Hope reigns at boys hoops preview night

While the second annual Tuscarawas County Boys High School Preview Night took place Monday, Nov. 10 at the Tuscarawas County Senior Center, one thing was certain: There was a whole lot of basketball knowledge represented in the current and former coaches attending the banquet hosted by the Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame.

One of the more memorable moments of the night was when emcee Hank Keathley introduced all the former head coaches attending the evening.

“Looking back, all of them clearly recognize how coaching and teaching has become not only their identity, but a significant part of their lives,” Keathley said before introducing each of the 20 former head coaches attending the banquet.

Revered coaches like Scott Doak, Bobby Von Kaenel, Gary Cavanass, Mike Gunther, Harry Huggins, Ted Majestic, Bob Raber, Phil Tidrick and more graced the hall to add to the basketball lore being shared.

Then after a meal it was on to the central purpose everyone was gathered at the banquet, where a packed house was eager to learn more about the upcoming hoops season, with each coach taking a turn at the microphone.

“This is a really neat event,” said Dover head coach Matt Von Kaenel. “You get to see a lot of former basketball coaches, players you’ve played and coached against, guys who helped out with my dad’s staff and guys I remember watching play.”

Gary Watkins, Claymont

“We have seven seniors returning, and out of those seven seniors three are returning lettermen, along with three returning juniors. It’s nice to have a good support staff and we have that, and my assistant coaches will do anything for me.”

Matt Von Kaenel, Dover

“We graduated six seniors from a group that went 11-12. We return a solid nucleus with four returning lettermen and a nice group of kids who played JV basketball last year, so practices have been spirited. The guys I’m going into battle with are good kids.”

Terry Rowe, Garaway

Coming off a 19-win season and a regional appearance, Rowe lost all five starters. “We have 315 varsity points coming back. I’m guessing most of these guys up here have at least one player who has 315 points. We hope that when the guys look at themselves last year in December to this year, that they can beat last year’s version of themselves.”

Ty Miller, Indian Valley

Miller’s Braves, with five returning lettermen, are 42-10 the past two seasons, last season ending with a district final loss to eventual Div. IV state champion Maysville. “I know a big goal for our guys is to get over that hump and play in Athens. Our motto this year is “The standard,” which means we are playing up to our standard every single day in practice.”

Zach Ross, New Philadelphia

With seven lettermen returning, Ross’ crew has high expectations. “Our seniors have talked a lot about raising the standard of New Phila basketball,” Ross said. “They want to make sure they’re remembered. We try to stay away from tangible goals like wins and winning league championships and elevate our culture and make an impact on future generations.”

Terry Sites, Tuscarawas Valley

“Last year we struggled to find wins, but our guys kept fighting and working to get better, and in the end, it felt like we were doing some good things. I feel really good about this group and the energy has been great. We’ve been working hard every day. We have seven seniors, and we will lean on their leadership and skills a lot.”

Jacob Rine, Newcomerstown

As the new coach of the Trojans, former Newcomerstown standout Rine is about creating a winning culture. “A few things I’ve emphasized; one is a relentless, tough-nosed defense. The other thing I’ve emphasized is selfless team basketball.” He said with teams focusing on his two key returners, he wants to make sure the rest of his team makes their opponent pay the price.

Bob Neidenthal, Strasburg

The first-year head coach but long-time Tiger said they have five lettermen returning from last year’s 11-13 team. Gage Moore is on the cusp of scoring his 1,000th career point. Ryan Becker and Chase Bonifant add strong compliments, but Neidenthal said, “Depth will be our biggest challenge, but it’s a hard-working team that we can build a program around.”

Christopher Dabo, Tuscarawas Central Catholic

In his first season at TCC Dabo said, “Our slogan is ‘Believe.’ Believe in each other, believe in the program and build from the ground up. My goal is to get the energy level up and I’ve got kids who will run through walls for me. We’ve got 20 kids, and we’re blessed to have some size. This is the first time in a while we will have a varsity and JV full schedule.”