The 12-6 Wildcats, ranked 10th in cleveland.com's Top 25 seven-county area poll, will travel to Kenston on Friday evening for a 6:30 PM matchup with the currently 14-7 Bombers. The action will begin with a 5 PM Junior Varsity game between the respective programs.
Friday's trip to Kenston will mark the final game of what has been another outstanding season for the currently 17-2 JV Wildcats.
On Saturday evening, the Varsity 'Cats return to Father Sullivan Gymnasium for a 7 PM encounter with the Warriors from Whitney Young.
If you can't make it out to the games this weekend, the Saint Ignatius Broadcast Network will bring them to you live.
"The Dean," Matt MacKenzie '18, will be all over the play-by-play in a style that the late "Chick" Hearn would be proud of. The other side of the SIBN's talented tandem, color analyst Brad Anderson '18, will provide you with his savvy court awareness. Brad is coming off his now legendary call on Josh Ozanne's visit to Slam City.
Here is a corner's view on the Kenston Bombers and the Warriors from Whitney Young.
From Tuesday afternoon's practice in legendary Father Sullivan Gymnasium - Last week it was Saint Ignatius' gifted and deep backcourt that had to rise to the challenge if the Wildcats were to be successful at storied Massillon Washington High School.
Mission accomplished.
Friday evening at Kenston, it is the Wildcats' "bigs" who will be counted on early and often.
"Kenston has an extremely good team this year," said Saint Ignatius Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77, who is one victory shy of 350 for his outstanding coaching career. "I think the strength of their team is their bigger guys.
"Last week against Massillon it was about how good our guards would be," Coach Becker continued. "This week, I think the tale of the tape will be how our bigs will do. If we can contain their big guys from second shot opportunities and getting easy open shots, because they're good jump shooters, I think we will be okay."
When you talk about the Bombers' big men, you start with versatile 6-foot-5 senior forward/guard Ryan Kooser. Kooser is a physical attacker with good range. Simply put, he can score inside and out.
Kooser entered this week with 30 3-pointers and an average of 18.7 points per game. He has had four different games this season in which he has dropped in four 3-pointers.
Among some of the other Bombers to keep an eye on are 6-5 senior forward/center Ben Batista, a young man who plays extremely hard, 6-3 senior guard/forward Kee-Shaun Merrill, a 10.5 points per game scorer who is described by Wildcats' outstanding Assistant Coach and Chief Scout Jerry Porath as being athletic in the open court, 5-11 senior guard Tyran Smith, who is a solid defender, and 6-7 junior forward Ryan Long, who is averaging nearly 8 points per game.
Kenston Head Coach Matt Vespa spoke of his team's solid chemistry in cleveland.com's area preseason outlook by Matt Goul, and Coach Becker and Coach Porath seem to be in agreement with the talented young coach out on Bainbridge Road.
Coach Porath referred to the Bombers as a very dangerous team that can go nine deep and is averaging 69 points per game. He emphasized that Coach Vespa's big men are very skilled and that they run the floor well.
"Our big guys are going to have to play out of their comfort zone a little bit," said Coach Becker of 6-4 senior post Dom DiNunzio, 6-4 senior forward Aymin Bahhur, 6-5 senior forward Luke Wiskes, 6-9 junior center Kevin Davet, 6-6 junior center Nate Hubbard and 6-3 junior forward Lores Valenzuela.
Coach Becker also said that his guards are going to have to do their usual thing, and that is pressure the Kenston guards and make every entry pass difficult.
"It's a long court at Kenston and we're going to get their best shot," said Coach Becker of the intensity he expects the Bombers to bring on Friday night. "It's a very good game heading into to the tournament. They are very well coached and fundamentally sound. Overall, it's a very good basketball team that plays all 32 minutes."
COACH BECKER ON WHITNEY YOUNG: "They have some really good players and they like the up tempo game," Coach Becker said of the Warriors. "It will be an athletic game.
"On Friday you have a disciplined Kenston team with big guys and Saturday you have an extremely quick Whitney Young team that loves to go up and down the court."
Those contrasting styles, emphasized Coach Becker, are what you need heading into the tournament.
Saturday's game in Father Sullivan Gymnasium will feature two teams seeded third at their respective OHSAA Tournaments, Saint Ignatius in the Strongsville Division I Sectional/District and Whitney Young at the Division IV Norton Sectional/District.
The Warriors have won five of their last seven games. Those two losses were at Lutheran East by two points at the buzzer and at Massillon Washington after leading by double digits for most of the game.
A team that plays with endless energy, the Warriors were 22-of-32 from the free-throw line versus Massillon.
Among the Whitney Young players to watch are Anthony Culbert, Craig Goins, Anthony Jones, Noah Key, DeAngelo Lake, Amry Lewis, Braxton Putnam and Aaron Wimbley.
Have a great rest of the week and we will see you at Kenston early Friday evening (5 PM JV and 6:30 PM Varsity) and at Sullivan Gym for Saturday's 7 PM fast-paced matchup with those rambling Warriors.