Boys Basketball

Scioto playing to win now

Wednesday,  December 2, 2009 3:36 PM

By SCOTT GERFEN

ThisWeek Contributor

By Steve Friend/ThisWeek

Jamare Mills, a 6-foot-5 junior, is the only returning letterwinner for the Irish.

Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball coach Tony Bisutti will be the first to admit he's been spoiled over the past three seasons.

Having won two Division I district titles and 35 consecutive OCC games, the Irish went 66-6 overall during that period.

Scioto reached a regional final last season, where it lost to eventual state champion Northland 54-53 in overtime.

The outlook is much different this season with just one returning starter and a roster filled with untested juniors and sophomores.

"We knew we'd be in this situation," said Bisutti, whose team opens Saturday at Worthington Kilbourne. "But this junior class is a decent class that we think we can develop. You've got to keep the big picture in mind, but we're playing to win this year."

There is much to replace after a group of nine seniors went 24-2 overall, including an undefeated run through the OCC-Cardinal Division at 14-0.

Scioto finished ahead of Westerville South (12-2), Westerville Central (9-5), Westerville North (7-7), Olentangy Liberty (6-8), Olentangy (5-9), Dublin Jerome (3-11) and Marysville (0-14).

Gone is all-Ohio honorable mention and the league's Player of the Year in Bradley McDougald, who's playing football at Kansas. He averaged nearly 14 points per game.

David McKinley, who made the Ohio University team as a walk-on, was a solid shooter who averaged 9.0 points and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range.

The only returning letterwinner is 6-foot-5 junior post player Jamare Mills, who earned starts early last season before suffering an injury.

Scioto's identity will be built around him.

"It's a role that's fine with me," Mills said. "I think we can still be competitive. The key is getting the younger guys to understand how much faster the game is at the varsity level. You have to be so much smarter."

For Bisutti, it was time to go back to the basics, focusing primarily on defense in the preseason.

It's come with some variation from the traditional Irish in-your-face, man-to-man defense.

"I think we can be competitive if we cement our defense in," Bisutti said. "In the early going, they've been able to grasp what we want them to do. Certainly, we're not going to be able to stand toe-to-toe like we've been able to in the past."

The starting five is far from set.

Along with Mills, Bisutti expects juniors Raneal Ewing (5-11, guard), Justin Craig (5-9, guard), Jacob McPheters (5-8, guard) and Tervon Moore (6-0, forward) to be contributors.

"Guys are going to have to step up," Mills said. "If somebody's having a bad night, somebody else is going to have to get the job done. Our effort is there and the defense is really getting there."

The Irish fully expect that nobody in the OCC-Cardinal will feel sorry about their situation as it looks to win another league title.

Bisutti realizes league opponents will be looking to get even after three undefeated seasons.

"I think the three Westerville teams are going to be good and Westerville North might be the best among them," Bisutti said. "Olentangy Liberty has a lot of guys back and Olentangy graduated a lot. But they, like us, have their big man back. I'd be surprised if anybody goes undefeated."

At a glance

•Coach: Tony Bisutti, 15th season

•Opener: Saturday at Worthington Kilbourne

•Key players: Jamare Mills and Raneal Ewing

Schedule

Dec. 5 at Worthington Kilbourne

*Dec. 8 vs. Olentangy

*Dec. 11 at Westerville South

*Dec. 18 vs. Westerville North

*Dec. 22 vs. Westerville Central

Dec. 29 vs. East at Columbus Christmas Classic at Gahanna

Dec. 31 vs. Cedar Grove (Atlanta, Ga.) at Columbus Christmas Classic at Gahanna

*Jan. 5 at Olentangy Liberty

*Jan. 8 vs. Dublin Jerome

*Jan. 15 at Marysville

Jan. 19 vs. St. Charles

*Jan. 22 at Olentangy

*Jan. 26 vs. Westerville South

*Jan. 29 at Westerville North

*Feb. 2 at Westerville Central

*Feb. 5 vs. Olentangy Liberty

Feb. 6 vs. Linden McKinley

*Feb. 12 at Dublin Jerome

Feb. 16 at Hilliard Bradley

*Feb. 19 vs. Marysville

*OCC-Cardinal game