WCAL

187xovr said:
New Dalton coach Huth and staff did a great job of preparing for the Norwayne press. Dalton shot layups and wide open shots pretty much the entire first quarter when Norwayne was pressing. Norwayne adjusted after the first quarter and quit pressing until very late in the game. Dalton only scored 2 points the first 6+ minutes of the second quarter and struggled bad with turnovers throughout the game. Dalton never got good shots off consistently after Norwayne went to their half court defense. Sammy Tomlinson was arguably the best player on the floor. Not much of a scorer, but his hustle and ball handling were really good. Watching him and Metsker go at it was fun. Two hard nosed, scrappy players.

Norwayne will be sizable favorites in the rest of their WCAL games this year. When is the last time they have won a WCAL title by themselves in basketball?
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I agree watching the hustle and heart of both of them go at it was awesome to see . You don’t see too many kids play with that about of heart . Neither one are the most talented offensively .. sounds kinda dumb but they both remind me of Matthew Dellavedova from the Cavs championship run .
 
Bobcatsfan2016 said:
Anyone use this thread anymore lol
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Does not seem that way. Seems like Norwayne being 20+ points better than everyone else in the league has drained interest in the thread. Who has the best shot in the league to make a deep tournament run? Norwayne getting pounded in the Battle at the Berkey by an average Olentangy team makes me think they might have a rough time once tournament play starts in D2. Norwayne presses other WCAL teams effectively. Not sure that strategy works against more athletic/better guards.
 
187xovr said:
Does not seem that way. Seems like Norwayne being 20+ points better than everyone else in the league has drained interest in the thread. Who has the best shot in the league to make a deep tournament run? Norwayne getting pounded in the Battle at the Berkey by an average Olentangy team makes me think they might have a rough time once tournament play starts in D2. Norwayne presses other WCAL teams effectively. Not sure that strategy works against more athletic/better guards.
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I agree completley . As I will say norwayne did get pounded in the berkey . Props to olentangy for shooting lights out .
 
Metsker played the 1st half but sat the 2nd w/ a possible concussion. Medina is a pretty good 7-8 team. Their big and athletic and most of their losses have come to good teams. They play 4 kids 6’5 or bigger. It was a big win for Norwayne after the loss to Olentangy especially w/ Metsker out in the 2nd half. Medina is similar to some teams they’ll see come tournament time.
 
WCAL BBall said:
Metsker played the 1st half but sat the 2nd w/ a possible concussion. Medina is a pretty good 7-8 team. Their big and athletic and most of their losses have come to good teams. They play 4 kids 6’5 or bigger. It was a big win for Norwayne after the loss to Olentangy especially w/ Metsker out in the 2nd half. Medina is similar to some teams they’ll see come tournament time.
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I agree all of Medina loses have come to teams with pretty much one or two losses
 
Norwayne over Hillsdale last night 58-40 without Metsker playing. Braden West had 28 including 8 3’s. Norwayne/Dalton Friday night should be a good game. Dalton is playing well. Metsker is supposed to be back for the game Friday. If West shoots the ball even remotely close to last night, Norwayne is going to be tough out regardless of Division come tournament time.
 
WCAL BBall said:
Norwayne over Hillsdale last night 58-40 without Metsker playing. Braden West had 28 including 8 3’s. Norwayne/Dalton Friday night should be a good game. Dalton is playing well. Metsker is supposed to be back for the game Friday. If West shoots the ball even remotely close to last night, Norwayne is going to be tough out regardless of Division come tournament time.
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I agree wholeheartedly West is streaky very much so he’ll either be completely on and hit seven or 8 or 9s in a game hell I’ve seen him hit seven in the first half before and then the next game he’ll miss seven or eight in a row and can’t hit one at all .
 
WCAL BBall said:
Norwayne over Hillsdale last night 58-40 without Metsker playing. Braden West had 28 including 8 3’s. Norwayne/Dalton Friday night should be a good game. Dalton is playing well. Metsker is supposed to be back for the game Friday. If West shoots the ball even remotely close to last night, Norwayne is going to be tough out regardless of Division come tournament time.
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The better teams will not just let him shoot. Norwayne does avoid the juggernaut programs like Richmond Heights and Lutheran East with their move up to D2. They will still be huge underdogs if they advance to regionals in D2. I will be really impressed if they win a district title this year in D2. I do like them to beat Dalton in a close game on Friday. Norwayne pulls away down the stretch for a 10-12 point win.
 
Agree, an underdog if Norwayne makes it to regionals, but they would be if in DII or DIII. The super districts do allow you to stay away from the juggernauts potentially until regionals, but once there, it is a struggle. Winning a district championship is a big deal and with all the powerhouse privates, winning a district championship is a good year.
 
CasualFan24 said:
That's fine for winning games in WCAL - but you will need that height when you start venturing out. Norwayne stuck in D2 this year because of CB - they're going to find out in districts, if not before, that their lack of size is going to be a problem....
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Reposting this after seeing Norwayne's tournament draw....
 
CasualFan24 said:
Reposting this after seeing Norwayne's tournament draw....
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Norwayne's tournament draw is an eye opener for sure. They have to beat Buchtel and Glenville to make it to the district finals. Beating established teams full of athletes like Buchtel & Glenville would be uncharted waters for Norwayne. Griffins and Tarblooders are pretty well coached too. These are not teams that just roll the ball out and play. Buchtel and Richmond Heights were the two most unselfish teams I saw play last year. Both were state champions.

Dalton's draw in D4 is really challenging too. Going to East Canton for the sectional finals is a tall task for Dalton. East Canton will probably be the most talented team Dalton has played against all season. Mogadore looms in the district semis.

The top two teams in the WCAL will have to play really well to get out of sectionals.
 
wack7 said:
Malvern beat them last year too the Hornets are pretty good bet Smithies finish in top 3 of wcal
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This did not age well. Smithies are hapless this year. I think most would agree that Corey Kaufman is a very passionate coach who knows the game. It remains to be seen whether or not he can win big at Smithville. Keeping kids in the program and individual talent development seem to be the biggest issues. It is almost impossible to win at the varsity level when coaches have to manufacture a large amount of points each game through sets and other strategic measures. Kids need to be able to make plays on their own to win consistently.
 
WCAL BBall said:
Norwayne over Hillsdale last night 58-40 without Metsker playing. Braden West had 28 including 8 3’s. Norwayne/Dalton Friday night should be a good game. Dalton is playing well. Metsker is supposed to be back for the game Friday. If West shoots the ball even remotely close to last night, Norwayne is going to be tough out regardless of Division come tournament time.
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Norwayne is clearly the best team in the WCAL. They won the league by 4 games. Bobcats are still probably going out in the sectionals. They simply have not seen athleticism like they will see from Buchtel. The state choosing the officials will make this unlike normal Norwayne home games too. Coach West does a great job of getting his preferred officials on Norwayne's biggest games during the season. It is a lot tougher to pull that off during the postseason.

Dalton is the clear underdog in the sectional finals at E Canton next week as well.

Which WCAL team(s) have the best chance of advancing to the district finals in the tourney? The D3 brackets seem quite a bit less treacherous than the D2 and D4 brackets in NE Ohio.
 
187xovr said:
Norwayne is clearly the best team in the WCAL. They won the league by 4 games. Bobcats are still probably going out in the sectionals. They simply have not seen athleticism like they will see from Buchtel. The state choosing the officials will make this unlike normal Norwayne home games too. Coach West does a great job of getting his preferred officials on Norwayne's biggest games during the season. It is a lot tougher to pull that off during the postseason.

Dalton is the clear underdog in the sectional finals at E Canton next week as well.

Which WCAL team(s) have the best chance of advancing to the district finals in the tourney? The D3 brackets seem quite a bit less treacherous than the D2 and D4 brackets in NE Ohio.
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The league ended up pretty much as expected, Norwayne 1, Dalton 2. As you said, really tough draws for the best teams in the league - both have a shot, but neither will be favored. The team with the best shot of moving on is probably waynedale imo. No juggernauts in that side of bracket
 
1486wd said:
The league ended up pretty much as expected, Norwayne 1, Dalton 2. As you said, really tough draws for the best teams in the league - both have a shot, but neither will be favored. The team with the best shot of moving on is probably waynedale imo. No juggernauts in that side of bracket
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Chippewa was a huge disappointment … coach appears in over his head
 
Yes it should, East canton has some good bigs. I expect an entertaining game. Agree about Chippewa - Smithville as well. I thought they would be better than they were this year. Really tailed off.
 
Norwayne was within 3 to start the 4th quarter, then Buchtel went on a 6-0 run. Norwayne worked their way back in it but ended up losing by 2.
 
Dalton played their best game of the year tonight beating a good East Canton team 71-50. They had balanced scoring and played good tough defense, limiting East Canton to one shot on most their possessions.
 
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After a long football season, an injury to their only returning starter, and a coach resigning, Dalton is on the verge of another district championship. Coach Huth deserves credit for a job well done under difficult circumstances. When it comes down to it, the players deserve the most credit for fighting through adversity and pulling it together when it counts.
 
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