Then he met with the players in exit interviews to get their feedback and share his vision for the program. Some players graduated, some left, some came back. Bales took everything he, his staff and players learned from last year and fine-tuned the program. The Panthers, like any other team in early January, aren’t running on all cylinders yet. But at 9-2 and 4-2 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference the Panthers are revving up for tournament time with parts Bales says are the right fit.
“This group is not the most talented, but they really play connected,” he said. “They just trust one another, and they play the game with a lot of joy. And they’re tough.”
The two key returning players are senior guards Will Yates and Max Butler. Yates, who recently signed to play defensive back at Ball State, runs the point, averages 14.8 points a game, a GWOC-leading 4.8 assists and is second on the team at 5.4 rebounds. Yates scored 20 in a 17-point victory against Springfield and 23 (plus eight assists) in a seven-point loss to Centerville. Butler is scoring 12.5 points a game, is the team’s primary 3-point shooter at 39.1% and has a season high of 22 points.
“I’m very thankful to those two guys for believing in me and believing in our vision and sticking with me,” Bales said. “We had some rough times last year, and those two guys have been tremendous this year for us.”
The Panthers have size in 6-foot-6 juniors Yuvi Bimwal and Carson Gutmann, who played in every game last year and is averaging 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. Bimwal, who is Australian and transferred from out of state, averages 10.1 points and leads the team with 5.7 rebounds. Carson Brigger, a 6-3 senior, played JV last year and has moved into the lineup to average 7.7 points and shoot 40% from 3-point range.
“As we played in the summer, I said, ‘I don’t know how good we’re going to be, but the other team is going to know they played us,’” Bales said.
The Panthers took a holiday trip and won three games in an event in Tampa, Florida, including coming back from a 19-3 deficit to beat a team from Kentucky in the championship game.
But the memories the team made were the most important part of the trip for Bales. They stayed in Clearwater at the beach in the same hotel as the LSU and Wisconsin football teams who were in town for their bowl game. The Panthers played sand volleyball against some LSU football players.
“It wasn’t a basketball game, but it was a memory,” Bales said. “And we played a coaches versus players putt-putt challenge. Basketball is one thing, but those kids will probably remember more, than even winning that tournament, playing volleyball against LSU in the sand. They’re going to remember putt-putt. They’re going to remember staying in a hotel room with three other guys.”
And they are working on a memorable season.
Tournament seedings: For the first time, coaches will not vote to seed teams for the sectional tournament draw. The Ohio High School Athletic Association is using the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) to determine seedings. MaxPreps, an OHSAA partner, is doing the work of collecting scores and managing the ratings.
The first ratings will publish on the OHSAA website Wednesday. The ratings will be updated nightly.
The tournament meeting for girls is scheduled for Feb. 4 and the boys is on Feb. 11. With the seedings in hand, the coaches will continue the task of placing their teams on the bracket beginning with the No. 1 seed. The girls sectional begins February 12. The boys sectional begins Feb. 19.
The RPI formula does not consider scoring margins or what division opponents play in. Out-of-state opponents will be treated the same as in-state opponents.
The formula: RPI = (0.40 x Winning Percentage) + (0.35 x Opponents’ Winning Percentage) + (0.25 x Opponents’ Opponents Winning Percentage).
Elks streak ends: Fairmont ended Centerville’s 43-game GWOC winning streak with a 62-52 victory Dec. 28 at Centerville. Fairmont trailed 18-7 after the first quarter and rallied behind 26 points from Evan Gentile and 17 from Jourdan Bray.
Centerville (6-3, 6-1 GWOC) last lost a league game on December 28, 2020, to Miamisburg, 52-51. The Elks went on to win the Division I state title.
Alter girls: Alter (10-1, 3-0 GCL Co-ed) heads to Hamilton at 1:30 Saturday wanting to break a two-game losing streak to Badin (8-2, 3-0). The Knights’ bid to defend their Division II state title last year was cut short in a 49-47 regional semifinal loss to the Rams at Springfield. After defeating Badin 63-47 this time a year ago, the Knights lost to the Rams at home 79-56 when the Rams made 17 of 33 3-pointers.
The two teams meet again at Alter on Feb. 3. But they won’t meet in the tournament. Alter dropped to Division III this year while Badin remained in Division II.
Franklin football: Former Miamisburg star and assistant coach Matt Muncy is the new head coach at Franklin. Muncy replaces Luke Hurst who was 5-15 in two seasons.
Muncy graduated from Miamisburg in 2002, was an all-conference defensive player at Ohio University and spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans over three seasons. He leaves his post as defensive coordinator at Miamisburg after the Vikings finished 8-4 and were fourth in the GWOC in total defense.
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