Game 1 on Sunday of the event is the defending DIII state runners up in Harvest Prep vs. Toledo St. John’s Jesuit. Harvest Prep has been one of the central Ohio small school powerhouses over the last few years under experienced head coach David Dennis Sr. The aggressive, trapping defensive style is one of the more effective defenses I’ve seen and has made the Warriors a really fun team to watch. A year ago, they upset Ottawa Glandorf and Mr. Basketball Colin White to go to the championship, where they came up just short to Lutheran East. The Warriors bring back a lot of experience, starting with senior point guard Brandon Roddy, who is a guard who has really been slept on in central Ohio. Roddy plays at a ferocious pace and has physicality that is very rare for the position. Alongside Roddy are junior wing Ephraim Campbell and sophomore guard Antwon Pollard, who both have length and athleticism that fit exactly what coach Dennis wants to do every game. Campbell is a lefty wing who loves to get to his spots in the midrange game and throw it down with authority; Pollard is a lot like Roddy with enormous upside at his age. Though Prep has started a little slow this season at 3-2, I expect another big season for the Warriors on their way to another potential appearance in Dayton in March.
Toledo St. John’s Jesuit will be playing their second game of the event after facing Marysville on Friday. The matchup between the Titans and Warriors is one of firepower and strategy, as both will need to neutralize what the other team does best in order to come out on top. For the Warriors, the key will be stopping Jesuit D1 prospect Race Kowalczyk, who is the X factor in this game. The 6’7 wing will surely be a matchup problem for Harvest Prep, who will need to game plan coverages around making anyone other than Kowalczyk beat them. I expect both coach Dennis and coach Mike Schoen will have great plans to combat the other team’s strengths while attacking their weaknesses. I expect this game to potentially come down to the final possession, and it should be a great way to start the final day of the event (Sunday, December 29th @ 11:30am).
