Executive Director Message - Joe Balogh
The excitement of the 2023 – 2024 season has begun with the girls tipping off Thanksgiving weekend and the boys starting on the first weekend in December.  One of the first things that fans have noticed in these early games is the change in team fouls initiated by the National Federation of High Schools. There are no longer any 1 and 1 foul shots in high school basketball. Teams will now shoot free throws on the 5th foul of each quarter and the fouls will reset to zero at the start of each quarter.  It will be interesting to see how this affects the coaching strategies at the end of each quarter.  

Also, we would like to remind all coaches to make sure you report your scores to Max Preps. We will be using the Max Preps RPI rating system for tournament seeding this season. As a reminder the RPI will only be for seeding it will not determine teams’ placement on the tournament bracket. Coaches will still have the opportunity to place their team on the tournament bracket. The initial release of the Max Preps RPI will take place on Monday, January 8th on the OHSAA website.

On December 13th the OHSAA released a statement that their board of directors and staff are looking at the expansion of divisions in both girls’ and boys’ basketball. Our association has been in communication with OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute on this process and will be providing input on the process of expansion. As announced in the news release their will be statewide meetings in January to discuss data and get feedback on the topic of expanding the number of divisions.  

Finally, just a reminder of the influence that you as a coach can have on the young men and women who are on your team. As a coach you have the primary responsibility to be a teacher.  A teacher in the area of providing the necessary instruction of skills for each player to better himself or herself individually and to successfully organize these players into a working team.  However, a coach is not only a teacher of the skills and concepts of basketball.  A coach must also be the teacher of the many values that a player can learn from participating in athletics.  Athletics is an area where the important values of sacrifice, teamwork, dedication to a goal, and self-discipline can be learned.  

Best of luck this season!
 
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OHSAA Basketball using MaxPreps for RPI Data Collection and Seedings
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has decided that Ratings Percentage Index is a more accurate way to seed teams for the OHSAA Tournament and it will be employed in basketball this winter. MaxPreps can calculate RPI based on strength of schedules and has offered to provide this service for the sport of basketball for the 2023-24 season. The intent of this new data collection is to employ a more equitable way to determine a team’s postseason seed. Below is the basic formula that will be used. 

The RPI formula is = (0.40 × WP) + (0.35 × OWP) + (0.25 × OOWP). 

• Winning percentage (WP): Divide the number of wins by the number of total games played. A tie is worth half a win. If a win in an individual contest gives that contest a winning percentage of 1.00, a tie would give that individual contest a winning percentage of .500 for both teams.

• 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. Note that there is an exception for out-of-state
teams, which is addressed below.

This is the RPI at its purest form which is based on wins, losses and strength of schedule with no filters (i.e. class size, etc.). Each game will count as 1 point (ties are worth 0.5 to each team for win and loss.). Out-of-state teams are weighted the same as in-state teams. Non-varsity and non-member schools (i.e. prep schools, Canadian schools, etc.) are not included in the RPI calculation. Further review of these parameters may be considered, but simplicity is the focus for this initial season.

The official OHSAA RPI standings will be published on OHSAA.org. It is worth noting that any RPI data published elsewhere is unofficial and should be viewed with skepticism as it may not be correct. The OHSAA RPI data should not be confused with the MaxPreps rankings. MaxPreps rankings are updated twice a week and posted on www.maxpreps.com.

The RPI standings will not be published for the first time until mid-January. This is to allow teams to have at least competed in a few games to have RPI data. Once they are posted, feeds are updated daily during the remaining regular season.

A major advantage to the RPI is the transparency that comes along with its accuracy. The components of the formula are known, and its results can be easily replicated.

Essentially, only one school needs to report the score into MaxPreps, but we recommend each school check scores daily to see which games are missing results. MaxPreps also can monitor accounts so school participation can be tracked for those not entering results. If this becomes required, it will be easy to identify schools not participating and the OHSAA may administer fines.

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President's Message
Congratulations to the 2023 State Champions. What an outstanding achievement! The Girls winners were: D1 Cincinnati Princeton, D2 Cincinnati Purcell Marian, D3 Columbus Africentric, and D4 Tri-Village. The Boys winners were: D1 Archbishop Hoban, D2 Akron Buchtel, D3 Lutheran East, and D4 Richmond Heights. The University of Dayton was a great atmosphere for student-athletes to compete in both weekends, and it was great to have fans back in the arena cheering on their teams across the state. Congratulations to all the coaches across the state for milestones this past season.

Prior to the Boys State Tournament, we held our annual meetings to select our post-season awards, scholarships and academic awards on Thursday, March 16th at The University of Dayton Arena. Thanks to all the Directors and Girls District Directors across the state of Ohio for taking time to meet to select various award winners from the OHSBCA. We would like to especially congratulate 2023 Paul Walker Award winner Dennis Tucci from Malvern High School being named the recipient of this prestigious award. Dennis has made major contributions over the years coaching kids, mentoring of coaches, and the OHSCBA.

On Friday, April 28th the OHSBCA North/South All-Star games were held at Olentangy Liberty High School. This year both the girls and boys North-South All-Star games were held in the same location - Olentangy Liberty High School. Special thanks to Girls North-South Director Adam Priefer and Boys North-South Director Greg Nossaman. The following evening, Saturday, April 29th we honored the 2023 Hall of Fame class which included: Marty Hill (Windham); Bob Krizancic (Mentor); Joe Staley (Chaminade-Julienne); Ed Zink (Beavercreek); The banquet was held at the Columbus Marriott Inn on Olentangy River Road. I would like to specifically thank Paul Wayne who chaired the great event. “Wayno” has done a wonderful job with the great evening for many years. What an outstanding weekend for our association and basketball in the state of Ohio!

As I begin my second year as your President, I’m excited to welcome two major changes to Ohio High School Basketball. First, the utilization of MaxPreps ratings system to seed teams for the OHSAA boys/girls basketball tournaments. This should ultimately enhance regular season scheduling and the tournament seeding process. Secondly, the NFHS rule change to allow two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. This rule change should cut back on the amount of physical play while also introducing a new element of coaching strategy.

Finally, the first year in the role of OHSBCA President has been a blessing. As coaches we have the opportunity to develop special relationships while molding young men and women to be valuable contributors to our schools, families and communities. I hope for your decisions this season to be made with all student-athletes in mind.

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OHSBCA Coaches Clinic
2023 OHSBCA Clinic will be returning to the clinic format of Sunday/Monday and the downtown Columbus location for this year’s clinic. The clinic will be held on Sunday, September 17, 2023 and Monday, September 18, 2023 at Batelle Hall in the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

The 2023 Clinic will use the Sonesta Columbus Downtown Hotel as the Clinic Headquarters. It has over 400 rooms, so all coaches who desire to attend the clinic will be able to be housed at the clinic site. In addition, the downtown Arena District is located within walking distance of the Sonesta Hotel, giving clinic attendees ample entertainment opportunities.

Batelle Hall will be set-up with a basketball court to allow for sessions “on the court.” The line-up of speakers is below with their topics.

We hope moving back to the original format and location will allow our coaches to have an enjoyable weekend with their staff. This clinic is a great way to get ready for the upcoming season and catch up with friends from around the state! So, make plans now to attend the 2023 OHSBCA Coaches Clinic!

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North-South Game Coaches Announced
Greg Nossaman, Boys North-South Game Director, and Adam Priefer, Girls North-South Game Director, announced the North-South Game Coaches. To be a nominee to coach in the North-South Game, a coach must be an OHSBCA member, must be nominated by a District Director, and coached in the 2022 District Finals.

The Coaches are Terry Sites of Tuscarawas Valley, Bobby James of Huron, Kevin Darthard of Linden McKinley, Travis Wise of South Point, Natalie Lantz of Shelby, Rick Geiser of Waynedale, Donald Dennis of Bishop Hartley, and Joe Richards of Trimble.

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Paul Walker Award Goes to Denny Tucci
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that Denny Tucci of Malvern High School is the recipient of the 2023 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.

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OHSBCA Announce Hall of Fame Inductees 2022
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) is proud to announce the coaches and date for the Hall of Fame Class for 2023. This year, the association is inducting four coaches into the Hall of Fame. The four high school coaches being inducted are Marty Hill of Windham, Bob Krizancic of Mentor, Joe Staley of Chaminade-Julienne, and Ed Zink of Beavercreek.

The Induction Ceremony for the Thirty-Fifth Class will be at the Columbus Marriott University Area at 3100 Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 5:30 PM. 

Tickets may be obtained by Calling Hall of Fame Director Paul Wayne at 419-261-2547 or by email at wayno14@embarqmail.com.

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OHSBCA Announce Hall of Honor Winners 2023
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) is proud to announce the selections to the Hall of Honor for 2023. This year, the association selected eight contributors from the odd districts of the association. The selections are Terry Wentworth, Scorekeeper of Newton Falls, Phil Horrisberger, Scorekeeper of Wadsworth, Ed Marsh, Tournament Manager of New Philadelphia, Dan Cummins, Media of WTOL, Taylor Armstrong, Announcer of Urbana, Doug Griffin, Coach of Newark Catholic, Becky Zimmerman, Ticket Taker of Fairland, and Dave Long, Sport Writer of the Dayton Daily News.

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OHSBCA Announce Hall of Fame Inductees 2022
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) is proud to announce the coaches and date for the Hall of Fame Class for 2022. This year, the association is inducting five coaches into the Hall of Fame. The five high school coaches being inducted are John Cullen of Canfield and South Range, Ed Heintschel of Toledo St. John’s Jesuit, Mary Jo Huismann of Mother of Mercy, Dave Schlabach of Berlin Hiland, and the final inductee is Carol Smith of Walnut Ridge.

The Induction Ceremony for the Thirty-Fourth Class will be at the Columbus Marriott University Area at 3100 Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 5:30 PM.

Tickets may be obtained by Calling Hall of Fame Director Paul Wayne at 419-261-2547 or by email at wayno14@embarqmail.com.

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2022 Hall of Honor
The OHSBCA continues to strive to recognize individuals who provide exemplary service to high school basketball. The Hall of Honor Award was created for that purpose. The award is given to any coach, referee, announcer, or administrator from each District who meets this criteria and is nominated by their District.

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