Buchtel boys, Ellet girls aiming to remain atop Akron City Series high school basketball

The Buchtel boys and the Ellet girls are the favorites in City Series basketball heading into the 2023-2024 season.

Akron Public Schools hosted a basketball media day Tuesday at Guy's Party Center that included members of the Buchtel boys basketball team that won the Division II state championship in March at the University of Dayton.

APS athletic directors Joe Vassalotti and Ron Linger also reflected on four new leaders: East boys coach Christopher Munford, Firestone girls coach Eric Mitchell and North boys coach Devin Williams and girls coach Keianna Rice.

Buchtel basketball at a glance

Buchtel boys basketball coach Rayshon Dent returns one starter, junior Stevie Diamond, from the state championship team. Starters Khoi Thurmon, Amire Robinson, Marcel Boyce Jr. and Jayden Maxwell graduated.

Diamond is expected to start this season with seniors Qi'Marreon Marks, Diaire Pride Jr. and Zevin Gadson and junior Demetrice Coates. Marks, Pride and Coates were reserves on the state title team. Gadson returns to Buchtel - where he played as a freshman and sophomore - after playing for Firestone as a junior.

Marks is a National Honors Society student who competes in basketball, bowling and track and field.

"These guys do an outstanding job for me as far as leadership," Dent said of Marks and Pride. "If you guys watched any of our games last year, they were impactful and I expect big things out of them this year. Last year's team, we had six seniors. All six of them went on to college.

"... I told you guys last year that a state championship is always going to be on my mind, and I try to challenge everybody else to think the same way. We got to play for something and not only that, get these kids in school however we can do it if they want it. So that's always been my plight and that's all I'm going to hang my hat on is caring and loving on these guys and continuing to work for the city."

Marks knows the Griffins (23-6 last season) are a "team with the target."

"Last year's team had a lot of cohesiveness and camaraderie, and that is what we have to build with this year's team," said Dent, a 1986 Buchtel graduate.

Buchtel girls coach Cari Guyton is counting on seniors Ameena Vincent and Aaliyah Golden to be leaders.

"Last year, I only coached four games out of the 23 games that were scheduled due to a knee injury," said Guyton, a 2010 Firestone graduate. "So, I'm just excited to be back coaching and being back with my team and seeing them get used to my system."

East basketball at a glance

Munford is in his first year as East's boys coach after being an assistant to Chad Hazard the past two seasons. Hazard returned to his alma mater, Barberton, to serve as the Magics coach after leading the Dragons to a 20-6 record and a Division II district runner-up finish in 2023.

East graduated senior starters Mike Woodall, La’Grand Sowell and Ronin Kelley and current juniors De’Arion Holley and Kardiay Tyler transferred to Barberton.

"I'm expecting them to be big-time leaders," Munford said of seniors Raheem Armstead and Dakavion Shuford. "They're leading by being vocal inside the gym, the weight room and all over the place.

"... I have to thank the man above because if it is not for him I wouldn't be here. I'm a 26-year-old coach that has a background with one year of varsity playing experience in my life [as a senior at Garfield during the 2014-2015 season] and had little to no guidance growing up. So, for me to be in this position, it just goes to show the hard work and dedication I have. So, I plan to bring that same hard work and dedication to the East basketball program."

The East girls team will be led by coach Jonnica Gardner, senior Za'Miya Brown and freshman Dereon Cooper.

"Last year, there was a lot of learning," said Gardner, a 2000 East graduate. "I think this year, the girls, they come back and they are ready."

Ellet basketball at a glance

Ellet girls coach Nick Harris was joined by juniors Caitlyn Holmes and Jaeda Tavares on Tuesday. Ellet went 18-6 last season and won a Division I sectional championship.

"This is a year of transition for us," Harris said. "This is my third year here at Ellet. We've been lucky enough to win City [Series] the last two years, so we're trying to go on to a three-peat, and it's going to be difficult. We had six seniors graduate that were all rotational players."

Holmes has 10 scholarship offers from Division I colleges and was a second team All-Ohio selection as a sophomore.

"She's been in the gym and in the weight room with me just about every day that we've been allowed to," Harris said of Holmes. "So it's been nice to see her growth. She's becoming a lot more vocal leader on the court and off, which is nice to see.

"... I've been blessed with women that work really hard on and off the court. Our team GPA was a 3.6."

Ellet's boys team features coach Mark Fisher, a 1985 alum, and "senior leaders" John Moledor and Isaiah Harper.

"It's awesome that we have a state champion in the city of Akron and we get to compete against that again this year," Fisher said. "... We've been working hard in the gym. We're going to rely on some younger kids this year. We have a really good sophomore class."

Firestone basketball at a glance

Brian Neugebauer is in his second year as the boys coach at Firestone after a successful run as Buchtel's girls coach.

"It's an honor and privilege to coach and lead the Firestone basketball program and the quality guys on the team," said Neugebauer, a 1991 Firestone graduate. "We're excited about the season and we're excited about building a program with high quality character guys.

"... I love these guys [seniors Lamar Dampier and Johnathan White]. If I had a son, I would want them to be just like them. They work hard, they take care of their business in the classroom and out of the classroom. Both honor roll guys, two-year letter winners so far. This will be their third. They are team captains this season."

Mitchell, a 1984 Garfield graduate, is Firestone's football and track and field coach. He has been a basketball coach at Litchfield and an assistant with the Firestone boys team in recent years.

"This is my first year coaching girls basketball on the varsity level here in the city of Akron, but I've been in this game for 34 years, been a head coach at various high schools including Shaker Heights, Warrensville Heights and some other stops along the way," Mitchell said. "I'm excited for this opportunity to come back and coach basketball for the girls here at Firestone High School."

The Falcons girls team features four returning starters: seniors Aalivia Mullins, Kiara Smith and Aliya Williams and junior Kennedy Whiting.

Garfield basketball at a glance

Garfieldboys coach McNeal Thompson III and Ramsgirls coach Paris Caldwell both have four returning starters.

Juniors Lamonte Brooks, Thomas Walker, Cory Rosenthal and Brima Barry are the returning starters for the Garfield boys team and Elliott Jackson is a senior leader.

"We return eight letter winners," said Thompson, a 1999 Kenmore graduate. "We had five sophomores that played varsity last year, four of which started for me, and then we have four seniors that played substantial time for us. So, we look to compete at the highest level, we look to pay attention to details as always and then we'll be playing some very, very hard defense."

Junior Monikah Jordan, sophomore Aniyah Wahid, junior Kanija Kimbrough and junior Neveah Keyes are the returning starters for the Garfield girls team.

"We're going to play defense and we're going to compete," said Caldwell, a 2007 Kenmore graduate. "I had a lot of first-year varsity girls last year."

North basketball at a glance

Rice was a North assistant last year, and also previously coached at Waterloo and at Jennings. She is counting on sophomore Ce'Airah Underwood and senior Frozan Azimi to lead the Vikings girls team.

"I love the diversity on the North Side and I embrace the underdog role, but not the mentality," said Rice, a 2009 Youngstown Liberty graduate. "It's time to be the dog."

Williams was a girls and boys assistant coach at Massillon for almost a decade combined.

"The guys have been putting in a lot of work," said Williams, a 1997 Massillon graduate. "I have Rickey Boykins and Eh Ther Htoo here, two of our seniors that have been in the weight room and been in the gym."

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron City Series high school basketball preview for 2023-24