The Fighting Irish win their first boys basketball state championship since losing LeBron James, Dru Joyce III and Romeo Travis to graduation in 2003.
Before he was a superstar in the National Basketball Association and a popular culture icon eating dinner with a future president, LeBron James was a standout athlete at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
Not only did he receive All-Ohio honors on the gridiron, LeBron James and his teammates went to four state championship games on the hardwood, winning the title in three of those years. For their efforts, James and his teammates will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on May 30th.
However, since James’ departure from SVSM for the NBA, the Fighting Irish had not made it back to Columbus for the state tournament. With three future Ohio State Buckeyes in Jon Diebler (Upper Sandusky), Daequan Cook (Dayton Dunbar) and William Buford (Toledo/Libbey) all making trips to the state final four, it was difficult for SVSM to win championships.
That all changed on March 28. The Fighting Irish overcame a five-point halftime deficit and won the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II championship 59-53 over Thurgood Marshall.
“This team, the difference is we don’t have a superstar,” said SVSM coach Dru Joyce. “We don’t have LeBron James. To take nothing away from Dru [Joyce III] and Romeo [Travis], LeBron’s supporting cast, when you think about that team and how special that ’03 team was, you have three guys who are playing professional basketball. Dru and Romeo are in the top division in Germany. LeBron’s arguably the best player in the NBA.
“This team may have no player who will ever play professional basketball, but they’re just a group of kids who worked hard, got better every game and who started to believe in themselves from a team standpoint,” he added. “Even when we played bad, which we did in the championship game, we found a way to win. That’s what was great about this group.”
Prior to the game, Joyce reminded his athletes what they were playing for and it was more than a state championship ring.
“I just wanted them to understand it’s not about them, it’s not about me as a coach,” said Joyce. “They’re playing for something that’s bigger than them and that’s the tradition that we started here. It’s always great to understand. Young kids don’t really get it sometimes.
“It’s great to be a part of something that’s bigger than you, that means more than your own, personal satisfaction,” he added. “They were playing for the guys from ’04, ’05, ’06 and ’07 who had every bit of a chance to be state champs and for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. We were playing for them and they’re playing for those sixth and seventh graders who are coming after them. That’s what great programs with tradition do. It started before them. It’s going to go on after them.”
The Fighting Irish were down by two points after the first quarter and lost the second quarter by three. They had to defend Thurgood Marshall standout Juwan Staten while contending with DeAngelo Gates.
Staten finished with 28 points on 11 of 21 shooting, including four of seven from three-point range. Gates collected a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Three SVSM players scored in double figures and helped negate the play of Staten and Gates. They were led by Daylen Harrison with 21 points. Harrison made 8 of 13 shots and played all 32 minutes.
Harrison, a senior for SVSM, caught his coach’s attention early in the season and never let it go.
“Daylen started out the season as our best player and he played like that all season long,” Joyce said. “The difference in Daylen from the beginning of the season to the end is [confidence]. Winning breeds confidence. We started winning close games where the last couple years, we weren’t able to win those close games.
“He recognized that it was his team and when we needed a bucket, he was the guy that we were going to look to,” added Joyce. “He just stepped into that position and made things happen for us. He’s a great, coachable kid who has a lot of good basketball in front of him.”
After watching Harrison go through his senior season and completing a championship run, Joyce believes he could be an effective player at the collegiate level.
“He’s definitely a Division I player,” said Joyce. “Anyone ranking him below a Division I player doesn’t know anything about basketball. The kid has played basketball all his life. I’ve known him since he was six years old. He’s very skilled.
“He may not be the greatest athlete, but he’s still very athletic,” Joyce concluded. “What I think the key to any successful program is the guys who can think the game. There’s a lot guys who are very good athletes, but they don’t really think the game. Daylen brings that quality. He’s thinking the game and that’s what separates LeBron James from everyone else in the NBA. It’s the mental side of how he thinks the game. Daylen thinks the game also.”
Palmer Wins Fourth State Title
Wrestling at Lakewood St. Edward is somewhat of a family tradition and no one knows that better than Collin Palmer.
The senior 140-pound grappler won his weight class at the state tournament with a 3-1 decision over Reynoldsburg’s Tommy Sasfy. It was his fourth Division I state championship, an accomplishment his older brother Lance, now a junior All-American wrestler at The Ohio State University, also attained.
In fact, Lance won his fourth state championship the same year Collin won his first.
St. Edward coach Greg Urbas was not surprised to see the younger Palmer achieve success.
“In all three positions, he is really, really excellent,” Urbas said. “It comes down to many different factors, one being strength, another being tremendous technique. His wrestling knowledge is superb.
“I knew he wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps,” he added. “Whether that was pressure on him from his brother, from his family or from himself, I don’t know.”
Collin will join Lance at Ohio State in the fall.
Tallmadge Football Player Signs
Five weeks after all the hype and celebration of National Signing Day, Tallmadge offensive lineman Zack Cevasco announced his collegiate choice.
A three-year starter and team captain that helped the Tallmadge Blue Devils to another playoff appearance last fall, Cevasco will take his talent and desire to continue in the game of football to the University of Dayton.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports announcer for WOBL and WDLW Radio.
