IgnatianAMDG
Active member
Bringing receipts!
St. Ignatius basketball 2023-2024
- Thread starter tom 48
- Start date
Probably 50/50. They return Woidke and Friery. Losing the senior leadership and the size of Robinson and Springer will be tough to replace.
The freshmen have a lot of talent but we’ll see where that goes.
And Reece Robinson almost single-handedly brought the Wildcats from the brink of defeat to a regional finals' victory over Brunswick - 9 points and 6 offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter alone (and 11 pts & 13 rebounds for the game) as the Cats overcame a 9 point deficit in a slow tempo game. Brunswick had zero rebounds in that 4th quarter.
As reported by the Medina Gazette ...
An epic fourth quarter by Reece Robinson prevented the Brunswick boys basketball team from advancing to the state tournament for the first time. Robinson scored nine points and grabbed six offensive rebounds in the final eight minutes
Per Brunswick's Quinn Barnett ..
"Robinson just overpowered us and got every single rebound. He’s a great player, and it’s well-deserved that he’s going to play at Cleveland State.”
Per Brunswick's Aidan Shaker
“Rebounding was our biggest problem late in the game,” Shaker said. “We just couldn’t stop Robinson from getting the ball. He was relentless.”
Congratulations Reece and best wishes for an outstanding college career with your dad as coach at CSU
pete penny
Active member
Heard that they have some big kids coming in as freshmen.
I concur. This season, a strength of the Wildcats team was its depth and balance. To be a strong contender at the state level next season, the Cats will need 3-4 good scorers for balance + continued good defense + continued good depth.
In addition to Woidke and Friery returning, Kalli Johnson could have a break-out season as one of the better players in NE Ohio. He’s talented and very athletic, 6-2/6-3ish, can score and rebound + was one of the best on-ball defenders the Cats deployed this season. He played only 10-15 minutes/game, considering all the senior experience in the playing rotation and he was new to the school/team. For example, he was named ‘player of the game’ vs. Buchtel as a ‘flat’ Wildcat team (playing the 2nd of a back-to-back, after an intense game vs LuWest the night before) trailed by 11 points at halftime. In the 2nd half, he energized the team and led a comeback with 10 points, multiple steals and assists. In that game, one could see his upside. He’s the son of a veteran college coach (Kwanza Johnson, who joined Cleveland State as the assistant coach this season). His growth and development will be important if the Cats are to make a strong run next season.
Who else could step up next season? For the upcoming seniors, Jimmy Thomas likely will start with Pearce Gibbs and Conor Mangan playing a good amount. Mangan is the only one with height at 6-5. From the JV team, it should be current sophs Alex Mack (outstanding outside shooter, brought up to varsity in late season) and RJ Jones + current freshmen Sami Dari and Steph Bohanon + possibly Jahi Hobson and Charlie Blashko (both brought up to play JV during the season). Hopefully they develop and there are some growth spurts from their current 6-1 to 6-3 level heights. As you say, there’s some talent and we’ll see how they may develop and where that may go.
I think the Wildcats are in the mix as a contender next season. Next season is the 7 division arrangement for the state tournament. Most of the other top teams in ‘new’ D1 also bring back top level players and some have 3-4 starters returning. If anyone opts up to D1, it likely would be Richmond His with 4 starters returning. There will be challenges and one always needs some luck.
A back-to-back state championship in D1/class A basketball in Ohio is really hard to achieve – it’s only been done 4x since 1960: Columbus East (‘68-’69), Cincinnati Elder (‘73-’74), Canton McKinley (‘05-’06), Cincinnati Moeller (‘18-’19). In the 1950s decade, it was accomplished 2x by Middletown (Jerry Lucas era) and once by Cleveland East Tech.
The Wildcats have a good nucleus to start and there is a group of kids that could develop. This past season – JVs were 19-3 and the 2 freshmen teams were 37-4, combined. The program has a good track record.
Wildcat2023
Active member
I have 0 information...but I wonder how long Cam is for the job on W. 30th. I have to think he has college aspirations with how young he is and his family ties to the next level.
Irish60
Well-known member
I have heard lots of rumors about Cam Joyce. None of which I'd put much stock in. I've heard he plans on returning to STVM once his dad retires. But, to me, this sounds much more like wishful thinking on the part of the Irish faithful than having any real basis in fact. I've even heard that Lebron will help him get on with Ignite or some G-League team as an assistant to begin a professional arc to his career; which really is out of left field! Much more likely is that he will stay at St. Ignatius and build his legacy there. After 5 or 10 more years of (hopefully) success, then I am sure colleges will come knocking on his door. And I'm sure he will listen. But I'm pretty convinced his plan is to remain where he is at for the foreseeable future; which is good news for the Ignatius faithful.
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Wildcat2023
Active member
Sounds good to me. He pretty much elevated the program from a decent program that seemed to underachieve quite a bit to powerhouse and he did it quickly. Unbelievable.
Joyce named cleveland.com Coach of the Year:
In Joyce’s five seasons as St. Ignatius’ coach, the Wildcats made three trips to Dayton. He promised after a state semifinal loss in 2022 that they would return and win it. They did, and Joyce accomplished that feat with developing a new backcourt after losing three college-level guards whom he expected to be there when he made that promise. Instead, Zapolnik emerged at the point after Ace Buckner (a Clemson recruit) transferred to La Lumiere in Indiana. Woidke returned from injury and became the leading scorer. They won big games on the road, including at Reynoldsburg in the Columbus area and at Centerville before a rematch in the state finals. Both of those games came in double overtime, while the Wildcats also took on Northeast Ohio’s best teams. Their 26 wins beat the 2001 team’s previous school record for victories in a season while joining that squad as the only two state champions in program history.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Cam Joyce, St. IgnatiusIn Joyce’s five seasons as St. Ignatius’ coach, the Wildcats made three trips to Dayton. He promised after a state semifinal loss in 2022 that they would return and win it. They did, and Joyce accomplished that feat with developing a new backcourt after losing three college-level guards whom he expected to be there when he made that promise. Instead, Zapolnik emerged at the point after Ace Buckner (a Clemson recruit) transferred to La Lumiere in Indiana. Woidke returned from injury and became the leading scorer. They won big games on the road, including at Reynoldsburg in the Columbus area and at Centerville before a rematch in the state finals. Both of those games came in double overtime, while the Wildcats also took on Northeast Ohio’s best teams. Their 26 wins beat the 2001 team’s previous school record for victories in a season while joining that squad as the only two state champions in program history.
I’ve heard Kalli Johnson plays football too but that could be a rumor. He would be a great athlete to have on the gridiron.
Defending state champion St. Ignatius retooling around Quinn Woidke, Damon Friery
The Wildcats’ duo lead their title defense after a school-record 26 victories.
www.cleveland.com
You need to stop with the "AAU team." Everyone knows what you mean.
I know what he means by "AAU Team." Hopefully, he is not an Ignatius man.
We are becoming a hoops school
Yes! Great job, Cam!