compared to previous teams.

He also stresses that the season is a long one, and it often takes time for a team to find itself and hit its stride. As a result, Vlajkovich shows no sign of panic as the Raiders opened their season with back-to-back losses to Boardman and Poland.

Vlajkovich says he welcomes the challenge of defending a district title. More importantly, his players also willingly accept the fact that Harding’s past success has made them a target for other Division I programs.

“Our goals are always the same, we want to win a league and district title and we want to make a push to Columbus,” Vlajkovich said. “These guys, they place a lot of pressure and high expectations on themselves.

“They figure if a target is placed on our backs, it’s a sign of respect.”

Harding’s stronghold as the top Division I team in the Mahoning Valley may appear in jeopardy, given the fact the Raiders lost a trio of three-year starters to graduation, including Trumbull County Player of the Year winner Gabe Simpson.

However, the cupboard is far from bare. Derek Culver, a 6-foot-10 post player and a West Virginia commit, is one of seven seniors on the team. Other returning letter winners include seniors Tiryn Frank, Marlin Richardson and Lynn Bowden, along with sophomore Dominic McGhee.

“We’re experienced, but not experienced together,” Vlajkovich said. “We are excited about the talent that we have, and we’re excited that a lot of these young men have playing time under their belts.

“At the same time, they haven’t had a lot of floor time together. It may take a little time for everything to develop, but it’s a long season.”

Also adding to the adaptation process is the fact that the Raiders welcomed three new players to the program. Senior Andrew Ziegler moved to the area from North Carolina, while brothers Mike and Chris Hughes transferred from Ursuline.

“In terms of team chemistry, we are fine,” Vlajkovich said. “It’s just a matter of getting that chemistry to carry over to the floor. Sometimes individual talent doesn’t equate to team success until the players spend a lot of time on the floor together.”

Austintown Fitch finished second last year in the All-American Conference Red Tier with a 17-7 record. However, the Falcons lost eight players to graduation. Boardman won just nine games a year ago, but the Spartans return the likes of John Ryan (13.3 points per game), Holden Lipke (10.8 ppg, 5.2 rebounds per game) and Travis Koontz.

Boardman opened its season with the win over Harding, then followed that up with a win at Niles.

“Boardman is going to make some noise,” Vlajkovich said. “They have some good shooters, and they have nice size. They have a nice mix and they are experienced.”

Ursuline has reached the district finals in each of the past four years, and has won three consecutive district championships. Last year, the Irish (19-8) claimed the area’s lone Division II district title with a win over Poland.

This year, the Irish have four new starters.

“We don’t have weak areas on the court, but we do have a weakness in experience,” Ursuline coach Keith Gunther said. “As a coach, it’s kind of fun to watch a team develop, to see things come together as the season moves on.”

Senior Anthony Howell provides Ursuline with a strong presence inside, while guards Dakota Hobbs and Anise Algahmee will ignite the offense. Vince Venzeio offers a scoring spark.

“What I like about this team is that they welcome the challenge of trying to live up to high expectations,” Gunther said. “With the players that we lost to graduation, it’s easy to say that we’ll be a bit down this year. But this group, they kind of take it personal that people think we won’t be in the mix. They like the challenge.”

Gunther said he believes the area is stacked Div. II teams ready to make a push at a district title.

“I think a lot of people are sleeping on Struthers, and they have some really nice athletes,” Gunther said. “Same thing with Girard.

“There is talk that Poland might be a little down, and I think that is just nonsense. You simply cannot ever count that program out. Canfield has a really nice team, and its guard play is going to give opponents headaches.”

Newton Falls is a team in transition as it works to defend its Division III Struthers District crown.

Last year, the Tigers finished 18-8 with a guard-oriented squad. This year, size is the Tigers’ biggest strength.

“I’m not sure that I’ve ever coached a team that has been so different from one season to the next,” said Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach, now in his 30th season. “Last year we had no size, this year we have what is probably the biggest overall team we’ve ever had at Newton Falls, but we lack experience at the guard position.”

The Tigers return Joey Urso, who will provide experience in the backcourt. The big men include sophomore Gage Friend (6-foot-8), Ben Simpson (6-5), Vince Dragich (6-4) and Chris Rankin (6-4).

“It’s honestly way too early to predict our long term goals,” Sembach said. “We just need to work on improving each game as the season goes on. We have little varsity experience in a lot of areas, so getting some games under our belt will be our biggest ally.”

Sembach sees LaBrae and Champion as major area threats in Div. III.

“Both teams return a lot of talent, Champion has a lot of talented guys who have been playing since they were freshmen,” Sembach said.

Champion’s roster includes eight returning seniors.

“South Range can go pretty far, and while Springfield has lost its big gun (Graham Mincher, 27.7 ppg, all-time Springfield scoring leader), they have built a program that will always be in the mix,” Sembach said.

McDonald has been the model of consistency and success in both the Inter-Tri County League and in Div. IV. The Blue Devils, who last year finished 23-4 and won the Struthers District, own an all-time record of 119-17 in ITCL play.

A year ago, McDonald averaged 86 points per game.

For opponents, here’s the scary part. Coach Jeff Rasile believes his team can up the average this year.

“We have more offensive potential right now than we did last year at this time, but the downside is that we don’t have as much depth,” Rasile said. “To start the season, we have maybe seven guys to throw in and out, not 10. That makes a big difference in our style of play.”

“We hope to counter that with our defense. We have to play very solid defense in order for our style of offense to click,” he said. “And we hope to throw one or two other players into the mix as the season wears on.”

The Blue Devils return four lettermen, including starters Evan Macgill (11.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Dylan Portolese (10.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Veterans Braedon Poole (10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Joey Raggazine (8.3 ppg) along with freshman Zach Rasile round out the McDonald starting five.

McDonald opened its season with a 92-60 win over United. In that game, Rasile connected on eight three-pointers and scored 26 points.

“We don’t have the depth, but we do like the players we have,” Jeff Rasile said.

Wellsville challenged McDonald in the Struthers district final last year, and Rasile expects the Tigers to be in the thick of the race again this winter. He also sees Western Reserve as a team which could surprise fans.

“Wellsville brings everyone back, they were very strong last year and they are only going to get better this year,” Rasile said. “I keep hearing good things about Western Reserve. They have some really good athletes.

“You can’t sleep on anyone in our league or our district.”