Throughout a nearly four-decade reporting and writing career at The Plain Dealer, and now ten years of doing the same for the Saint Ignatius Athletic Department, this old gym rat has seen some very gifted High School Basketball Teams, both young men and young women.
From this seasoned perspective, what makes covering high school athletics so special is when you have the opportunity to witness a team that takes every ounce of its God-given talent and leaves it all on the floor or the field, both in practices and in games.
This past winter, I was privileged, and I emphasize privileged, to cover and report on a team that truly fit the description above - Head Coach Brian Becker's 2017-18 Varsity Basketball Wildcats from Saint Ignatius.
Facing a who's who schedule that featured eventual Division II State Champion St. Vincent-St. Mary, eventual Division I State Runner-Up Solon, eventual Division IV State Runner-Up Cornerstone Christian and eventual Division III State Semifinalist Lutheran East, along with an array of other highly ranked and highly touted teams by the local media, Coach Becker's 'Cats finished 16-7.
Those 16 victories were highlighted by a New Year's Eve afternoon 61-59 triumph over now record eight-time state champion St. Vincent-St Mary in The LeBron James Arena, a 10-point victory at talent-laden Cleveland Heights, an 11-point win over Lutheran East in Father Sullivan Gymnasium and a 13-point victory over a Garfield Heights program loaded with Division I college recruits. That 72-59, half-court clinic (and it wasn't that close) in Sullivan Gym came against a Garfield Heights team labeled as being almost unbeatable in the preseason outlooks and preseason polls.
The Wildcats of Coach Becker '77 saw their six-game winning streak come to an end with a District Final loss to their longtime rival, the area's top-ranked St. Edward Eagles. The Eagles came out and sent 21 of their first 25 shots through the nets at The Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University.
Although a winter of will and wonderful moments came to an end, it was a season the 2017-18 Basketball Cats, and their faithful, will talk about for years to come.
Last night (Tuesday), Coach Becker and his basketball savvy staff paid tribute to the Wildcats and their families as part of Saint Ignatius' annual Winter Sports Awards, a night highlighted with an outstanding video from Mr. Joe Ginley '12, Communications Coordinator of Saint Ignatius Athletics.
Here are the Varsity Basketball Team's award winners as presented by the Coaching Staff.
The Most Valuable Player on offense - senior guard Neeko Melendez
The Most Valuable Player on defense - senior guard/forward Jon Barnes
The Most Improved Player - senior forward/guard Josh Ozanne
The prestigious Coaches Cup - senior post/forward Aymin Bahhur. Coach Becker described Aymin as a player who not only knows the game, but lives it.
The Captains Awards - the 1-2 punch under the boards of Bahhur and senior post/forward Dom DiNunzio.
Third Year Varsity Letter Winners - Multi-skilled senior forward Luke Wiskes and senior Team Managers Gabe Liberatore and Reilly Casey. Gabe, who was also an invaluable statistician for Coach Becker, received a Most Valuable Scout Team Player Award as a linebacker/defensive end for the 2017 Varsity Football Wildcats.
Second Year Varsity Letter Winners - 6-foot-9 junior center Kevin Davet; Jon Barnes; Neeko Melendez; Aymin Bahhur; Dom DiNunzio; Josh Ozanne; sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson; sophomore guard Chase Toppin and 6-7 junior post Nate Hubbard.
NOTE: In this corner's humble opinion, Chase Toppin and Tevin Jackson will form one of the top backcourts in all of Northeast Ohio next season.
First Year Varsity Letter Winners - Junior post/forward Lores Valenzuela, junior guard Lukas Bielek, sophomore guard Griffin Hanna, sophomore forward Connor Cmiel, sophomore guard Daniel Nunez and another invaluable man for others behind the scenes, junior Team Manager Ryan McKiernan. Ryan will show the way next season for the new Team Managers.
A HUGE THANK YOU GOES OUT TO THE BASKETBALL PROGRAM'S TEAM CHAPLAIN, FATHER PAUL SHELTON, S.J., FOR ALL OF HIS SPECIAL GUIDANCE AND PRAYER, AND THE HEALTH, CARE, CONCERN AND DEDICATION PROVIDED BY MR. HANK GAUGHAN, A.T.C., MAUREEN SIZEMORE, A.T.C, PTA, EMT B, MR. ANTHONY RUBINO AND MR. JOE EYNON.
In closing, this old corner would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the Varsity, Junior Varsity and Freshmen Basketball Players and Coaches, and their families, for all of their kindness and respect, and the way they graciously accepted me back in the program after my leave of absence. As my late mother, Marie (nee Fergus) would always say, "God's ways are strange, but sure."