Best Division I Teams in Northwest Ohio

• ross ford81

  Who are they? I'll rank them this way for now:
  1. Toledo St. John's: Great depth at all positions and a real shot at another trip to Columbus.
  2. Bowling Green: Should roll in the NLL with a chance to make it to regionals.
  3. Toledo Central Catholic: Great coaching and plenty of role players make the Irish really tough.
  4. Toledo Whitmer: IF their troubles from the spring and summer are resolved, Panthers could be very good.
  5. Toledo Bowsher: Another big IF with five transfers who could make them very good or dysfunctional. We'll see.
  Honorable Mention: Findlay (excellent coach and key players back with size), Lima Senior (great athletes if they can play togehter well), Perrysburg (Boyce and a tradition that always finds a way).
• karen lotz

  

  Really? You think Bowling Green will be that good? I'd agree St John's will probably be the top program in the area but don't really know who else will be solid. Is Southview DI in basketball?
• ernest_t_bass

  

  BG flat out got outplayed in last year's Sectional game against Lima Senior.
• karen lotz

  

  etb, where do you normally ref games? Any certain leagues or areas?
• ernest_t_bass

  

  karen lotz;581249 wrote:etb, where do you normally ref games? Any certain leagues or areas?

  
  Unprofessional to put the info on here, so (if I remember) I'll PM you in a bit. I'm on my iPod right now.
• karen lotz

  

  Cool, I have a buddy that refs in NWO and was just wondering.
• rmolin73

  

  Southview is a big question mark this year? They have the talent to compete and even win the NLL but coaching hurts them tremendousley.
• karen lotz

  

  Do they have a new coach? Marc Jump (I think that's right) was a solid coach for them I thought??
• ernest_t_bass

  

  rmolin73;581638 wrote:Southview is a big question mark this year? They have the talent to compete and even win the NLL but coaching hurts them tremendousley.

  
  Why does coaching Hirt them? Honest question.
• Swamp Fox

  I think that Coach Jump has come a long way since his days as a Freshmen coach. His teams have won a lot of games and for a few years, his club was really tough to beat. As is the case with practically every coach, you've got to have some players to compete with the "big boys" and when Coach Jump has had them, his teams are very competitive. I never really understood the rather widespread dislike for him as a coach. I think it's more about his personality which may have been an issue when he first started out but I think he has grown a lot in the role of head coach and some of his youthful "antics" are a thing of the distant past.
• ross ford81

  Couple of quick opinions/reactions: 1. Yes, BG is that good in my view. Two college D-1 prospects and maybe two small college prospects in the line-up, plus excellent shooters at the guard spot. Southview's biggest obstacle is not coaching at all, but they are just overmatched against BG in every way. Has BG underachieved for most of the last 5 or 6 years? Yes. But they are so strong this year (barring injuries) that they can underachieve again and be 17-3 and win the NLL. I'm sure that is a controversial assessment but so be it. 2. BG is second only to St. John's at this point, and the Bobcats could beat them on a given night. Otherwise, SJJ has a better starting lineup and has more depth than anyone in the area at all positions. But this is no guarantee of a trip to Columbus. Still must play together and with some passion -- not always evident.
• Swamp Fox

  I would say that regarding Bowling Green's potential this season, ross ford81 may be fairly close. This Bowling Green team on paper, is a very formidable team and certainly could win the Northern Lakes League Title and follow that up with a long Tournament run. The things standing in the way are the strong teams and coaches in the NLL, led by Dave Boyce and Tim Reiser and their strong programs and then the others who also have the capability of beating BG in the Tournament like St. Johns, Central etc etc, on any evening the Bobcats decide not to show up. I think BG wins the NLL if they maintain their enthusiasm and health the entire season, if there is enough playing time to go around to satisfy everyone, and if they can get the Perrysburg monkey off of their collective backs. They also can't afford any injuries that take one of the starters out for an extended period. In case you are wondering, that is quite a challenging list. The Bobcats can't mail it in. They will have to assume that every league team is Perrysburg and have no let downs. Something very hard for high school aged, newspaper reading players to do. If they can do this, they win and are headed to the Tournament in great shape. If they fall short in the League again, I think that they will be done. This season is their shot. One bullet is left in their chamber.
• clickclickboom

  Talked to the Southview coach earlier this year and he feels his team has come together alot more as a team this year than they did last year.. he has high hopes this year and i too am rooting for them to do well..
• areyoukiddingme

  Is Toledo Waite a D1 school? If so, this team could be in the top 5 in NW Ohio. Sure, they aren't the best in the TCL but they have some speed and some talented players.