Monroe Central 24-25

[LADYRIDER73]

Steely, that's a good story. Local papers here missed the mark.

Agree. At least WTOV-TV did a great job of covering the game, and frankly MC's entire run through the tournament. The Intelligencer, The Times Leader, and the Marietta Times all used to do a great job of covering HS sports, but not so much anymore.

the papers do not print on the weekends like they used too. times leader reporter kim north has been covering their games in person he has a write up about them on their website. he has put over 1000 miles on his car covering them the last few weeks. it is on wtrf ,wtov9 ,the intelligencer and the times leader how much more coverage do you want or need

wheeling central also played too so they had to cover them too. seeing how it is a team based in wheeling.

it may be the most important game to you but there are other things to cover like east ohio regional hospital closing and 500 people losing their jobs without a warning. imagine going home from work only to find out later that the facility shut down.

[Steely Dan]

Steely, that's a good story. Local papers here missed the mark.

Agree. At least WTOV-TV did a great job of covering the game, and frankly MC's entire run through the tournament. The Intelligencer, The Times Leader, and the Marietta Times all used to do a great job of covering HS sports, but not so much anymore.

the papers do not print on the weekends like they used too. times leader reporter kim north has been covering their games in person he has a write up about them on their website. he has put over 1000 miles on his car covering them the last few weeks. it is on wtrf ,wtov9 ,the intelligencer and the times leader how much more coverage do you want or need

wheeling central also played too so they had to cover them too. seeing how it is a team based in wheeling.

it may be the most important game to you but there are other things to cover like east ohio regional hospital closing and 500 people losing their jobs without a warning. imagine going home from work only to find out later that the facility shut down.

I get it. The print media is being left behind in the digital age, and with reduced readership and revenue, these local papers don't have the resources that they once did to provide the sports coverage of yesteryear. The days of Cal Pokas, Mark Dierkes, and Joe Davis are things of the past, unfortunately.

[skyvue]

Does anyone know what Gator Nichols (star player for Maysville) connection to Monroe Central is? He wore a Monroe Central t-shirt during our game and participated in the shooting contest (I think) during one of the breaks in his MC shirt. I am 80% sure it was him but didn't hear any confirmation on this.

[caldwellbasketball]

Does anyone know what Gator Nichols (star player for Maysville) connection to Monroe Central is? He wore a Monroe Central t-shirt during our game and participated in the shooting contest (I think) during one of the breaks in his MC shirt. I am 80% sure it was him but didn't hear any confirmation on this.

The Maysville team stuck around for the whole weekend and according to my brother (girls coach at Maysville) they became honorary members of the MC student section lol. Pretty good pick to be the shooter! Congrats to MC on the title!

[TGIF]

Does anyone know what Gator Nichols (star player for Maysville) connection to Monroe Central is? He wore a Monroe Central t-shirt during our game and participated in the shooting contest (I think) during one of the breaks in his MC shirt. I am 80% sure it was him but didn't hear any confirmation on this.

It was Gator.
He is friends with a couple MC students, and I'm sure he and some MC players crossed paths over the years with AAU ball, team shootouts etc.
It was great to see the support not only from MC fans, but the whole county and several surrounding counties!

[selonmc]

Does anyone know what Gator Nichols (star player for Maysville) connection to Monroe Central is? He wore a Monroe Central t-shirt during our game and participated in the shooting contest (I think) during one of the breaks in his MC shirt. I am 80% sure it was him but didn't hear any confirmation on this.

Jeff Stephens mentioned the connection on the BNV livestream but I can’t recall it 100%. I think maybe Gator’s grandparents live in the MC area.

Man imagine if Gator’s parents decided to settle in the MC area years ago. That team would have been incredible

[selonmc]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kids out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

[Steely Dan]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kids out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

First, MC, I've had the same thoughts. That said, I have a couple of thoughts. With the success of the BB program, I am cautiously optimistic that this will create overall excitement, and school pride, amongst the student body. That will help with FB. If the speculation that MC is going to build a new school and consolidate Beallsville into the fold, well, the numbers will only help football. I think that the football coaching has them headed in the right direction, but it is going to take time. Let's face it, the economic downturn once Ormet closed and the subsequent exodus of young families has had a long term detrimental effect on the football program. If the numbers increase, the success will as well.

[selonmc]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kids out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

First, MC, I've had the same thoughts. That said, I have a couple of thoughts. With the success of the BB program, I am cautiously optimistic that this will create overall excitement, and school pride, amongst the student body. That will help with FB. If the speculation that MC is going to build a new school and consolidate Beallsville into the fold, well, the numbers will only help football. I think that the football coaching has them headed in the right direction, but it is going to take time. Let's face it, the economic downturn once Ormet closed and the subsequent exodus of young families has had a long term detrimental effect on the football program. If the numbers increase, the success will as well.

I haven’t heard anything about building a new school. Beallsville’s freshman class this year is like 15 students. If they closed Beallsville probably half of those kids would go to Barnesville or some place else. I don’t see the need for a new school just because of a Beallsville closure. They will just become MC students at the current school

[skyvue]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kidsC out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

It certainly is easier to compete in basketball in my opinion because you really do not even need 10-12 kids like you said, you only need a couple "great" players and you can get the job down in the lower levels. While I am excited to have Lang as our coach and I think he and his staff do a great job, I do not see MC suddenly becoming Hiland and competing every year to go to state. I think he will have them as consistently one of the better programs for the area, but not able to compete at the state wide level until you have a couple more kids with the talent of Tucker and Chance. Trends would suggest we only get that kind of talent to come through Monroe Central/Woodsfield/Skyvue every 20 years or so.

[redskinwitness]

Chance moving over really helped, that gave them two of the absolute best players in the valley (arguably the whole state) and let those good role players fill in around them. It looks like coach Lang will have a consistent winner in Woodsfield but I'd agree getting two guys like that on one team and surrounding them with 5 or 6 other really good role players is rare in east/se Ohio. I'm curious to see how the two sophs develop from an individual standpoint as they are going to have to carry the offensive load with the defense focused on them the next two years. How good they are will come down to how much help they can put around those two, that is what made this years team so special.

[Steely Dan]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kids out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

First, MC, I've had the same thoughts. That said, I have a couple of thoughts. With the success of the BB program, I am cautiously optimistic that this will create overall excitement, and school pride, amongst the student body. That will help with FB. If the speculation that MC is going to build a new school and consolidate Beallsville into the fold, well, the numbers will only help football. I think that the football coaching has them headed in the right direction, but it is going to take time. Let's face it, the economic downturn once Ormet closed and the subsequent exodus of young families has had a long term detrimental effect on the football program. If the numbers increase, the success will as well.

I haven’t heard anything about building a new school. Beallsville’s freshman class this year is like 15 students. If they closed Beallsville probably half of those kids would go to Barnesville or some place else. I don’t see the need for a new school just because of a Beallsville closure. They will just become MC students at the current school

There have been discussions since last fall about SWOLS building a new high school out Moore Ridge Road past the County Jail. Apparently, the current MC school complex is over capacity and overcrowded, so something has to be done. To your point, a 15 member freshman class is not sustainable to keep a separate facility open. I was told that the school district has sufficient money combined with state funding to do this. Whether this results in the closing of BHS remains to be seen.

[selonmc]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kidsC out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

It certainly is easier to compete in basketball in my opinion because you really do not even need 10-12 kids like you said, you only need a couple "great" players and you can get the job down in the lower levels. While I am excited to have Lang as our coach and I think he and his staff do a great job, I do not see MC suddenly becoming Hiland and competing every year to go to state. I think he will have them as consistently one of the better programs for the area, but not able to compete at the state wide level until you have a couple more kids with the talent of Tucker and Chance. Trends would suggest we only get that kind of talent to come through Monroe Central/Woodsfield/Skyvue every 20 years or so.

You didn’t quite understand what I was saying or I didn’t thoroughly explain myself well enough. First, I know you don’t need 10 great players. I was meaning you need your entire team bought into all the offseason programs the coach lays out. For basketball I don’t know what that entails but Lang kept mentioning they spent a lot of time in the weight room. Do they play AAU ball? I’m not even 100% sure what that is. I think there are summer tournaments they play in. The entire team has to be all-in getting better at their craft all year long. I mean that’s what Hiland is doing right? The biggest question is affordability for the families.

Secondly, I didn’t mean that I expect we will compete for state titles year after year. But with Lang as the coach and building a program like he is doing I would think we could get to the point of being an annual contender in the East District. Maybe competing in the regionals at least more often than what have in our past. Also keep in mind going to 7 divisions opens things up a little.

I mean Skyvue built a pretty solid basketball program year after year. No they didn’t go to state every year but they won more than they lost and were a tough out in the tournament. Fort Frye is another local example I’ll use. That’s basically what I’m talking.

[selonmc]

First, MC, I've had the same thoughts. That said, I have a couple of thoughts. With the success of the BB program, I am cautiously optimistic that this will create overall excitement, and school pride, amongst the student body. That will help with FB. If the speculation that MC is going to build a new school and consolidate Beallsville into the fold, well, the numbers will only help football. I think that the football coaching has them headed in the right direction, but it is going to take time. Let's face it, the economic downturn once Ormet closed and the subsequent exodus of young families has had a long term detrimental effect on the football program. If the numbers increase, the success will as well.

I haven’t heard anything about building a new school. Beallsville’s freshman class this year is like 15 students. If they closed Beallsville probably half of those kids would go to Barnesville or some place else. I don’t see the need for a new school just because of a Beallsville closure. They will just become MC students at the current school

There have been discussions since last fall about SWOLS building a new high school out Moore Ridge Road past the County Jail. Apparently, the current MC school complex is over capacity and overcrowded, so something has to be done. To your point, a 15 member freshman class is not sustainable to keep a separate facility open. I was told that the school district has sufficient money combined with state funding to do this. Whether this results in the closing of BHS remains to be seen.

No I never heard that. They just built a new school like 15 years ago. Shame on the person(s) who built a building that would be too small in 20 years. Are we dealing with just a short term bump in enrollment or a decades long trend?

Shutting down Beallsville HS would mean turning the lights out on 2 or 3 classrooms lol. They still need an elementary school over there so I would assume most of the building will be in use

[OHBuckeyesIO]

What’s the future of sports at MC? Are we slowly turning into a basketball school? We’ve got a great young coach that is building a great program.

To win on the state level in football you have to have 60 kids completely bought in and focused in the weight room, during the summer, and obviously during the season. 100% locked in. That’s the only way you will compete with the Marion Locals, Coldwaters, and Kirtlands at the state level. MC is lucky to get 35-40 kids out and that’s considered a good turnout.

For basketball you just need 10-12 players dedicated to the game like what I mentioned above. Not saying it’s easier, but more feasible I guess.

We’re struggling in football to get out of round 1 with the same athletes that just won a basketball state championship.

I’m a football nut from Woodsfield and can’t believe I’m saying this . lol

The new school i have heard is in the works... who knows if it will go through. Would be an amazing time to have new facilities.

I believe the youth programs are growing in numbers and having success.. Im pretty sure the jr high boys won the movl basketball tournament. The youth football program has a lot of kids out as well. Im hoping the future at MC is bright.

[skyvue]

[/quote]
Time will tell. Striving to become like Fort Frye was during the Dan Liedtke era is a good goal and possible (that is Lang's role model). The success of this year will positively impact that next several years of kids to come into the program.
I do not think replicating what Hiland is doing is feasible. The culture of basketball is not as strong in our area nor do we consistently get the level of players that Hiland has most years. Getting out of the East District will remain a big challenge.

[selonmc]

Anyone know if Tucker and Chance are being recruited by any colleges?

[selonmc]

Tucker Howell named the D-VI player of the year . Congrats Man

[Hookshot]

Anyone know if Tucker and Chance are being recruited by any colleges?

First, I think both have a shot at playing at the next level -- most likely scholarship D-II players. I don't see their names on college scholarship prospects lists, but possibly this year's tournament success gave them a chance to get noticed when they weren't on the radar screen. In addition, it is possible they are being recruited and have some offers -- recruiting sites are not perfect and always up to date.

[caldwellbasketball]

Anyone know if Tucker and Chance are being recruited by any colleges?

First, I think both have a shot at playing at the next level -- most likely scholarship D-II players. I don't see their names on college scholarship prospects lists, but possibly this year's tournament success gave them a chance to get noticed when they weren't on the radar screen. In addition, it is possible they are being recruited and have some offers -- recruiting sites are not perfect and always up to date.

Both of those young men are certainly talented enough to play college basketball if they want to, I have no idea if they do, very possible that they do not as that is a huge commitment. I'm pretty up to date on the process for helping a player from our area with recruiting as I did this with one of my kids two years ago. The transfer portal has a trickle down effect from higher levels to D2/D3/NAIA. You probably saw that over 2000 kids entered that basketball portal the first week that it opened, those kids will not all find a home. College coaches, especially at the lower levels, are generally looking to win immediately in order to climb the coaching ladder. I had some very informative talks with coaches during Bede's recruiting process, I had several coaches tell me that it makes more sense for them to take a 20-23 year old portal man over an 18 year old high school boy. They've pretty much given up on developing their own players.

You have to fall into the right situation unless you are a D1 level recruit. My kid had several partial scholarship offers from solid D2 programs, no full ride offers, he could have gone to virtually any D3 he wanted and had several preferred walk on offers to mid-majors but he wanted somewhere he could have a shot to play and get it paid for. We were lucky that at the last minute an NAIA scholarship program had a full scholarship open up and he was offered in April of his senior year. That process was years long, he played high level AAU (shoe circuit), we went to team camps for bigger schools who wanted to see him against better comp, and I nearly ended up divorced because of the time I spent on the phone, emailing and working for my kid. If you aren't being looked at prior to your senior year it's next to impossible to get anything more than a small college roster spot. We're at the point with college athletics that deserving high school kids get fully written off because of the new rules. I hope if those two want to play that they get the opportunity, they are great players and by all accounts very nice kids.