Centerville Elks 2021, 2022, 2023 State Champions

Dayride said:
If that Phillips kid does transfer back I could see why he would not go to Centerville, Cupps did not have much luck getting Big Mo to a high D1. Granted Phillips is better, but I would think twice about that track record with big men. Surprised he would not opt for Springfield.
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Big Mo was big. That was it.
 
Dayride said:
If that Phillips kid does transfer back I could see why he would not go to Centerville, Cupps did not have much luck getting Big Mo to a high D1. Granted Phillips is better, but I would think twice about that track record with big men. Surprised he would not opt for Springfield.
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Trotwood or Wayne since he is a Dayton kid
 
Just wanted to come thru to see how the post about recruiting or "establishing relationships" ... blah .. blah... blah.. would age ... so this kid from Prolifc Prep is indeed transferring to Centerville, eh??? and he's also playing with Cupps and his AAU team, eh????.. so all of this is coincky dinks???? ... listen before you Centerville people come for me... know that I don't care either way ... ALL COACHES DO IT some are more discreet, calculated and more successful than others at doing itmaybe Cupps wasn't that good at it until now ... the kid is from Mongolia and he and his family want him to play basketball at a high level ... you cannot tell me there wasn't any recrui... I mean conversations about him playing basketball at Centerville when this kid decided to leave Prolific Prep .. he's playing AAU with the coach for crying out loud.... that's the ultimate recruiting tactic. I say all that to say this I'm ok with it .. Big Moe does it (has always), city schools do it throughout OH, it's a new way and OHSAA tried to curve it with flipping the sit out games to the end of the year but people are finding loop-holes left and right! More power to them
 
nooks said:
Good to hear that about Luke Kennard.
Kyle E....Dam Dude, that is impressive shooting...:)
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Thanks nooks. I really love playing basketball, even if it's just shooting around by myself. There's a family photo showing me shooting hoops at age 3, when our family lived in Hawthorne, California. My dad put a little hoop up for me there. I attached this photo here.

I also attached another photo of my backyard basketball court in Centerville, this one after my dad completed his work on it. This is where my big passion for playing basketball began.

Wow, the ELKS winning the state championship is a dream come true. I'm really looking forward to next season, and beyond!
 

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I once watched "Rocket" Rod Foster ( UCLA ) hit 50 in-a-row from the top of the key, before the 3-point era...You might be just as good :)
His form was prettier though...and he had more hair...
What sub-division is that hoops court in Centerville? I'm guessing the old Zengal neighborhood by CL Stingley & Tower Heights. Many a day of "backyard" football over at Ken Yowell's house there.
 
nooks said:
I once watched "Rocket" Rod Foster ( UCLA ) hit 50 in-a-row from the top of the key, before the 3-point era...You might be just as good :)
His form was prettier though...and he had more hair...
What sub-division is that hoops court in Centerville? I'm guessing the old Zengal neighborhood by CL Stingley & Tower Heights. Many a day of "backyard" football over at Ken Yowell's house there.
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?
 
nooks said:
I once watched "Rocket" Rod Foster ( UCLA ) hit 50 in-a-row from the top of the key, before the 3-point era...You might be just as good :)
His form was prettier though...and he had more hair...
What sub-division is that hoops court in Centerville? I'm guessing the old Zengal neighborhood by CL Stingley & Tower Heights. Many a day of "backyard" football over at Ken Yowell's house there.
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Nooks, I lived in Washington Township, not too far from the border of Kettering. I went to Driscoll Elementary school. When I was in the 7th grade I went to Magsig Junior High, but in the 8th grade I went to Hithergreen Middle School, as it just opened. Hithergreen was a futuristic type school that was circular in shape. It was carpeted and with no walls between the classrooms.

Our neighborhood was called Bonaire at the time, and I lived on Lewisham Avenue. Red Coach Farm was on the other side of Marshall Road from us. When you look at the photo of my hoops court with the snow, those houses you see out there are facing Rahn Road. Our house had just been built when we moved into it in February of 1964. I was in the 5th grade then.

Alter was a new high school and just a mile away from us. So with our new neighborhood, a lot of Catholic families with lots of kids moved in there. They loved sports and I joined in with them in our neighborhood games. I was the only non-Catholic who played with them. They were more experienced in sports, because a lot of them played CYO basketball. This really motivated me to improve so I practiced a lot.

One of the kids (Tim Graham) was my age, and I heard that he has Alters single game scoring record, scoring 50 points against Oakwood. Even the Paxson brothers couldn't top that.

We also played tackle football games in a big field we mowed out with a lawn mower. The McVay brothers would play in those games. Their dad John McVay was the head football coach at Dayton, then an NFL coach and went on to become General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers during their championship years. And one of the McVay brothers (Tim) is the father of Sean McVay, the head coach of the LA Rams.

The neighborhood Alter kids also liked playing baseball, and I went along with them as they joined the Centerville little league. I've attached a photo of myself wearing my Lusenhop Insurance baseball uniform.

Nooks, you might remember Jeff Lusenhop (Class of 1971). He was on the team and his dad was the coach.

Oh BTW, I remember "Rocket" Rod Foster. I sure bet that he (along with I) wished there was a 3 point line back in our playing days.
 

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Not to stray too far off subject, but Jeff Lusenhop lived just up the road from me. Red hair and was REALLY into marching band music & jazz. Loved my Dad's Ohio State band collection albums. Used to watch him, Craig Walters & Dave Seaman (Alter) play pick-up hoops at Delynn cultisac. I was in grade school, but picked up a lot of pointers from those guys. Too funny. You were close to the Kettering "Y" where I spent many a day in the weight room and playing pick-up ball. You wouldn't recognize Centerville now. It's a city...Great to see the Elks finally reach elite status in Basketball, especially when you consider all the past Alter greats who were within Washington township.
 
nooks said:
Not to stray too far off subject, but Jeff Lusenhop lived just up the road from me. Red hair and was REALLY into marching band music & jazz. Loved my Dad's Ohio State band collection albums. Used to watch him, Craig Walters & Dave Seaman (Alter) play pick-up hoops at Delynn cultisac. I was in grade school, but picked up a lot of pointers from those guys. Too funny. You were close to the Kettering "Y" where I spent many a day in the weight room and playing pick-up ball. You wouldn't recognize Centerville now. It's a city...Great to see the Elks finally reach elite status in Basketball, especially when you consider all the past Alter greats who were within Washington township.
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Wow, what a great coincidence that you knew Jeff Lusenhop so well. We both made the Freshman basketball team at Centerville HS, but my family moved back to So Cal the weekend before the first game. We lived in Washington Township for almost 4 years.

The Lusenhop's were such a nice family and great people. This is way off topic, but heck, it's the offseason for basketball. Anyway, I have a funny story about me playing on Lusenhop's little league team.

I was on second base and a batter on our team got a hit into the outfield. I took off running for third base, and I was directed by the coach to keep on going for home plate. So when I rounded 3rd, I noticed that the catcher on the other team was blocking home plate as he was waiting for the throw from centerfield. I was hauling as fast as I could for home, but I started my slide way too soon and stopped several feet short of home plate!

But the catcher bobbled the throw from the outfield, and the ball rolled out of his glove and behind him. He was still blocking the plate, but while he was reaching back trying to get to the baseball, I got up and did a dive over him and touched plate with both of my hands to be safe at home plate!

I remember after the short slide and when I got up and put my hands up in the air to dive over the catcher, I looked straight ahead and there was Mrs. Lusenhop with the big look of surprise on her face when she saw what I was going to do. She and all these people in the stands were smiling and clapping. That was great. I remember Jeff Lusenhop saying that this play was so unorthodox, but it worked!

BTW, I went to the Kettering YMCA a lot too back then, but they didn't have a basketball gym at the time. A few times we used Ernst Elementary School next door for basketball.
 
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Great story Kyle E. It's a small world ain't it... Hey, if the Elks should be so fortunate as to actually make it back to the state finals, especially at the UD arena, I'll make my best effort to attend and if you should also be so ambitious, the after game beer is on me...! Great talking with you...
 
nooks said:
Great story Kyle E. It's a small world ain't it... Hey, if the Elks should be so fortunate as to actually make it back to the state finals, especially at the UD arena, I'll make my best effort to attend and if you should also be so ambitious, the after game beer is on me...! Great talking with you...
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It sure is a small world nooks, and thanks for the invite! I'll really be following the ELKS next season, and I'll probably run a SWO King of the Spread basketball contest next season here on Yappi. It was great talking with you too!
 
Kyle_E_Woyote said:
Nooks, I lived in Washington Township, not too far from the border of Kettering. I went to Driscoll Elementary school. When I was in the 7th grade I went to Magsig Junior High, but in the 8th grade I went to Hithergreen Middle School, as it just opened. Hithergreen was a futuristic type school that was circular in shape. It was carpeted and with no walls between the classrooms.

Our neighborhood was called Bonaire at the time, and I lived on Lewisham Avenue. Red Coach Farm was on the other side of Marshall Road from us. When you look at the photo of my hoops court with the snow, those houses you see out there are facing Rahn Road. Our house had just been built when we moved into it in February of 1964. I was in the 5th grade then.

Alter was a new high school and just a mile away from us. So with our new neighborhood, a lot of Catholic families with lots of kids moved in there. They loved sports and I joined in with them in our neighborhood games. I was the only non-Catholic who played with them. They were more experienced in sports, because a lot of them played CYO basketball. This really motivated me to improve so I practiced a lot.

One of the kids (Tim Graham) was my age, and I heard that he has Alters single game scoring record, scoring 50 points against Oakwood. Even the Paxson brothers couldn't top that.

We also played tackle football games in a big field we mowed out with a lawn mower. The McVay brothers would play in those games. Their dad John McVay was the head football coach at Dayton, then an NFL coach and went on to become General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers during their championship years. And one of the McVay brothers (Tim) is the father of Sean McVay, the head coach of the LA Rams.

The neighborhood Alter kids also liked playing baseball, and I went along with them as they joined the Centerville little league. I've attached a photo of myself wearing my Lusenhop Insurance baseball uniform.

Nooks, you might remember Jeff Lusenhop (Class of 1971). He was on the team and his dad was the coach.

Oh BTW, I remember "Rocket" Rod Foster. I sure bet that he (along with I) wished there was a 3 point line back in our playing days.
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Hithergreen middle school must no longer be operational?

Was the Graham kid who scored 50 any relation to Jeff Graham? I imagine Jeff got very close if not more than 50 when Alter vs Dunbar played at UD arena around 1985. Graham was pretty much the only dominant player Alter had while Dunbar had Kirk Taylor (Michigan), Mark Baker (Ohio State) and the coaches son who went to Wright State ( Mike Haley Jr.). The final score of that game was like 104 - 102 double overtime.
I'm wondering if that wasn't 1987 the more I think about it because Kirk Taylor kept taking 25 -30 ft shots, seems like that would have been frowned on in 1985 before the three point line was used in high school.


UPDATE- appears game was 1987, 106 -102 double OT won by Dunbar. Kirk Taylor 40 pts, Mark Baker 25 pts. Alter was led by Jeff "Pan Am" Graham 45 pts.

I did not know until reading a clip I found on the game that Kirk "Ice Tea" Taylor actually played his freshman year at Alter. If Alter had an outside threat to go with Graham on the inside they would have been pretty unstoppable.
 
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D4fan said:
Hithergreen middle school must no longer be operational?

Was the Graham kid who scored 50 any relation to Jeff Graham? I imagine Jeff got very close if not more than 50 when Alter vs Dunbar played at UD arena around 1985. Graham was pretty much the only dominant player Alter had while Dunbar had Kirk Taylor (Michigan), Mark Baker (Ohio State) and the coaches son who went to Wright State ( Mike Haley Jr.). The final score of that game was like 104 - 102 double overtime.
I'm wondering if that wasn't 1987 the more I think about it because Kirk Taylor kept taking 25 -30 ft shots, seems like that would have been frowned on in 1985 before the three point line was used in high school.


UPDATE- appears game was 1987, 106 -102 double OT won by Dunbar. Kirk Taylor 40 pts, Mark Baker 25 pts. Alter was led by Jeff "Pan Am" Graham 45 pts.

I did not know until reading a clip I found on the game that Kirk "Ice Tea" Taylor actually played his freshman year at Alter. If Alter had an outside threat to go with Graham on the inside they would have been pretty unstoppable.
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You're right, Hithergreen Middle School is no longer in operation. I think they made that building into an activity center for senior citizens. Now, I think that land area is going to be made into a park and the building is going to be demolished (if it hasn't been already).

Tim Graham, who scored 50 for Alter (Class of 1971) isn't related to Jeff Graham from 1987. Tim and his 3 younger brothers all starred in sports at Alter. They lived across the street from me.

I have a link below to a list of all the high school basketball players who have scored 50 points or more from the greater Dayton area. Tim Graham must have the all-time Alter single game scoring record, because I don't see any other Alter players ahead of him on this list. It's from a DDN article dated Feb 1, 2018.

50-point club members; Area boys and girls high scorers
 
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LeBron James watches his son Bronny James play against Gabe Cupps and his team of Midwest All-Stars. LeBron shakes the hand of Brook Cupps, the head basketball coach of the defending State Champions Centerville HS:
 
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Not sure if anyone else noticed, but Centerville seems to have added a 6'9 Mongolian kid that played for that Midwest Basketball Club team, and he has multiple D1 offers including Rutgers. I believe he played at Legacy Christian as a freshman and has been at Prolific Prep in California the last couple years.
 
Good catch. Wow. I can't remember the last time I saw a kid that turned 19 before or very early in the school year. I think OHSAA age eligibility rules have changed, but I believe 5-10 years ago this kid would have been barely inside the age cutoff line for being eligible this year.

I am curious as his story now as he'll be 19 1/2 during the tournament and within a few months of 20 at graduation.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
Good catch. Wow. I can't remember the last time I saw a kid that turned 19 before or very early in the school year. I think OHSAA age eligibility rules have changed, but I believe 5-10 years ago this kid would have been barely inside the age cutoff line for being eligible this year.

I am curious as his story now as he'll be 19 1/2 during the tournament and within a few months of 20 at graduation.
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Age requirement is 20 now
 
Regardless, a huge addition. He's a very skilled player that's brings a lot of length and should be the tallest player on their roster. They're going to have a lot of frontcourt size between Sharavjamts, Rolf and House. Centerville just got a lot tougher adding another long and skilled legitimate D1 guy to their lineup.
 
Interesting. Going into the year they are probably still the favorite in D1, but on paper not nearly to the extent they would have been with this kid as a 4th wheel to their three main guys.
 
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