Toledo City League Basketball

• W8nC

  Looks to be a quite competitive season with as many as 6 schools having a realistic shot at the title.Any thoughts?
• thechosenone

  Whitmer will have a great title run due to the fact that they have only have 4 players under 6 foot 4 that are all great all-around athletes. Their lineup is looking very strong with returning varsity starters Mike Szymanski, Dareon Jones, Kenny Hayes, and Franklin Lindsay. They also have returning varsity players in Mitch Kosier and Chris Wormley. Along with a starting varsity freshman utility man Nigel Hayes. Alongside new transfers Randall Kennedy (Akron Firestone) and Chris Reaper (Toledo St. Francis). This year looks promising for the panthers.
• ross ford81

  Thanks for the update on Whitmer! Hopefully a few others who follow the TCL will join here. Several questions: 1. Does the loss of Flanagan hurt Whitmer this year -- in other words, was he expected to play much at the varsity level or was he looked upon to play down the road since he is just a sophomore? 2. Will this Kennedy transfer from Akron help this season? What position is he?
  ---Overall, what teams do you expect to most likely contend for the Final Four spots in the TCL this season?
• thechosenone

  1. Flannagan was not a big loss, he would have had little to no playing time in every game.
  2. Kennedy is a great addition, he plays a 1-2-3 position. The other transfer also gets a good share of minutes are the 4-5 spots.
  
  The Teams I expect are (no particular order):
  1. Whitmer
  2. St. Francis
  3. Central
  4. St. John's
• hookshot

  Libbey, Start and Waite all have excellent chances of landing in the top 4. Should be a very balanced, competitive season in the TCL.
• jm71witmr

  Nice summary by the thechosenone.
  The first game Dec 5 v Cbus DeSales is postponed until Dec.23 at Whitmer.
  
  chosenone-you have a message
• KnightXC1

  

  Libbey should be very competitive this year bringing back all of those sophmores from last year who are now juniors. Have to know SJ will be there in the end. Whitmer should be solid as will SFS and Central. Scott is younger this year so they may not be able to replicate the run from last year but who knows. Should be very competitive this year up and down the league.
• SFSFan

  I think it's going to be a great year in the TCL, with several teams fielding some very talented kids. Do any other teams return 5 or 6 top players from last year? I think this year, SFS, will have 6 legit starters - all of whom either started or got more than 50% playing time last year - not sure how Lowe will work with that - but the 4 seniors and 2 juniors from last year's varsity team I think are really coming together. Whereas years past, somewhat selfish play by some of the seniors on the team negatively impacted their results, this year's team doesn't seem to show any of that and move the ball incredibly well. They've been dominant in scrimmages, but the ball hits the floor for real on Friday - and P-burg will be a nice first test to see how they really play. It's going to be a fun year!
• Swamp Fox

  Perrysburg will give the Knights a stern test. Coach Boyce and Coach Lowe should make it a very entertaining coaching chess match and both teams should have a pretty decent line-up set to go. The fans of those two teams are in for a treat. St. Francis may have a little bit more back than Perrysburg, but Charlie Hughes will give the Yellow Jackets a player than the Knights will have some problems with down inside. It'll be an old fashioned barn burner!
• lhs2ndbase

  I agree swamp fox, SFS/Pburg always makes for a good season opener.
  
  Anyone have details on the George Westinghouse team that Central and St Johns are playing this weekend @ central.
  
  Also seen on the davey1 website that Whitmer will open with Start on 12/11 while Start will have two games in already at that point against solid cometition. The Panthers also have the Fighting Irish of Central Catholic on deck, making for a couple of key games early on. They also have a stretch in January where they play Rogers, Waite and Libbey in the matter of a week and also get SJJ and SFS on a good ole Friday, Tuesday. What a grind it should be to make the final 4 not only for Whitmer but every team
• jm71witmr

  The Whitmer vs Columbus St Francis game scheduled for this Friday is postponed until 12-23. This is because Cbus DeSales is on the finals in football. Yes the schedule is a tough one!
• Swamp Fox

  The City League is going to be a tremendous battle this season. I'm really looking forward to it. Other than early season favorite Whitmer, it seems that you can throw all the rest in a hat, shake it up, and draw out a team. There is a lot of parity. It may well be that Whitmer isn't that far ahead of the others and someone else will emerge at the top. I figure that Central and St. Johns will be serious contenders along with St. Francis, Waite and Libbey. Probably others as well. WOW!!!!!
• jm71witmr

  I never thought Whitmer was the early season favorite. My thinking was Central, St Johns, Rogers, Start and Waite.
• hookshot

  Swamp Fox: Whitmer may be in the mix for the final 4 battle, but the favorite? I disagree. Based on what I'm hearing I would place St. John's, St. Francis, Libbey and maybe Waite ahead of them with Central and Start very close as well. Eligibility and injury developments could be especially key this season. I like Coach Smith very much and respect his abilty to have his team ready to go. We'll see.
• SFSFan

  How cool - so many teams that could compete for the top spot!! A year of parity in the TCL means some really great basketball games this year. I'm looking forward to it!!!
• TolCentralCath

  When does the Blade high school basketball preview come out?
• SFSFan

  In the paper this morning - SJJ picked to take the TCL title, but the paper even mentioned the parity around the league and the fact that nearly every team has a shot. Whoo hoo - bring on the b-ball!!
• Swamp Fox

  I may have gone a little off the deep end with my expectations for the Whitmer Panthers this season. I still think however, that they will be in the mix to the end. Not only because of their coach, but because of the number of very good athletes that will be added to the Panther line-up. This year in Toledo, I'm thinking almost anything is possible. I also think that Central will be in the mix again. I really like their coach. (The City League has a lot of outstanding coaches.)
• vball10set

  http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091204/SPORTS12/912040376
• Swamp Fox

  vball10set wrote: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091204/SPORTS12/912040376

  We already have found one sucker (ME!) Who has volunteered to run a Boy's Basketball Poll for this season's Northern Lakes League games. We could use a couple more folks to do the same thing for us with the Toledo City League and the Suburban Lakes League Seasons. They could start next week as the opening games are being played tonight and it's probably too late to get started today. Anybody who is a fan of one of the other area leagues is welcome to step up to the plate and initiate their favorite league in a poll as well! Let's get this basketball seaon started the right way!!!!!
• wowzer

  Can anyone post a TCL scheduel for this year.
• TolCentralCath

  Great win for the Irish last night. Tony Mays was very impressive with 25 points. The Irish may not have the biggest size but they're fast and have many great guards.
• hookshot

  Who are the Irish "great guards"?
• TolCentralCath

  Lehman, Hobbs, McDonald just to name a few. Sure, they haven't exactly made a big name of themselves such as Springs and Norrils have but they're still very good guards.
• hookshot

  OK, they are good guards, but certainly not "great". If they are "great" then there are 15 or so great guards in the TCL right now. And I'd say there are probably two or three -- maybe.