Coaches Association Newsletter January 2025

Paul Walker Award goes to Roger Jury
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that Roger Jury of Hopewell-Loudon High School is the recipient of the 2025 Paul Walker Award. The Paul Walker Award is presented annually by the OHSBCA to an active coaching member of the association who has made significant contributions to high school basketball. The award is named in honor of the late Paul Walker, the longtime coach of Middletown High School. At the time of his retirement, he had the most wins as a boys’ basketball coach in Ohio High School Basketball history.

Roger Jury has been teaching English and coaching basketball for 35 years. He is entering his 29th year as a varsity coach. He coached JV basketball at Old Fort High School before becoming a varsity coach at Cardington-Lincoln followed by Marion Harding and is currently at Hopewell-Loudon. He has a career record of 363 wins – 281 losses.

Coach Jury is a graduate of Wynford High School, where he played under OHSBCA great Coach Rob Sheldon. He began his college career at Bluffton College to play football and basketball, but sustained a knee injury which prompted a transfer to The Ohio State University at Marion. He then completed his Bachelor’s degree in English Education on the OSU Columbus campus. Jury played on a competitive Branch College Team under Coach Lou Himmer for three years while at OSU where he became the career leader for scoring, rebounds and assists. Later, he earned his Master’s degree in Education Administration from Ashland University.

At Old Fort Schools (1990-95) Roger served as the coach for both the JV and Freshmen Boys’ Basketball teams. He also coached girls track. At Cardington-Lincoln Schools (1995-06), Roger was the Varsity Boys’ Basketball. His record at CL was 160-92. This stands as the most career wins at the school. His 1995-96 team was 24-3 and appeared in the State Final Four.

At Marion Harding High School (2006-15), Roger coached Varsity Boys’ for ten years and 7th grade boys for one year. His record at MH was 64-111. His 2009-10 team was 20-2 and undefeated as GBC Champions. At Hopewell-Loudon Schools (2015-present), Roger coaches Varsity Boys’ and and his teams have consistently been at the top of the league and have claimed 20-win seasons along with league championships the past two campaigns. His record at HL is 139-78.

Coach Jury earned his 100th and 150th career wins while at Cardington-Lincoln, his 200th win while at Marion Harding, and then his 250th, 300th and 350th wins at Hopewell-Loudon. Teams at all three schools have been state-ranked various times, claimed league championships and garnered 20-win seasons.

Most importantly to Coach Jury is that his players/teams have attained academic success in many areas such as Top 10 GPA, NHS, Buckeye Boys State, valedictorians, etc. as well as numerous academic all-league players. Thanks to the scholastic goals of the OHSBCA, Coach Jury has had numerous gold and silver certificate winners, several Academic All-Ohio players and his teams have consistently been in the Top 50 team GPA’s. In 2023-24, his Chieftain Varsity team had the 5th highest GPA in Ohio.

Jury’s team accomplishments are 7 League Championships, 9 Sectional Championships, 6 - District Final/Appearances, 2 - Regional Finals, 1 - State Final Four. He has coached the OHSBCA State All-Star Game, coached additional All-Star Games Coached within the leagues, districts and area, won coaching honors  for the Mansfield News Journal, 7-League Coach of the Year, 4-District Coach of the Year, 3-Regional Coach of the Year awards.

Roger is a 35 year member of OHSBCA! Between District 11 and 6, he held the offices of treasurer, vice-president, president/director over a period of 19 years. Currently, he is the Top 20 Director. Has also organized and worked showcases, clinic registrations and all-star games.

Roger and his wife, Jenni, live outside of Upper Sandusky; they started dating the year he became a varsity coach and now have been married 25 years. Together they have two sons, Jordyn and Ried. Coach Jury had the privilege of coaching both boys on his high school team at Hopewell-Loudon where they both received All-Ohio recognition athletically and academically.

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OHSAA Basketball RPI Rankings

For the 2024-25 boys and girls basketball seasons, the Ohio High School Athletic Association will again employee an RPI Ranking for its postseason seeding. This formula – 40% WP (win percentage) x 40% OWP (opponents win percentage) x 20% OOWP (opponents’ opponents win percentage) – was developed by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association and adopted by the OHSAA. The intent is a more equitable postseason seeding process.

The Girls Tournament Drawing will be held on Sunday, February 2nd at 2:00 pm and the Boys Drawing will be held on Sunday, February 9th at 2:00 pm. The OHSAA Basketball RPI Rankings is the Official ranking for tournament seeds. The link is on the OHSAA Website (For Girls - https://www.ohsaa.org/MaxPreps-RPI/Gender/Girls/Sport/Basketball and  for Boys - https://www.ohsaa.org/MaxPreps-RPI/Gender/Boys/Sport/Basketball).

The OHSAA Basketball RPI Ranking will accept Friday night games, BUT the scores must be entered by 11:59 pm Friday night. If you expect Friday’s night score to be calculate in the RPI Rankings, you MUST use your ADMIN APP Account. If you use the FAN APP, that game will NOT be calculate in-time for the deadline. The final reporting dates for scores to be entered and utilized in the RPI are 11:59 PM on January 31 for girls and February 7 for boys.

New this winter is a classification factor for the new seven-division alignment. The point values are as follows:
• Division I - 2 points 
• Division II - 1.85 points 
• Division III - 1.70 points 
• Division IV - 1.55 points 
• Division V - 1.40 points 
• Division VI - 1.25 points 
• Division VII - 1.10 points 
• Out of State - 1.55 points (less than 2% of all OHSAA Games)

Note that lower division schools have the potential for higher RPIs based on the point system. Classification points are factored in at the WP level and trickle down into OWP and OOWP.

Non-varsity and non-state association-sanctioned schools (i.e. prep schools, Canadian schools, etc.) are not included in the RPI calculation.

The RPI is updated daily on the OHSAA website. Examples of the RPI WP calculation with classification numbers are as follows:

Small School 
If you’re a Division VII school - all of your games have 1.1 pt possibility. But if you play up, you might earn more. So, say you play 5 games and you’re a D-VII school. Your five games include 1.1+1.1+1.1+1.1+1.1 = 5.5 total possible points no matter the opponent. Now, say you won 4 of those 5 games, and some were above your class. You receive… 1.25 for beating a DVI, 1.40 for beating DV 1.55 for beating DIV, 1.85 for beating a DII, 0 for losing to whoever. Now you’ve earned 1.25+1.40+1.55+1.85+0 = 6.05 out of 5.5 total points (6.05/5 = a WP of 1.21 or 121%).

Medium School 
If you’re a Division IV school - all of your games have 1.55 pt possibility. If you play up you might earn more. But if you play down you might earn less. So, say you play 5 games and you’re a D-IV school. Your five games include 1.55+1.55+1.55+1.55+1.55 = 7.75 total possible points no matter the opponent. Now, say you won 4 of those 5 games, and some were above and some were below your class. You receive… 1.25 for beating a DVI, 1.40 for beating DV, 1.55 for beating DIV, 1.85 for beating a DII, 0 for losing to whoever. Now you’ve earned 1.25+1.40+1.55+1.85+0 = 6.05 out of 7.75 total points (6.05/7.75 = a WP of .781 or 78.1%).

Big School 
If you’re a Division I school - all of your games have a 2 pt possibility. But if you play down you might earn less. So, say you play 5 games and you’re a D-I school. Your five games include 2+2+2+2+2 = 10 total possible points no matter the opponent. Now, say you won 4 of those 5 games, and some were below your class. You receive… 2 for beating a DI, 2 for beating a DI, 1.70 for beating a DIII, 1.85 for beating a DII, 0 for losing to whoever. Now you’ve earned 2+2+1.70+1.85+0 = 7.55 out of 10 total points (7.55/10 = a WP of .755 or 75.5%).

To get the OWP and OOWP, please use the following  
• Opponents’ winning percentage (OWP): Average the winning percentages of a team’s opponents. (Note: This is not calculated via the combined record of the opponents, instead by averaging each winning percentage of the opponents.) All games involving the team whose RPI is being calculated are ignored in this process. 
• Opponents’ opponents winning percentage OOWP): The same process as described above, except calculated for the opponents of a team’s opponents.

Midwest Live Scholastic Event
Once again, the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association will be hosting a Midwest Live Scholastic Event for both the Girls and Boys. These events will be held during the NCAA Division I Recruiting Period in June. The Girls event will be held on June 13 & 14 and the Boys event will be played on June 27-29. The top Girls and Boys players and teams will assemble at Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio to participate in this summer tournament. More information will be coming.

OHSBCA North-South Game
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association will once again hold the North-South All-Star Game  on Friday, April 25, 2025 at Olentangy Liberty High School. Girls game will tip-off at 6:30 pm followed by the boys game at 8:15 pm. All the OHSBCA awards presentation will take place during the games.

OHSBCA Forms
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association has posted its form on the website (oh.nhsbca.org). The website will allow the applicant to upload required documents and require photos.

The available forms are Academic All-Ohio, Academic Teams, Boys Assistant Coach of the Year, Boys Coach of the Year, Boys Player of the Year, Coaches Scholarship, Girls Assistant Coach of the Year, Girls Coach of the Year, Girls Player of the Year, the Top 20 Shooting Awards (2FG, 3FT, FT) - Individual and Team, Scholarship Society, Boys Showcase, Century Award, Bob Arnzen Award, and Hall of Fame Nomination.

To access the forms, go to the OHSBCA website (oh.nhsbca.org) and click on the FORMS link in the upper right-hand corner.

Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) recently nominated Bob Von Kaenel and Dave Butcher for the Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award. The Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant and lasting contributions to the world of high school basketball, particularly in the areas of coaching, mentoring, and leadership. This prestigious award honors the legacy of Coach Morgan Wootten, a legendary high school basketball coach, and his dedication to developing athletes both on and off the court.

Bob Von Kaenel retired in 2024 as the 4th winningest boy’s high school basketball coach in the state of Ohio. His record of 741 wins and 263 losses stands the test of success and longevity. Throughout his career, his teams won 20 league titles, 19 sectional championships, 9 district championships, and 3 regional championships. His teams participated in the state tournament 3 times and finished as runners-up twice. Bob has served the OHSBCA since 1989, first serving as a the District 5 Director. He then went on to serve as President of the OHSBCA from 1998-2000. Since 2001, he has served as the Secretary for the association. He has been inducted into the OHSBCA Hall of Fame (2016), District 5 Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (2017), Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame (2017), Dover Hall of Fame (2023), and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame (2024).

Dave Butcher is set to enter his 46th year coaching high school basketball this upcoming season. For 35 years, Dave served as the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Pickerington North High School and Pickerington High School. During that time, he compiled a record of 747-146. His teams won 24 league titles, 31 sectional championships, 24 district championships (Including 23 in a row), and 13 regional championships. His teams won an impressive 6 state titles and 1 USA National Championship. For 10 straight years, his Pickerington basketball program was ranked in the USA Today’s Super 25. His program experienced a 74 game winning streak and won an incredible 181 straight league games. Dave has served the OHSBCA since 1989 serving in various capacities including Girls Advisor/District Director and the North-South All-Star Game Director. He has been inducted into numerous hall of fames including the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame (2009), Greater Columbus Basketball Hall of Fame (2015), Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2018), and the Naismith Hall of Fame (2022)

The Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award winners will be announced in January. Award winners will be recognized at the McDonald’s All-American Game in late March.