Ottawa Hills Preview

Fast facts


Opponent: Ottawa Hills
Enrollment (9-12): 291
Division/League: D-IV / TAAC
Team Nickname: Green Bears

Toledo Blade Summary on Ottawa Hills

Once again, all eyes are on Ottawa Hills in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference.

The defending champion Green Bears are considered the favorites to again claim the league title.

However, no one is expecting Ottawa Hills to rip through the TAAC the way it did a season ago. T

Toledo Christian and Maumee Valley are considered favorites to challenge for the title. In each case, talented returners provide optimism for closing the gap with the Bears.

"I think it will be a very competitive season in the TAAC," Ottawa Hills coach John Lindsay said.

Yet, Ottawa Hills' J.J. Buckey and Andrew Jamieson were two of the key players in last season's perfect run through the conference. Their return to the Bears' starting lineup makes for a formidable one-two punch for opposing defenses. Of course, they're supported by several other returning letter winners, which makes it easy to give the Bears the preseason nod to win the conference. 

Coach: John Lindsay, 16th season
Last season: 24-2, 12-0 TAAC
This season 4-0, 1-0 TAAC

Top players: Seniors J.J. Buckey, 6-1, G; Andrew Jamieson, 6-3, F; Bobby Brunner, 6-1, F. Junior Ian Trickey, 6-0, G. Sophomore Lucas Janowicz, 6-3, G.

Outlook: The defending TAAC champions have plenty of experience returning to the court, starting with Buckey (11.3 ppg) and Jamieson (10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg). They represent two of the TAAC's most talented players. Brunner, Trickey, and Janowicz are also players Lindsay feels confident in relying on because of their experience in helping the Bears avoid a single loss in conference play a season ago.

"I like our experience with the returning starters, and I like our overall toughness," Lindsay said. "I like our toughness, but it's going to be a pretty big challenge to try and repeat as TAAC champions."

Last year vs. MV

MV lost both games to the Bears, a 40-32 game at home which was close to the very end and a 54-32 shellacking at OH - a low point for the Hawks last year, who were just coming off the Game Which Must Not Be Named.

Hawkblog Outlook

Reading between the lines, expect OH to play a physical game tonight... OH is a very familiar opponent to the Hawks, as the OH Open Gym was a favorite October destination for the varsity starters... MV could use a win to keep the TAAC race within its destiny...  MV alunmni Craig Joseph's son Paul is back on the OH basketball team this year.