Mentor Fighting Cardinals 2021-22 Boys Basketball Preview

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Mentor Fighting Cardinals

Head Coach: Robert Krizancic
Years Head Coach (current school): 29
Record (current school): 485-174
Years Head Coach (overall): 41
Record (overall): 679-287

Assistant Coaches:
Neil Grantz
Aaron May
David Kryz
Jason Ioppolo
Colin Gower
Kirk Culler

Record last season: 25-1
Scoring Offense: 83.1
Scoring Defense: 60.9
Last year's playoff results: Lost in State Semi-Finals

Team's style of offense: Fast Break/Up-Tempo
Team's style of defense: Full Court Man Pressure

Top players returning:
Sean Collins (3.3 ppg and 3 rpg)
Jake Ferritto (3.3 ppg and 2 rpg)
Matt Biddell (3.4 ppg)

Top players lost:
Luke Chicone (FIrst team all state, 24 ppg, Playing Basketball at Youngstown State)
Jonah Waag (17ppg, Playing Basketball at Lake Erie College)
Ian Kipp (7ppg, Playing Football at Kent State)
Andrew Smith (6ppg, Playing football at Duquesne)
Steven Key (15 ppg)
Cael Gray
Kyle Culler
John Sierputowski (Playing Football at Marietta)

New impact players:
Ian Ioppolo
Ryan Ioppolo
Braylon Johnson
Connor O'Brien
Nick Farley
Mike Harrison
Kobe Frassure-Azzano
Nolan Brede
Austin Kiggins

Final Comments:
Our size and ability to play at uptempo is an advantage for this team. We are very young and it may take us some time to gel, but the potential is there and excited to get after with this group.
 
 
Last years team was as senior heavy as it gets. Sean Collins was the 7th or 8th man last year as the returning experienced player. The team has a lot of youth playing in big spots. The schedule isn’t as daunting as in years past, but that is reasonable considering the graduation of so many seniors.
 
21-22 Schedule

12/10 @ Strongsville
12/11 vs Rhodes
12/17 vs Euclid
12/18 vs Dalton (@ Canton McKinley HOF Classic)
12/21 vs Warren Harding
12/22 @ Cincinnati Princeton Classic
12/23 @ Cincinnati Princeton Classic
12/28 vs Lake Catholic
1/7 vs Brunswick
1/11 @ VASJ
1/14 @ Solon
1/15 @ Chaney
1/18 @ Willoughby South
1/21 vs Medina
1/25 vs Riverside
1/28 vs Strongsville
1/29 @ Medina
2/4 @ Euclid
2/5 @ Harvey
2/11 @ Brunswick
2/18 vs Solon
2/19 vs Glenville
 
Mentor has their most impressive win of the season with a 64-44 win over Medina. The game was a 30-point lead after the 3rd quarter. Mentor shot exceptionally well. The team is 8-4 (3-1 in GCC). This is not the type of talent we saw for the past few seasons. But they are still dangerous team that is well coached, capable of defending very well, and can get hot from three-point range.
 
Mentor is very young & inexperienced, but they always play tough at tournament time. IMO, I would not want to play them come tournament time, they seem to peak at the right time & have an experienced coaching staff. I would love to see them meet Brush again in the tourney, it would be a great game & give Brush the opportunity to break their tournament losing streak to Mentor.
 
bbfan29 said:
Mentor is very young & inexperienced, but they always play tough at tournament time. IMO, I would not want to play them come tournament time, they seem to peak at the right time & have an experienced coaching staff. I would love to see them meet Brush again in the tourney, it would be a great game & give Brush the opportunity to break their tournament losing streak to Mentor.
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I’m guessing it will probably come down to that, as this year the Euclid District is extremely weak. Like I stated earlier, absolutely terrified to play Mentor even if they are lacking the talent.
 
They may not play at Euclid. The tournament setup is like last year. There will 30+ teams that can pick any of 3 districts. They will seed 1-30+. For example, Brush could go to a Canton district if it prefers the matchups there. A Canton team could come to Euclid if they choose. I don't see the NEDAB changing it any time soon.
 
They may not play at Euclid. The tournament setup is like last year. There will 30+ teams that can pick any of 3 districts. They will seed 1-30+. For example, Brush could go to a Canton district if it prefers the matchups there. A Canton team could come to Euclid if they choose. I don't see the NEDAB changing it any time soon.
I thought I heard it was going back to the old way? I don’t like the new way tbh
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Mentor has their most impressive win of the season with a 64-44 win over Medina. The game was a 30-point lead after the 3rd quarter. Mentor shot exceptionally well. The team is 8-4 (3-1 in GCC). This is not the type of talent we saw for the past few seasons. But they are still dangerous team that is well coached, capable of defending very well, and can get hot from three-point range.
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I think Mentors success is based on the structure of its program. Kids start early in the elementary basketball program & learn the system both offensively & defensively. When they reach the high school level, they are fundamentally sound & can then concentrate on improving their skills at the higher level. As a result , it allows the coaching staff to focusi on the finer points of the game (shooting, defending, mental toughness, rebounding, etc). I believe that the program is what makes Mentor a team to deal with year after year. Kudos to the coaching staff for the success of the program.
 
Arcy26 said:
I’m guessing it will probably come down to that, as this year the Euclid District is extremely weak. Like I stated earlier, absolutely terrified to play Mentor even if they are lacking the talent.
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I would not be one bit surprised that Mentor would choose to be in the same bracket as Brush, in the event Brush gets one of the four top seeds & Mentor does not. I feel this way only because their games were so good in the past & Mentor has won most all of those games. I think they have more confidence playing Brush because they know them so well & the fact that Brush has not beaten Mentor for several tournament games. It would be a great matchup if it happens, Brush is very talented & Mentor is very young, but capable.
 
bbfan29 said:
I would not be one bit surprised that Mentor would choose to be in the same bracket as Brush, in the event Brush gets one of the four top seeds & Mentor does not. I feel this way only because their games were so good in the past & Mentor has won most all of those games. I think they have more confidence playing Brush because they know them so well & the fact that Brush has not beaten Mentor for several tournament games. It would be a great matchup if it happens, Brush is very talented & Mentor is very young, but capable.
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I would love that!
 
Coaching or not, Mentor would be a big underdog against a very talented and experienced Brush team. A few of their top juniors/seniors have been getting key varsity minutes since they were freshman. Nobody on Mentor's roster played a single second against Brush the last time these two played in the tournament (March 2020). I would've loved to see Mentor/Brush play last season, but that didn't pan out.

Brush should be highest or second highest seeded team at whatever district they choose. Mentor will probably be the 4th, maybe 5th highest at their district. I could see these two playing in a district semifinal game at Euclid or Twinsburg. I would be very, very surprised if Mentor elected to go to Stark County. I think they will be locked into choosing to play at Euclid unless they really see a less daunting path exists at Twinsburg.
 
I still think it would be an exciting matchup. Anything can happen in tournaments. Just look back at the last few years with these 2 teams in tournament play & I think you will agree with my point.
 
This is Brush’s best year to break their losing streak to Mentor. After this year our roster is taking a bit of a hit, with Marlon Barnes and Tyler Williams and probably one to two other current juniors being the only upperclassman left from this year’s squad, (although we do have a couple very talented underclassmen). Last year without Barnes, (and it being the first post Hugley year), the team wouldn’t have been able to keep it close with Mentor. I will also add that the JV has gone 25-1 in the past two seasons so far, so that is also a good sign for the following year, plus Memorial (Brush) is a machine in middle school so I’m sure more talent is on the way.
 
bbfan29 said:
I still think it would be an exciting matchup. Anything can happen in tournaments. Just look back at the last few years with these 2 teams in tournament play & I think you will agree with my point.
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Sure, anything can happen. With the help of the Iopollo's transferring in, Mentor has a nice (but not great) starting lineup. They can be competitive with a lot of the better area teams. I don't know what the past few years have to do with this team though. Those teams had All-Ohio talent (Floriea, Rogers, Chicone, Key, and Waag) that had experience playing at a high level for multiple seasons. This team does not.

IMO, Mentor/Brush in 2019 and 2020 has no impact on what a 2022 matchup would like. If the Mentor players will enter a game with Brush trying to rely on the ghosts of Mentor past to carry them to a win...they will be sorely mistaken.
 
Definitely been an interesting year all around. Really hoping both teams get a chance to play each other!
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Sure, anything can happen. With the help of the Iopollo's transferring in, Mentor has a nice (but not great) starting lineup. They can be competitive with a lot of the better area teams. I don't know what the past few years have to do with this team though. Those teams had All-Ohio talent (Floriea, Rogers, Chicone, Key, and Waag) that had experience playing at a high level for multiple seasons. This team does not.

IMO, Mentor/Brush in 2019 and 2020 has no impact on what a 2022 matchup would like. If the Mentor players will enter a game with Brush trying to rely on the ghosts of Mentor past to carry them to a win...they will be sorely mistaken.
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Over their past playoff games, Brush has most always had more raw talent than Mentor, but Mentor found a way to win. All I am saying is, I would not count Mentor out, even though Brush still has the edge on raw talent..Anything can happen at tournament time. Brush would certainly be the unconditional favorite to win that matchup. Mentor teams seem to peak at tournament time & play hard against superior opponents. Don’t know the outcome, but I think it would be a great game. Good luck to both teams.
 
bbfan29 said:
Over their past playoff games, Brush has most always had more raw talent than Mentor, but Mentor found a way to win. All I am saying is, I would not count Mentor out, even though Brush still has the edge on raw talent..Anything can happen at tournament time. Brush would certainly be the unconditional favorite to win that matchup. Mentor teams seem to peak at tournament time & play hard against superior opponents. Don’t know the outcome, but I think it would be a great game. Good luck to both teams.
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I agree 100% don’t count Mentor out
 
Mentor has a tough weekend, dropping two GCC games to Strongsville and Medina. I thought this team could compete and win the GCC. This weekend ended that hope as I believe Solon is still undefeated in GCC play while Mentor already picked up their third league loss.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Mentor has a tough weekend, dropping two GCC games to Strongsville and Medina. I thought this team could compete and win the GCC. This weekend ended that hope as I believe Solon is still undefeated in GCC play while Mentor already picked up their third league loss.
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I thought they were gonna win the GCC too
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Sure, anything can happen. With the help of the Iopollo's transferring in, Mentor has a nice (but not great) starting lineup. They can be competitive with a lot of the better area teams. I don't know what the past few years have to do with this team though. Those teams had All-Ohio talent (Floriea, Rogers, Chicone, Key, and Waag) that had experience playing at a high level for multiple seasons. This team does not.

IMO, Mentor/Brush in 2019 and 2020 has no impact on what a 2022 matchup would like. If the Mentor players will enter a game with Brush trying to rely on the ghosts of Mentor past to carry them to a win...they will be sorely mistaken
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Compared to Brush talent, None of the players mentioned above were Dl prospects, Flores, football, Rogers, baseball, Waag, Dll Lake Erie, Key, walk on Dll. The point is, Mentor’s program can bring out the best in it’s team at the right time, You never know.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Sure, anything can happen. With the help of the Iopollo's transferring in, Mentor has a nice (but not great) starting lineup. They can be competitive with a lot of the better area teams. I don't know what the past few years have to do with this team though. Those teams had All-Ohio talent (Floriea, Rogers, Chicone, Key, and Waag) that had experience playing at a high level for multiple seasons. This team does not.

IMO, Mentor/Brush in 2019 and 2020 has no impact on what a 2022 matchup would like. If the Mentor players will enter a game with Brush trying to rely on the ghosts of Mentor past to carry them to a win...they will be sorely mistaken.
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I don’t think any one of us thought Mentor had any chance of getting to the District finals against Brush this year, based on the fact that they had no varsity experience coming back from last year. Mentor just destroyed Brunswick & Warren Harding for a 14-6 record to date. They seem to have the momentum to make a run to the district finals & meet Brush. Also, I don’t think Mentor will rely on the ghosts of Mentor past, they have their own identity.
 
After tough back-to-back GCC losses to Strongsville and Medina (teams Mentor beat rather comfortably in the first games), Mentor followed that up with four straight wins. A reasonable chance to split this weekend and finish with 15 wins would make for a solid regular season all things considered. Sean Collins has stepped up for his senior year. Other seniors who were primarily JV players as juniors have made a lot of contributions. The young guys are getting better. This is a nice team, very capable of making the district final. It doesn't have the kind of talent or experience of most of the teams of the past, but they are progressing just fine.
 
I, along with most posters here, was very skeptical about this year’s team, due to their inexperience & youth. However, they surprised all of us & have put themselves in a position to make it to the district finals & possible Brush/Mentor matchup. Congrats for sharing GCC title this year & winning the previous 4 titles outright. Good luck in the District Tournament, you’ve earned it the hard way.
 
bbfan29 said:
I, along with most posters here, was very skeptical about this year’s team, due to their inexperience & youth. However, they surprised all of us & have put themselves in a position to make it to the district finals & possible Brush/Mentor matchup. Congrats for sharing GCC title this year & winning the previous 4 titles outright. Good luck in the District Tournament, you’ve earned it the hard way.
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Why would this surprise you? Last year they saw a weakness in their future lineup so they went out and recruited to fill their holes. They brought in 2 brothers from Riverside and their AAU teammate from Harvey. The dad was given a coaching position too. And now they're back and ready to make a run in the postseason.
 
The kid from Harvey did not play in one game this season & the 2 kids from Riverside are the sons of a former Mentor player & have played & attended Mentor camps from early childhood to the present. They are incoming soph & junior that were on the Painsville varsity roster as a freshman & sophmore for one year., hardly referenced as experienced or superstars. The Dad coached them in the Mentor MVA thru the years & AAU & always wanted his sons to play at his alma mater under Coach K. They came to Mentor by choice & were not recruited. Check it out.
 
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