OHIO HS BASKETBALL: Previewing the Chillicothe Cavaliers boys, girls basketball seasons

CHILLICOTHE – It’s time for Cavs basketball.

The Chillicothe Cavaliers saw a lot of success from their boys basketball team in 2017-18 as they went 17-7 and lost in the district semifinal. Their girls team, on the other hand, struggled going 8-14 as they look to bounce back this year.

Here are your Chillicothe Cavaliers 2018-19 basketball previews.

Boys

The Cavaliers’ boys teams had a lot of success last season, winning 17 games and reaching a district semifinal. They were led, though, by senior Branden Maughmer who was a 1,000-point scorer and helped the program go 44-28 during his time there. He is now playing college basketball at Cedarville.

“You really couldn’t guard him,” said Chillicothe head coach Eric Huffer. “If you tried to put a bigger kid on him, he was going to go by him. If you tried to put a little quick guard on him, he’s going to post him up.”

The Cavs also lost six other seniors in Jalen Jordan, Will Roderick, Simon Roderick, Jason Benson, AJ Corbin and Darius Lawson.

“Branden, Simon, Will those are guys that’d been starting since they were sophomores so to be running practices and not seeing them there – it’s a little different,” Huffer said. “On the court, athletically, we were six-two, six-three across the board so just that athleticism and length and they’ve been playing together since they were sophomores, a lot of those kids, at the varsity level. [They] just did a really good job of setting the example.”

Chillicothe returns three players who saw significant varsity minutes in Jayvon Maughmer, Brandon Noel and Chris Postage.

“Jayvon, he can do a little bit of everything,” Huffer said. “He’s a very capable three-point shooter but yet if you come up on him he’s able to go by you and make things happen … Brandon Noel, he’s a six-seven post player but one of our best three-point shooters last year. Can also really extend the floor, he’s done of really good job of working on his post-game this offseason … Chris has an opportunity to really space the floor for us. He’s got to look to be more aggressive offensively because he’s going to have some openings to where guys are going to be trying to shut down Jayvon, Brandon and Trey [Beard].”

Huffer also highlighted what Trey Beard will bring to the team as the guard grew six inches since last season.

“He’s a kid that played a little bit of varsity last year, was mainly a JV player,” Huffer said. “I think last season he was about five-foot-three, he’s a legit five-nine now. So, he’s come a long way he’s just sort of our floor general. He’s going to be asked to do a lot. Excellent decision maker. Along with Jayvon, one of our highest IQ’s. Never turns the ball over, so he’s just a good guy to have lead our offense.”

Despite losing seven seniors, Huffer said the team looks to repeat as league champions and go further in the tourney than they did last year as they lost in the Division I District Semifinal to Hilliard Bradley.

“Last year we were the 17th-seed and Mount Vernon was the 16th seed, Mount Vernon knocked off the one-seed to play in the district final,” Huffer said. “So, we’re just like – why not us?”

Chillicothe plays Granville in the Zanesville Tipoff Classic at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Girls

The Cavs’ girls team struggled to win at times last year, only going 8-14 overall.

Going into this new season, the Cavs are without 1,000-point scorer Shawnee Smith who graduated last year, but they have a handful of returners that head coach Jeremy Beverly expects to see a lot of.

“Hayden Price, she’ll be a senior this year,” Beverly said. “[I’m hoping] that she will step up and contribute from the perimeter and play good defense. Julia Hall, she’s a junior this year, she was our spot-up three-point shooter last year, so obviously teams are going to key-in on here, make her come off the three-point line but I expect great things from her.”

Beverly also highlighted Makenzie Green, Meliah Johnson and Shawnice Smith – Shawnee’s sister.

“[Shawnice Smith] will be one of the main attractions around the league,” Beverly said. “She’ll probably see a lot of double-teams and, of course, she can attack the hole and she knows how to get to the hole and create her own shot.”

Beverly thinks the girls who saw a lot of minutes last season learned that hard work is the key to success.

“They understand they got to come in and work hard,” Beverly said. “Every other team in the league works hard so they know they got to prepare themselves mentally and physically to be able to play the kind of schedule that we have to play.”

Coming off the tough season and getting a fresh start this year, Beverly said he thinks the potential can be high.

“The sky’s the limit for them it’s how much they’re willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team,” Beverly said. “If they see the bigger picture, they can do great things. If they just play for themselves, it can be a long year.”

Chillicothe hosts Circleville Nov. 23.