Irish again expect to be among Central Ohio elite

By BRIAN INGLIS

Published: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 9:06 AM EST

Defen= ding Division I boys basketball champion Newark leads the conversation. Also prominently involved are defending Division I Central District champs Dublin Scioto and Westerville South. One would also be remiss not to include City League powers Northland and Brookhaven.

The topic of discussion is who is expected to be the bullies on the Columbus prep block this winter. One might look no further than the Irish, especially when considering they are coming off a second straight Ohio Capital Confere= nce Cardinal Division championship.

With Ben Ashwill one of the main departures after graduating in June, Scioto coach Tony Bisutti has another stacked roster t= hat figures to do damage in both the league and local scenes.

"You would think that with our recent track record and with all we have coming back, that we would have one of the stronger teams in the area,"= ; Bisutti said. "But none of that means anything w= hen the games begin and you have to earn every win on the schedule."

Which was certainly not a problem a year ago as Scioto stormed= to its first district crown and a 22-2 mark before a narrow defeat to Westervi= lle South in a regional semifinal showdown. Included in the ledger was a 12-0 league record.

Expect the Wildcats and Irish to tangle for league honors along with Westerville Central and Olentangy Liberty. Mean= while, darkhorses could exist in Dublin Jerome, Olentangy, Westerville North and Marysville.

"Our goals is always to win the OCC, first = and foremost," Bisutti said. "But there w= ill be some difficult games ahead, especially now that you have 14 contests as par= t of the conference schedule instead of having 12 like in the past."

A chief reason for optimism is the return of leading scorer Bradley McDougald, a 6-2 senior guard. Seasoned backcourt mat= es also include seniors David McKinley (5-9), Rainer Duza= n (5-11) and Destin Thomas (6-0) and sophomore Tervon Moore (5-11).

On the wing, look for explosiveness out of the likes of senior forwards Eri= c Stamets (6-0) and Jason Reineck<= /span> (5-11) and sophomore J. R. Bernans (6-1). The a= bility to run the floor and drain jumpers are essential= at those spots.

However, it is inside where the Irish figure to do significant damage, even more than in the past. All of the centers are battle tested and can score a= nd rebound effectively. Big things are anticipated from seniors Marco St. John (6-3), D.J. Olatoye (6-2) and Tyler Harrell (6-= 4) and sophomore Jamare Mills (6-6).

"We have a lot of size and strength and will be able to do some banging down low," Bisutti said. "But we have= a rotation that is versatile and so we can play several different styles depending on the opponent and the particular situation."

Aside from a brutal league, the Irish will embark on an ambitious non-leagu= e slate that includes meetings with Ohio heavyweights like North Canton Hoover, Independence, Brookhaven, St. Charles and Mount Vernon, to name a few.

First things first, though, as Scioto opens the current campaign against neighbor Worthington Kilbourne= at home at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. League play commences with a voyag= e to Olentangy at the same start time Tuesday, Dec. = 9.

"We have some challenging games to start the season with, our Hard Road rival and then a familiar league program in Olentangy<= /span>," Bisutti said. "We have some history with t= hose two teams and they should be interesting games."

"Our goals is always to win the OCC, first = and foremost."

--Tony Bisutti