Mentor Basketball 2022

[znewem]

Question - does anyone know if the other Calo twin play in JV games? I only see the 4th quarters of JV games usually and I have never seen him touch the floor. I hope he is getting some reps in the first half of JV games. I expect him to be a part of the rotation during his junior and senior year.

Ignatius JV game he came off the bench and played about half of both the 1st and 2nd quarters.

Johnson’s injuries both last & this year have really hurt their depth & scoring help. If he gets healthy, IMO, think it will be a game changer for the balance of the season.

He is by far, their best option for improvement this year, in terms of personnel, especially if he is able to hit his shots consistently at the varsity level. He played most of the Ignatius JV game and looked healthy. He may have been gassed at the end but he was a difference-maker and the main reason they won the game. He hit several long-range 3's and scored via penetration also.

Also, they need to be much more aggressive defensively & challenge the driving lanes & going after the loose balls with intensity. Hopefully, things will fall in place the latter part of the season.

Not to excuse anything, but if you are not only playing the entire game (or close to it), but playing at the pace Mentor does, it can take a LOT out of you. That is where the lack of depth and the limited size or strength or athleticism of teammate(s) can hurt (defense is a full team effort). I agree with you that Johnson can help here too. He can add another long, athletic body to the mix.

 

[lchsman]

Congratulations to the Cards on the impressive win on Monday.

 

[cardzfan1234]

Congratulations to the Cards on the impressive win on Monday.

The 3rd quarter was excellent. Lake kept it incredibly close in the first half. Mentor had expanded their bench more lately which is a good thing.

 

[lchsman]

The 3rd quarter was excellent. Lake kept it incredibly close in the first half. Mentor had expanded their bench more lately which is a good thing.

I was quite surprised how close Lake kept it in the first half considering their best player was out. Biddell getting 3 early fouls also contributed to Lake keeping it close. That kid is a difference maker as everyone saw when he returned in the 3rd.

Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[cardzfan1234]

The Mentor/Cornerstone game over the weekend was an exciting watch. Both teams had a lot of positive take aways. For Mentor, they shot the ball well, continue to look at expanding their bench a bit, and were able to turn up the defensive pressure and take over the second half. For Cornerstone, this was a great experience for them and I came away impressed with their team. The Kwasniak kid is the real deal. His shooting display was as good as any I have seen from a Mentor opponent over the years. The Cardinals have won (four?) games in a row since that loss to Ignatius a couple of weeks ago. A big weekend ahead with an away game at Solon and hosting Lutheran West, probably the second best team on the schedule. Two excellent tests for this team.

 

[cardzfan1234]

The season ends with a loss to Nordonia tonight in Twinsburg. For the first time since 2015, Mentor did not make a district final. This was only the second time in the past 16 seasons (2015, the final season with Micah Potter being the other) that Mentor failed to win their district semifinal game. In a season where they were head-scratchingly placed as the number one team in Cleveland.com’s preseason area poll, the group just never quite looked like a consistent district championship level team.

Kudos to Ian Iopollo, a First Team All-District honoree. The kid absolutely deserved it. He was an elite high school scorer this season. One more season ahead of him to help put his name up there with some of the other top scorers in program history. His brother, Ryan, was the lone senior in the rotation. He made strong contributions during his two seasons at Mentor. I wish him well.

Looking ahead, next season should be a good one. Lots of key players will return. Biddell, Kobe, Calo, and others will have opportunity to elevate their game and help give Krizancic maybe one more big run in March.

 

[bbfan29]

No excuses, Nordonia just plated a little more physical & took away the driving lanes from Biden & others, causing Mentor to take more low percentage shots. However, I believe this young team (2 jrs, 2 soph) got valuable experience, with all 4 starters returning next year & much more bench strength. Congrats on a very good season, winning the GCC title & 19-6 record.

 

[brian1227]

No excuses, Nordonia just plated a little more physical & took away the driving lanes from Biden & others, causing Mentor to take more low percentage shots. However, I believe this young team (2 jrs, 2 soph) got valuable experience, with all 4 starters returning next year & much more bench strength. Congrats on a very good season, winning the GCC title & 19-6 record.

Mentor be real good next year.it took nordonia best class in 12 years to beat mentor.

 

[Arcy26]

Another good season congratulations!

 

[cardzfan1234]

Another good season congratulations!

There were some highlights. 17 regular season wins is nothing to disregard. It wasn’t as many as I thought they would win (I predicted 19-20 in November), but it wasn’t far off. They won the league outright, which is not easy to do.

But I don’t feel like the coaching staff and leaders on this team would call it a season that met their expectations. I don’t know if they would even call it “another good season.” Considering how much success Krizancic’s teams have had, it is difficult for me to put this up there as “another.” I wouldn’t call it a bad season either.

 

[birdog]

There were some highlights. 17 regular season wins is nothing to disregard. It wasn’t as many as I thought they would win (I predicted 19-20 in November), but it wasn’t far off. They won the league outright, which is not easy to do.

But I don’t feel like the coaching staff and leaders on this team would call it a season that met their expectations. I don’t know if they would even call it “another good season.” Considering how much success Krizancic’s teams have had, it is difficult for me to put this up there as “another.” I wouldn’t call it a bad season either.

ElFoldo. Like in other sports, the largest public school in Ohio just can't seem to get over the playoff hump. Good coaches, good players but not capable of running the gauntlet. GBM

 

[jimmywan22]

Bird dog, is that a real comment? If you are trolling, I guess I took the bait. 99.9999999% of public schools would take Mentor's lack of getting "over the playoff hump" in a second. Let the adults speak in this forum please.

 

[bbfan29]

Sounds like Bitdog needs to update his info on what the definition of a successful program is. I would guess that any school, anywhere in the country, would be very proud to experience Mentors successful program. Their record speaks for itself.

 

[MentorGrad2002]

ElFoldo. Like in other sports, the largest public school in Ohio just can't seem to get over the playoff hump. Good coaches, good players but not capable of running the gauntlet. GBM

Better look at boys enrollment first of all. Mentor was 15 in the state last year I believe

Mentor basketball won a state title and has made 3 final 4's. I think that's getting over the hump

I do think this years team underachieved some. I also think the team didn't have as much talent as we thought in the preseason. I'd still take Coach K over any coach in the state

 

[cardzfan1234]

I have no inside information but I wonder if next year is the last one for Krizancic. He initially talked about retiring ten years ago. I thought Chicone’s last year was for sure it, but he thankfully remains. Maybe he sticks around long enough for the all time wins record in Ohio. Not sure how far off he is.

Depth and experience shouldn’t be an issue next year as it seemed to be this season. There will be a ton of seniors. Four returning starters. I have very high expectations.

 

[brian1227]

Better look at boys enrollment first of all. Mentor was 15 in the state last year I believe

Mentor basketball won a state title and has made 3 final 4's. I think that's getting over the hump

I do think this years team underachieved some. I also think the team didn't have as much talent as we thought in the preseason. I'd still take Coach K over any coach in the state

Team did not underachieve.it hard to beat a team with alot seniors.

 

[bbfan29]

I don’t understand how a team with 2 sophs, 2 juniors, 1 sr. & inexperienced
bench, wins their league championship & finishes 19-6, can be tagged as an underachieved team. I can only assume that some people expect Coach K to perform miracles every year, based on his record of 718 wins to date. Look up his record & make your own judgement.

 

[MentorGrad2002]

I don’t understand how a team with 2 sophs, 2 juniors, 1 sr. & inexperienced
bench, wins their league championship & finishes 19-6, can be tagged as an underachieved team. I can only assume that some people expect Coach K to perform miracles every year, based on his record of 718 wins to date. Look up his record & make your own judgement.

Outside of the GCC schedule of which it wasn't the strongest this year, the Mentor schedule wasn't very difficult. Medina was the best opponent in the GCC and beat Mentor both times. Brunswick and Solon were 4 good wins.

St Ignatius was a good opponent and so was Lutheran West. Both of them killed Mentor. Most of the rest of the ooc wasn't anything special

We know Coach K is great. I said that above. But I can be objective on the team as a whole and not be only positive and sugarcoat it. The talent wasn't as solid as many thought. And the team just was very up and down overall

 

[bbfan29]

I think the GCC is very competitive year after year & winning a title any year is a great accomplishment. Having said that, I also believe there were a lot more strong programs in the Cleveland area this year than in the past & outperformed Mentor overall. For whatever it’s worth, that is my opinion of this years performance. Look forward to next season.

 

[bbfan29]

Just one more point to make, Nost strong teams have success due to a strong bench. The 5 starters wear down after playing mostly every minute every game & need at least 3-4 bench players that don’t hurt you when they get in the game. Unfortunately, Mentor lacked that luxury this year, mostly due to inexperience & strength. However, the bench this season played with intensity & so much heart & will be a great asset next year.

 

[cardzfan1234]

Depth was an issue. But this wasn’t the first Krizancic team to mostly rely on 3-4 starters playing the bulk of the important minutes. But it’s always better to be able to rely on a few reserves who can fill in and star in their role.

At various times we saw kids get a shot off the bench. But none of them seemed to stick or find a consistent role for whatever reason. I think that Johnson would’ve been a steady 6th man if he ever got healthy. Maybe next year he can step up if his health allows.

Sierputowski, Toot, O’Brien, and Harrison are all juniors that had opportunities off the bench. Three of those four earned their minutes with the defensive side. This team needs some more scoring next season.

 

[bbfan29]

I thought Toot, Sierpo & O’Neil did a great job when they were called upon, but lacked the experience. They will be great contributors next year & will push for starting positions. No one works harder than these 3 kids.