Displaying items by tag: High School Basketball

On the Sam and Brad Show Podcast "Feel Good Friday Edition:" 

Our G&G Fitness Equipment Coach of the Week for this week is Buchtel boys' basketball coach Matt Futch. 

Futch, a 2002 Buchtel graduate says it's been an exciting challenge for him coaching this young and talented team.

"We've been preparing all year long, and they're looking more prepared on the big stage," he said.

Stay tuned for next Friday's Coach of the Week on the Sam and Brad Show! 

The Tuesday edition of the Sam and Brad Show Podcast:

 Mark Kinsley of Green talking about their recent win and star guard Kaleb Martin (21 seconds in) 

Sam and Brad talking voting for the MLB Hall of Fame and players that played in the "steroid era" (10:33)

Steve Wyche of the NFL Network talking officiating and a quick preview of the Big Game between the Rams and Patriots (23:53) 

Sam and Brad spoke with former Brown Kamerion Wimbley to talk Browns and the hiring of Freddie Kitchens (21 seconds in) 

Also they spoke with Ken Rector, the former Barberton HS basketball coach to talk boys' high school basketball in the area.(12:25) 

Dave Tuley out in Vegas spoke about the future (and present) of sports gambling. (28:43) 

Former Tallmadge head boys basketball coach Michael Bluey spoke with the Sam and Brad Show to talk about his new venture, coaching the boys basketball team at North Canton Hoover.

Bluey served as an an assistant at Jackson High School before becoming the head coach at Tallmadge. 

 "Opportunities like Hoover don't come around very often," Bluey said. 

 "It's a diamond in the rough,and I'm certainly excited to get started."

Matt Creamer, the head coach of the Crusaders of Canton Central Catholic joined the Sam and Brad Show to talk about their matchup with Cleveland Lutheran East for a shot to go to Columbus.

Mark Dente, head coach of the Copley Indians spoke with Sam and Brad to talk about their upcoming matchup with Solon on Saturday.

Canton Central Catholic head basketball coach Matt Creamer spoke with Sam and Brad ahead of their matchup with LaBrae coming up. 

Tim Debevec, head coach of the Jackson Polar Bears spoke with Sam and Brad Wednesday to talk about their matchup tonight against the Copley Indians tonight in Cleveland. 

After 30-plus years of coaching, Canton McKinley boys basketbal coach Rick Hairston is hanging up his whistle.

Hairston joined the Sam and Brad Show to talk about his retirement and what he plans to do moving forward.

Sam and Brad spoke with Mark Dente of Copley to talk about the upset win over Hoban and their upcoming game with Jackson on Wednesday at 6:15pm in Cleveland. 

Russ Swartz, the head coach of the Mogadore Wildcats spoke with Sam and Brad ahead of their matchup against Canton Central Catholic tonight in Salem.

Matt Creamer of Canton Central Catholic talked about things from his side of the matchup.

Copley head coach Mark Dente spoke with Sam and Brad on a Feel Good Friday ahead of their matchup with the Archbishop Hoban Knights on Saturday.

Russ Swartz, the head coach of the Mogadore Wildcats boys' basketball team, spoke with Sam and Brad to talk about their game tonight against Campbell Memorial.

Tip off is at 7 p.m. in the Salem Division II District.

There's a big high school basketball game in Akron tonight, and two rival teams will take the hardwood.

T.K. Griffith of Hoban spoke with Sam Bourquin ahead of the game.

 Dru Joyce of STVM also joined Sam to talk about the Irish side of things. 

Tonight's game at Hoban's Barry Gymnasium is sold out. 

Head basketball coach of the Green boys baksetball team, Mark Kinsley spoke with Sam and Brad Wednesday after their 52-49 win over Lake Tuesday night.

Junior guard Kaleb Martin scored 30 points in the win for Green. The Bulldogs are 7-3 on the season. 

Tim Debevec, the head coach of the Jackson Polar Bears spoke with Sam and Brad Monday after their state championship clinching win over Moeller 39-38 in Columbus.

Tim Debevec, head coach of the Jackson Polar Bears boys' basketball team caught up with Sam and Brad on a Feel Good Friday to talk about his team's 80-59 win over Medina.

The Polar Bears advance to the Regional Final to take on Toledo St. John.

Tom McBride, head boys basketball coach of the Lake Blue Streaks spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell to talk about the matchup tonight between his squad and Garfield Heights tonight in the Regionals.

Brian Dawson, head coach of the Kenmore Cardinals previewed tonight's playoff matchup between themselves and the Buchtel Griffins tonight.

Dru Joyce II, the head coach of the STVM Fighting Irish joined the Sam and Brad Show Thursday to talk about the win last night over Alliance 91-54.

The districts are now here in high school basketball and the Copley Indians will be taking on the Jackson Polar Bears in the Division I district semifinals at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Mark Dente, the head coach of the Indians boys' basketball team spoke with Sam and Brad Tuesday to talk about the psyche of his team heading into the matchup with the Polar Bears.

For the full interview with Coach Dente, click here.

The Coventy Comets will be preparing for a tough Kenmore Cardinals team in the Sectional Finals tonight at 7 p.m.

First-year head coach for the Comets Mike DiFalco spoke with Sam and Brad on game day to talk about his team, their road to the tournament, and the challenge from Kenmore.

Hoban head basketball coach TK Griffith spoke with Sam and Brad Friday to talk about the team as they head into their game with Padua Fransiscan tonight.

For the full interview, click here.

Steve White, the head coach of the Buchtel Griffins, spoke with Sam and Brad Wednesday ahead of the City Series Boys Basketball Championship Friday with the Ellet Orangemen.

The Barberton Magics are getting ready to hit the hardwood tonight against Kent Roosevelt in a Suburban League tilt.

The Magics will be getting ready to head to Copley for a playoff matchup against the Indians in March.

Head coach for Barberton Jack Greynolds Jr says things are going well in the Magic City for his team.

For the full interview, click here. 

Head coach of the Copley Indians Mark Dente spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell Tuesday to talk about his team's seeding in the upcoming state tournament in the Division I Canton district.

The undefeated Indians will take on Aurora tonight in a Suburban League contest.

For the full interview, click here.

Tim Rogers, reporter for various media outlets in the area spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell Monday about the seedings in the upcoming boys basketball tournament.

A lot of the focus is placed on the Canton Division I district with a bevy of tough teams out there.

For the full interview, click here.

Mark Fisher, the head coach of the Ellet Orangemen spoke with Sam and Brad Friday to talk about his team heading into their matchup tonight with Massillon.

Copley head basketball coach Mark Dente spoke with Sam and Brad Friday to talk about his undefeated squad taking on Highland tonight.

Coach Dente also talked about the tournament drawings as well.

For the full interview, click here.

The Mogadore Wildcats have had a successfull 2016-17 and will look to continue that success as they wind down the regular season and get ready for the tournament.

Russ Swartz, head basketball coach of the Wildcats spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell Thursday afternoon.

 The Wildcats are in first place in the PTC County Division. 

Head coach of the STVM Fighting Irish Dru Joyce II spoke with Sam and Brad Tuesday ahead of their matchup with the Knights of Archbishop Hoban.

Head boys basketball coach of the Buchtel Griffins Steve White talked about garnering his 300th win of his career over the weekend, as well as tonight's matchup with Kenmore. 

White said his team is focused on getting better each and every day, holding each other accountable.

For the full interview, click here.

STVM Fighting Irish head basketball coach Dru Joyce II spoke about his team's matchup with Ellet Thursday night.

Also Dru weighed in on Cavs' superstar and one of his former players, LeBron James not getting foul calls during the course of a game.

Mark Fisher, head coach of the Ellet Orangemen spoke with Sam Thursday to talk about  his ballclub heading into the holidays.

The boys are 6-0 on the young season heading into the holiday tournaments.

Buchtel head boys basketball coach Steve White joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his team's play heading into the holidays.

The Griffs are 3-2 on the year and will face Stubenville coming up.

Dru Joyce II, the head coach of the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish boys' basketball team, spoke with Sam Bourquin to talk about his team as they wrapped up another LeBron James Classic with a win over Warren Harding.

The Revere Minutemen will be taking on the Copley Indians in a rivalry game that spans many years on the hardwood.

Revere head basketball coach Dean Rahas from Revere High School joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the matchup and his team's play so far this young season. 

For the full interview, click here. 

Coach Mark Dente of the Copley Indians talked with Sam Bourquin Thursday ahead of their game Friday with Revere.

The Indians are coming off a nice win over Alliance and are led by senior guard Austin Brenner, along with Jacob Williams and Brian Roberts.

For the full interview, click the link below.

STVM Athletic Director Willie McGee chatted with our own Sam Bourquin Thursday to talk about the 3rd annual LeBron James Classic basketball tournament going on this weekend at STVM High School.

For the full interview, click here.

The Barberton Magics are doing well so far this basketball season, winning their last game against Northwestern in the final game of the Greynolds Classic at the Purple Palace.

Head coach of the Magics Jackie Greynolds Jr. joined Sam Bourquin Tuesday to give us an update on his team.

For the full interview, click here.

The Tuslaw Mustangs have a new basketball coach in the fold, and that name is a familiar one in local high school basketball circles.

Lynn Wess will now be the head boys' basketball coach of the Mustangs after previously coaching at Coventry High School.  Wess joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his new opportunity and what the Pac-7 is going to be like during the season.

"You're going to see some great high school basketball (in the Pac-7) and the schools and the communites back their kids and their teams, so it'll be a nice 8 team league."

For the full interview with Coach Wess, click here.

The Massillon Tigers have a new head boys' basketball coach, and he says he's learned a lot in his previous stops on his journey to TigerTown.

Michael Cruz, the new head man for the Tigers joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about what he looks to bring to western Stark County, and some of the great mentors he's had in coaching that got him to this point.

Coach Cruz says he's ready to hit the hardwood.

"I'm very excited and very honored for the opportunity," Cruz said. "I got a chance to talk to the players yesterday, and I'm ready to get on the court and get to work."

Cruz came from Garfield Heights High School,  where he worked under Sonny Johnson, one of the better high school coaches in the Cleveland area. 

Cruz, 30, has also had stops at Lorain County Community College, UNC-Charlotte, Colerain HS, and most recently Garfield Heights.

He says he learned a lot at Colerain about the high school game and relating to the players.

"It taught me to be patient, it taught me a lot from a schematic standpoint," he said. "I truly believe I was meant to be at Massillon, and I'm just really excited to get started." 

The Perry Panthers have a new boys basketball coach in the fold.

Chad Spurgeon was named the coach and he plans on putting his stamp on this program and teach his players the value of hard work and teamwork.

He says he's excited to return to his alma mater and hit the ground running.

"It is fun to take on something like this obviously," Spurgeon said. "The Federal League is a very good public school league, there's a great sense of pride amongst Perry people, I've heard from a lot of the alumni and the people in the town, so I'm excited."

Spurgeon previously coached at New Philadelphia high school for the past six seasons.

The St. Vincent-St Mary Fighting Irish are coming off a big win over Benedictine on Saturday, and will be heading to Columbus looking to capture another state boy's basketball championship.

Head coach of the Irish Dru Joyce II joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about his team's mentality heading to the state semifinals and what they've been doing to keep improving all season long.

"The kids are pretty focused, the practices have been good, they understand there's still a lot of work to do and the job's not done," Joyce said.

STVM will play Aiken out of Cincinnati in the state semis in Division II Thursday at 5:15pm.  Coach Dru says he sees some similarites between his team and the Aiken squad.

"They're similar in size to us, and they play at a fast pace."

The Wadsworth Lady Grizzlies are making their march to Columbus in hopes of winning a state title this weekend, and it all starts with Reynoldsburg on Friday.

Andy Booth, the head coach of the Lady Grizzlies joined Sam Bourquin to talk about how the young ladies have grown game by game and are focused on one common goal: coming home with a state championship.

"Our kids have been extremely focused, the focus has been there every day in practice, and its translated to the games, so they're not just happy to be there, they want to take it all the way," he said.

He says they'll have a tough task on their hands in the state semifinals against Reynoldsburg.

"They're very athletic and they're very talented, just because you're young doesn't mean your're not a good player, and we have to be prepared Friday night."

Reynoldsburg is a young team with no seniors and a lot of their scoring coming from their sophomores, which Booth says is their main ingredient to success.

The Knights of St. Thomas Aquinas will be competing in the Regional Semis against Oberlin Wednesday night in Canton after a solid regular season and an equally good postseason run, and they're looking for more.

Matt Hackenberg, the head coach of the boys' team at St. Thomas Aquinas joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about his squad and how they're playing their best basketball as the high school hoops season winds down.

After winning their fourth straight district title against Tuslaw, Coach Hackenberg said he's proud of his team and the effort they gave.

"I thought that (district title) was the most fulfilling to be able to do it against a Tuslaw team that had the resume and the clout they had attach to the season they were having, so out of all four, that was the sweetest," he said.

He says the three-headed monster of Jacob Paul, Logan Newman, and Gino Pellegrene has been key for them in the postseason and throughout the season, and he knows he'll need them along with the rest of the contributors for the Knights as they try to reach their ultimate goal.

First things first, they have to contend with Oberlin at the Fieldhouse Wednesday evening.

"We took a close look at what Oberlin does, and we've been trying to sharpen up our ballhandling," he says.

There's going to be a big district championship matchup between the Tuslaw Mustangs and the St. Thomas Aquinas Knights at Salem H.S. in Division III Friday and there's a winning streak on the line for one of the area's top teams.

Kevin Lower, the head coach of the undefeated Mustangs joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the matchup and what he sees not only in his club, but in the Knights as well.

"This should be a great game, two programs that have been to the regionals the last few years, hopefully both teams play their best, and the fans get their money's worth," Lower said.

Coach said the Mustangs' (23-0) halfcourt defense needs to be strong, and they need to limit the Knights' points in transition.

Lower says his young men haven't thought about the streak and have the "next game up" mentality which he says is necessary for success.

"Right now we're 3-0 and to be perfect in the tournament it's 8-0 and that's all we're thinking about now."

Two of Stark County's better teams will square off at the Canton Civic Center Thursday for a right to move on in the state tournament.

North Canton Hoover head boy's basketball coach Todd Blackledge joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the Vikings' buying in to the program and playing well at the right time.

"We're excited to play tomorrow night and see if we can earn another 32 minutes," Todd said. "Our chemistry is at our best, our skill level is as good as it's been and our toughness and grit has come to the forefront here in the last couple of weeks."

The Vikings are led by seniors Eli Blackledge (Todd's son) and Nathan Fox, and coach Blackledge says there will be some challenges posed by the tough-minded McKinley Bulldogs on Thursday.

District semifinals are approaching and the undefeated Copley Indians will be preparing to face the Lake Blue Streaks on Thursday.

Mark Dente the head coach of the Indians joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about Tom McBride's team and what the young men can expect from the Blue Streaks in a couple of days.

"It's a tough district semifinal, no doubt about it," says Dente. "It's going to be a contrast of styles, they're trying to slow the game down, we're trying to speed the game up, so we'll see what happens."

Copley (23-0) feels like they will have to keep Lake in the low 60's in order to have a chance to win at the end, and even though they are undersized, they will get after it with anybody.

Dente says he knows his young men are excited to lace em' up and bring their 'A' game against the Blue Streaks.

"They don't feel pressure, they just want to go out and just keep winning," he says.