Cleveland, Ohio - Coach Sean O'Toole's Varsity Basketball Wildcats will look to get the Christmas break started in style this weekend, as the 'Cats (2-0), the area's sixth-ranked team, host the John Hay Hornets on Friday night and then welcome the tradition-rich Canton McKinley Bulldogs to Sullivan Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Both of the varsity games will be preceded by junior varsity match ups at 6 PM. The varsity tip-offs are slated for 7:30. Seniors Pat McGuire and Paddy White will lead the live broadcasts of each game over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network.
Here is a look at the Hornets and the Bulldogs, followed by Coach O'Toole's weekly analysis.
John Hay: The Hornets (4-2), ranked 18th in this week's cleveland.com area poll, were defeated by a full-strength John Adams team on Tuesday evening, 63-55.
John Hay is led by one of the Senate Athletic League's top 1-2 punches in Cristen Wilson and Isiah Noel. The Hornets' other setback this young season came at the hands of the East Tech Scarabs.
Last year, John Hay made the short trip to Sullivan Gymnasium on opening night and was turned away by the Wildcats, 79-63. In that game, current Saint Ignatius 6-foot-7 senior post Eric Black scored 17 points in 18 minutes of action. Eric was 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Canton McKinley: In what has become one of Northeast Ohio's traditional regular-season encounters, the McKinley Bulldogs will take the floor in Sullivan Gymnasium on Saturday night remembering all too well what took place in the storied Canton Memorial Field House last season.
In what was one of the most dominant performances by a McKinley opponent in the atmosphere-rich Stark County facility, Saint Ignatius stormed to a 43-11 lead after the first 16 minutes and coasted home to a 68-40 victory. Twelve Wildcats found their way into the scoring column.
As for the 2013-14 Bulldogs, or "The Pups," as McKinley's basketball-savvy faithful refer to their beloved team, Coach Keith Noftz has put together a vastly improved squad from the one we saw last winter.
McKinley, which will take a deceiving 3-2 record into its home game against Uniontown Lake on Friday night, features three gifted letter winners in 6-3, 220-pound junior post Marcellius Pittman, 6-3 senior wing Paul Ortiz and 6-5 senior wing Sam Burton.
Pittman tossed in 27 points in an 82-77 victory over a highly respected Massillon Jackson program last weekend and Ortiz buried six 3-pointers in the Bulldogs' 72-55, opening-night triumph over New Philadelphia.
McKinley's two setbacks were at Cleveland Heights and at North Canton Hoover. The Bulldogs trailed the Heights Tigers and their talent-laden backcourt by as many as 24 points before making a game of it, 67-62. The loss at Hoover took place last night (Tuesday), 58-47. Hoover handed "The Pups" their first loss in Federal League play this season.
HERE ARE COACH O'TOOLE'S COMMENTS ON THE HORNETS AND THE BULLDOGS.
Coach O'Toole on John Hay: "Very athletic, with guys that attack the rim well. They mix their defenses up. We've seen them in a 2-3, we've seen them play some gimmick defenses and obviously they play man-to-man also. They can really go in spurts. When they get on a run, they put the pressure on and come in spurts. So we're going to have to limit their run outs. They like to leak out and look for the easy baskets. We're going to have to be patient offensively and find some holes in their zone (defense), but more importantly, make sure we're rotating back (defensively). They are very skilled at attacking gaps and getting to the rim. (Cristen) Wilson is a kid who can grab the ball and go coast-to-coast. It is a game that is going to test our patience, making sure that we're taking high-percentage shots. (John Hay) loves to score off missed shots and turnovers."
Coach O'Toole on Canton McKinley: "McKinley is definitely a much-improved team over what we played last year. They have great athleticism themselves and they have the 6-3, 6-5 wings. (Paul) Ortiz shoots it as good as anybody we've played and Pittman, in that Jackson game, dominated the rim. So they have a nice inside-out combination. They have depth, guys off the bench who can score, and they anticipate well defensively. That win over Jackson is a quality win and that is what we're basing everything off of. It's (McKinley) a team that can beat anyone. They can shoot it, they can drive it and Pittman can post and attack. They run very good sets."
Coach O'Toole on his Wildcats: "I'm pleased. I think we're really competing in practice. As we keep going now, the schedule is going to get tougher and tougher and at some point we're not going to be able to play, like we have been playing, 11 or 12 guys in the rotation. But we're still trying to measure it and the kids have to accept it and see the big picture. And they will. We have great kids. We (the coaching staff) just have to make good decisions on who is going to provide what we need on a given night."
WHERE THE 'CATS PLAY
Bowling: Coach John Kastanis' Alley Cats will match pins against the Benedictine Bengals on Saturday at Cloverleaf Lanes.
Ice Hockey: Coach Pat O'Rourke's 9-0-4 Wildcats will be competing in the Padua Tournament this weekend at IceLand USA. The Ice Cats face the highly regarded Titans from Toledo St. John's Jesuit on Friday at 6 PM. The Wildcats and the Titans played to a 1-1 tie during last month's Walsh Jesuit Thanksgiving Invitational on the ice at Kent State University.
Swimming and Diving: Coach Jeff Ridler's Wildcats are competing in Saturday's annual Viking Meet at Cleveland State University. The prelims are scheduled for 8 AM and the finals are set for 6:30 PM.
Wrestling: Coach Mark Sullivan's men of the mats will face St. Edward on Friday night at 6:30 in the Eagles Nest and will compete at the Bowling Green State University Duals on Saturday and Sunday.