The Harding boys hope to get through with new divisions | News, sports, jobs

Personnel file photo / Preston Byers. Warren G. Harding’s Chaz Coleman puts the ball in the basket during a Raiders home game last season.

WARREN – The new expanded divisions were seen in the fall with football and volleyball, but the biggest change came in basketball.

High school play in the state has increased from four divisions to seven, and members of the Warren G. Harding boys basketball program hope that will be beneficial in late February and early March.

But before heading into the playoffs, head coach Keelyn Franklin still needs to sort out a few things at the start of the season.

The Raiders will start the season a little later than everyone else. They’ll open the season on Tuesday against East while everyone gets going over the weekend.

Franklin won’t complain about the extra days. The team was missing some players due to the football team making the playoffs, so he only had a full roster for a few weeks.

“We really want to be able to act offensively” Franklin said. “It was a challenge after just two weeks, but as we continue to develop throughout the year, the offensive production and ability to win the championship will be huge for us.”

Harding was a streaking team last season. You would win a pair and then drop a pair, win a game and then lose a game. This year, Franklin wants his group to even out the ups and downs.

“I’m just trying to get the whole thing sorted out and be a little more consistent this year, and I think we have the tools to do that.” Franklin said.

Those figures include one of the area’s best – if not the best – players in Chaz Coleman, who averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two assists last season. Penn State football is part of a group that has five returning letterwinners.

Juniors Myles Miller and Xavier Clark both transferred from a successful Ursuline program that made it to the state semifinals last year. Jeremy Sampson, Tyler Smith, Davion Herron and Gummy Hart all saw time last season and will continue to play in the backcourt. Matt Richardson will see time at point guard after transferring from Akron Hoban.

When you put all of these pieces together, Franklin is excited to have a balanced roster full of size, athleticism, youth and experience.

“We can throw out three or four guys who are about 6-5 tall, long and athletic.” Franklin said. “If we use our size defensively and get teams to play our length and add some zones and pressure to give people different looks, our defense is a lot further ahead of our offense. We will stick to that at the beginning of the year.”

The Raiders posted a 14-9 record last season and finished second in the All-American Conference. They lost to Massillon Washington 64-63 in the Division I sectional final.

Harding’s playoff field will be slightly smaller with the expanded divisions. The Raiders were relegated from Division I to Division II in the new system.

The new playoff format, an experienced roster and some top athletes have given Franklin some high standards for his team this season.

“I think realistically, a district championship and advancing to regionals — it’s anyone’s guess at this point — but those are realistic expectations that we talk to our team about.” Franklin said. “We believe we can make the playoffs and potentially win a district championship.”