On Saturday Dec 2, Ignatius hoops will take the floor and begin their 2017-18 campaign. Coach Brian Becker ‘77, in his third season since his return as head coach, will lead the Wildcats in their season opener against John Hay at Cleveland Heights in the Great Lakes Classic. Heights will be hosting a slate of games throughout the weekend between top ranked teams including Garfield Heights, Beachwood, Cornerstone Christian, Cleveland Central Catholic, and Kenston all which Ignatius will face later on in the season. Tip-off is set for 2:30 on Saturday.
The court will look significantly different this year for the Wildcats who graduated all five starters last year and included two extremely vital big men Austin Yarian and Matt Davet. Two sets of big shoes to fill in for this years post players. Hubbard and Kevin Davet, younger brother of Matt, are two juniors that you will see in the post this year along with returning senior Dom Dinunzio. Both Hubbard and Davet joined the roster for the playoffs last season to gain experience.
This season will bring a higher level of athleticism compared to past few seasons. Rather than working through big men with Davet and Yarian last season, the Wildcats will work through a speedier and smaller roster. Along with this athleticism comes the ability to incorporate a full court press and push a faster pace press-break.
Senior forwards Josh Ozanne and Jon Barnes, along with senior point guard Neeko Melendez, are all returning players who have stood out in pre-season scrimmages against Medina and Brunswick. Senior Luke Wiskes, who is coming back from an offseason ankle injury, finally started to look more like himself in the team’s last scrimmage. To add to the already stable senior leadership, forwards Dominc Dinuzio and Aymin Bahur also return to the roster.
The addition of sophomore guards Chase Toppin and Tevin Jackson will help the Wildcat’s with their up tempo pace of play. Both Topin and Jackson joined the varsity roster last season as freshman for the playoffs and both proved them themselves on the floor.
Junior guard Lukas Bielek, who has shown his ability from long range, and junior forward Lores Valenzuela round out the speedy Saint Ignatius roster.
A challenging regular season schedule will put the pressure on the Wildcats right off the bat. Following their season opener against John Hay this Saturday, they will have back to back games against division IV powerhouses Lutheran East and Cornerstone Christian Academy, both which will be at Sullivan gym. Lutheran East won the state title for division IV last season and is now division III. The Wildcats will then face division I powerhouses Cleveland Heights and Solon. Annual New Year’s Eve game with Saint Vincent Saint Mary will be held in Akron this year with the Wildcat’s first matchup with rivals St. Eds being January 20th at Sullivan Gym.
The Wildcats will take the floor against John Hay at 2:30 on December 2 at Cleveland Heights High school. Follow along on twitter @sihssports and watch game coverage from SIBN.
