The finale of this extravagant event is one of the best as Olentangy Orange will battle Centerville. Orange had a surprising 26-2 season a year ago and went undefeated in the powerhouse OCC Central. The Pioneers lost to Delaware Hayes in the regional finals, which ended their incredible run. The rise of star forward Devin Brown was the main reason for this success, as the Davidson College commit won conference and district player of the year. Brown stands at 6’5 and has a twitchy/shifty game that is difficult to match. His improved three point shot has been the most surprising aspect of the senior’s game, as he shoots over 40% from out there so far this year. The emergence of star quarterback Levi Davis and Eastern Michigan baseball commit Keegan Knupp have been instrumental as well, so both are physical and are excellent movers without the ball. The thing that has impressed me the most about Orange is their ability of their guards to make pinpoint passes to their bigs, who cut will and finish with dunks often. Head coach Ryan Calo leads the Pioneers, who is ranked #2 in the state at the moment and it would not surprise me if they made a run for the state title this spring.
Head coach Brook Cupps has built one of the top powerhouse high school programs in Ohio in Centerville. After 12 seasons coaching Graham HS, Cupps moved to Centerville where he’s earned several coach of the year honors, a state championship in 2021, and state runners up in 2022 and 2023. The Elks have pumped out many high level prospects over the years including Gabe Cupps (Indiana), Colin O’Connor (Stony Brook), and Jonathan Powell (West Virginia). This year, the fate of the team rests on the shoulders of the Greenburg twins, Eli and Ethan. Eli has committed to D1 DeMoyne college while Ethan has pledged his college years to the Air Force after this season. These twins have tons of big game and tournament experience, which will come in handy for a less experienced Elks team this year. Another kid with loads of experience winning tough games is senior point guard Cohen Ellis, who I believe is the X factor on this team. Ellis is the ultimate court general as he has an uncanny knack for controlling the pace of the game to the advantage of his team. This game should be a thriller and a game that any basketball junkie should be fully locked into, as the chess match between these elite coaches should be very intriguing. This game will be played Sunday, December 29th at 8:15pm.
