St. Ignatius basketball 2024-2025

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bluengold

Well-known member
This season's schedule has been posted on the IgnatiusWildcats athletics website

Scrimmages
Nov. 9 @ Toledo Whitmer
Nov. 14 @ Berea-Midpark
Nov. 16 @ Brecksville
Nov. 19 @ Western Reserve Academy
Nov. 26 (H) Medina and Warren Harding

Regular Season
Nov. 30 @ Warrensville Heights
Dec. 7 (H) Westerville North
Dec. 10 @ VASJ
Dec. 13 @ Gonzaga Classic (Washington D.C.)
Dec. 14 @ Gonzaga Classic (Washington D.C.)
Dec. 15 @ Gonzaga Classic (Washington D.C.)
Dec. 21 (H) Akron Garfield
Dec. 22 vs Reynoldsburg (Capital Univ Showcase)
Dec. 29 @ Canton McKinley (Shot Clock Shootout @ Canton Fieldhouse)
Dec. 31 (H) Akron SVSM
Jan. 3 @ St. Edward
Jan. 5 vs Olentangy Orange (Play-by-Play Classic @ CCC)
Jan. 11 (H) Akron Buchtel
Jan. 16 (H) Centerville
Jan. 19 vs. Cincinnati Moeller (Flyin’ to the Hoop @ Kettering Fairmont)
Jan. 22 @ Lutheran East
Jan. 24 @ Walsh Jesuit
Jan. 31 (H) Lutheran West
Feb. 4 (H) Richmond Heights
Feb. 7 (H) St. Edward
Feb. 14 @ Louisville
Feb. 21 @ Avon

Gonzaga Classic possible opponents:
Gonzaga College HS (D.C.), Coolidge HS (D.C.), Maret School (D.C.), Severn (MD) Archbishop Spalding, St. Louis Chaminade, Chicago Lane Tech, Philadelphia Roman Catholic

The “Flyin’ to the Hoops” promo website lists a preseason top 20 in Ohio for all divisions.
Based on this, the Wildcats (ranked #3) would play #1 Richmond Heights, #2 Olentangy Orange, #4 Reynoldsburg, #5 Toledo Whitmer (scrimmage), #6 Cincinnati Moeller, #8 Louisville, #13 Centerville, #20 Lutheran East
 
 
arizonawildcat said:
Any idea on when the roster will be announced?
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Don’t know when, but the roster composition is likely to be similar to the summer tournament roster at Midwest Live and Philly Live.

Top returnees from the 9-man rotation last season (all seniors):
Damon Friery (Dayton commit)
Quinn Woidke (Kent State commit)
Kalli Johnson (receiving interest; father is Asst Coach at Cleveland State)

Seniors: Jimmy Thomas, Pierce Gibbs, Conor Mangan, Kyle Niehaus
Juniors: RJ Jones, Alex Mack
Sophs: Sami Dari, Steph Bohanon
 
While I am surprised that neither Friery nor Woidke had received an offer from a Big 5 conference, the biggest loss from last year's state title team is Reece Robinson. Robinson was an absolute offensive rebounding machine. I believe he had eight offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone in the Brunswick tournament game. I hope someone from the JV team can fill that hole in this year's team.
 
arizonawildcat said:
While I am surprised that neither Friery nor Woidke had received an offer from a Big 5 conference, the biggest loss from last year's state title team is Reece Robinson. Robinson was an absolute offensive rebounding machine. I believe he had eight offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone in the Brunswick tournament game. I hope someone from the JV team can fill that hole in this year's team.
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Friery had offers from Penn State, Georgia, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, DePaul and others. He preferred UD
Woidke had offers from Duquesne, Charleston and other MAC schools

Agree about Reece Robinson.
Those that played on JVs last season don't have the height that Robinson and Sam Springer brought. Junior RJ Jones at around 6-5 is pretty athletic. I suspect it may be a different playing style for the Cats this season as there are a lot of guards
 
Definitely, this year’s team will be much more guard heavy with no true Center. Friery stepped up his physicality in the playoffs last year, especially with Springer’s injury and Robinson in foul trouble in a few games. He’ll need to continue that for the Cats to have a chance to repeat. The watered down D1 will help a lot too.
 
Varsity roster is now posted:

Quinn Woidke, 6-1 (Sr)
Jimmy Thomas, 6-1 (Sr)
Kalli Johnson, 6-3 (Sr)
Alex Mack, 6-3 (Jr)
Steph Bohanon, 6-0 (Soph)
Denahi Melton, 5-9 (Fr)
RJ Jones, 6-5 (Jr)
Pearce Gibbs, 6-2 (Sr)
Evan Solar, 6-3 (Sr)
Kyle Niehaus, 6-4 (Sr)
Sami Dari, 6-2 (Soph)
Damon Friery, 6-10 (Sr)
Joe Maloof, 5-11 (Jr)
Dave Mertes, 6-5 (Sr)
Conor Mangan, 6-6 (Sr)
Keith Seide, 6-6 (Jr)

9 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 1 Freshman
Some have grown in height (which is good)
Friery is a Dayton commit; Woidke is a Kent State commit
Hearing a lot of positives about juniors Alex Mack and RJ Jones
Two promising sophs - Sami Dari and Steph Bohanon - plus freshman Denahi Melton
Heard that soph Reid Robinson, Reece's brother, has transferred to Lutheran West
Dave Mertes returns after not playing last season (two seasons ago, I thought he was the best player on JVs - Friery and Woidke were on varsity then)
 
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I'd expect them to be pretty good - but you can't replace Ellis, Robinson, and Sean Martin. About as good of "role players" as you can get for a high school basketball team.
 
Any idea on who's going to play the center position? Friery has the height, but I don't think he can play with his back to the basket.
 
arizonawildcat said:
Any idea on who's going to play the center position? Friery has the height, but I don't think he can play with his back to the basket.
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Friery could post up more this season. Saw him do so in last season's tournament especially when Robinson was not on the floor.
Keith Seide (jr) at 6-6, 210 lbs is one option at the 5 position. He's pretty good size, played on JV as more a traditional center, and was also a former OLineman on freshman and JV football.
Dave Mertes (sr) at 6-5 could be another option. From my recollection of him on JV basketball, he could play both inside and outside
The scheme will likely be dependent on who is out on the floor and what match-ups the Cats face
 
There are good options and this team may well defend their title, but Springer and Robinson will be near irreplaceable as true post players. Davet and Yarian in 15-17 were the closest post duo I’ve seen to them.

Hearing good things about the freshman Melton.
 
Mack is an excellent shooter and could fill the Matt Ellis role. Probably not quite as shifty or dangerous off the dribble but also a good amount taller. Lots of good guard depth on the team this year.
 
Good luck to the wildcats this year. Not sure what Coach Flannery is doing over at Ed’s. Haven’t had a core three or even too twlent come through for several years now.
 
An indication of how good Ignatius will be this year is how they do in the Gonzaga Classic in December. If the Cats can come out of that tourney with only one loss, they can be considered a legitimate contender to repeat. Gonzaga High is currently ranked #2 in the country in national pre-season polls. The other schools in the tourney are also top-notch.
 
arizonawildcat said:
Only saw the third quarter, but I wasn't at all impressed with the Cats performance.
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They were up 19 at the half, then seems like they got sloppy and let the lead melt away. Clearly still figuring things out and rotating a lot of kids in. Friery looked very good and more assertive around the basket.
 
Wildcats1886 said:
They were up 19 at the half, then seems like they got sloppy and let the lead melt away. Clearly still figuring things out and rotating a lot of kids in. Friery looked very good and more assertive around the basket.
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Agree. The Cats were up and down - strong 2nd quarter (23-6), sloppy 3rd quarter and the lead went down to around 9-10, then back up to a 16 point lead with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter, followed by a sloppy final 2 minutes with Warrensville scoring the last 6 points at the very end. Damon Friery scored 19, Quinn Woidke with 15 and Kalli Johnson with 14.

The Cats will have to play much better and steadier against Westerville North on Saturday as the Warriors will press a lot and play a fast pace.
WN did a 'running clock' 83-47 blow-out win over Richmond Heights on Saturday, holding Dorian Jones to 2 pts.
 
Battle of Central Ohio powers on the Ignatius' schedule this evening:
D2 Westerville North loses to D1 Olentangy Orange 55-57 on a buzzer beater.
The Cats play Westerville North on Saturday and Olentangy Orange in early Jan.
 
Strong showing over a good Westerville North team, 85-72. Paced in the first half by junior Jones, the Cats were led Friery and Woijke in the second half, with both over 25 points.
 
Looked forward to seeing this matchup today but felt the overzealous officiating kind of ruined the game. Hard game to officiate though due to the chaotic up-tempo style both teams were willing to play at. Sloppy game game between two good teams. Typical of what you see in the first few games of a season.
 
skyvue said:
Looked forward to seeing this matchup today but felt the overzealous officiating kind of ruined the game. Hard game to officiate though due to the chaotic up-tempo style both teams were willing to play at. Sloppy game game between two good teams. Typical of what you see in the first few games of a season.
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Agree, although I found it to be entertaining at times. WN is really quick and should be a contender for the D2 final 4
Ignatius was led by Friery (27), Woidke (26) and RJ Jones (19). Friery continues to look good and certainly more assertive than last year
 
skyvue said:
Looked forward to seeing this matchup today but felt the overzealous officiating kind of ruined the game. Hard game to officiate though due to the chaotic up-tempo style both teams were willing to play at. Sloppy game game between two good teams. Typical of what you see in the first few games of a season.
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Agree that the refs must have been paid by the whistle. Must have been 20 travelling calls in the game. Helter-skelter game in the fourth quarter with Ignatius throwing court length passes to beat the press. My personal highlight was Johnson throwing down a windmill dunk in the last minute, which, of course, was negated by a travelling call,
 
Interestingly, JCU is starting 4 ex Ignatius players right now. Toppin, Raynor, Yontek, and Zapolnik. Luke Frazier from Lake Catholic is the other starter. I think Zapolnik is filling in for Luke Chicone.
 
Good balance in scoring in last night’s win over VASJ, 87-67. Everybody on the squad who’s healthy (15 in total) played with four scoring in double figures. Still a lot of development and experience to gain

A challenge comes this weekend in the Gonzaga DC Classic.
Next up is #2 in the nation – brother Jesuit HS, Gonzaga of Washington DC.
The Eagles are 2-1, losing to the nation’s #1 team - Miami FL Columbus (with Cameron and Cayden Boozer) by 6 points in 3 OTs and beating the nation’s #8 team - Orlando FL Oak Ridge by 11.

The Eagles are led by:
SG Derek Dixon, 6-5 sr, committed to North Carolina (4*, ranked 51st nationally)
PG Nyk Lewis, 6-2 sr, committed to Xavier (4*, ranked 59th nationally)
C Christian Gurdak, 6-10 sr, committed to Virginia Tech (4*, ranked 94th nationally)
SG Will Harper, 6-4 sr, committed to Richmond (3*)
PF Alex Toumou, 6-7 sr, committed to Harvard (3*)

Gonzaga DC Classic

The Gonzaga DC Classic is an annual basketball tournament produced by the Gonzaga College High School Father's Club. The proceeds support the service projects that the young men of Gonzaga participate in to help others. The tourmanent delivers 'Great Basketball Supporting Good Works'
www.gonzagadcclassic.org www.gonzagadcclassic.org
 
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