Before the season tipped-off, the pre-concieved notion around the league was that Vinton County would be tough to beat. Five straight wins later - after a season opening loss to undefeated Huntington - its pretty clear the Vikings are in fact the front runner in the Ohio Division.
     It was known VC was going to be a solid basketball team with players like L.B. Remy, Ryan Chesser and Matt Smallwood coming back  from last years team which finished 16-4 and won the Ohio. But with 6-foot-2 junior Jordan Kidd and fellow junior Bryce Owings stepping up in a big way - the Vikings have gone from possible TVC-Ohio title winner to district championship contender. 
     Athens may have been faced with a lot of adversity early in the season, including getting a late start because of football, but the Bulldogs have weathered the storm nicely and are in good position for a possible run at the TVC-Ohio championship.
     The loss of center Mitch Rider to a season ending injury hurt, forward Josh Maxson got a late start due to an illness and forward Nick Stanley has been dealing with nagging injuries carried over from the football season. Now the Bulldogs have to deal with the loss of Devon Sharp, who was declared ineligible. 
     Seniors Josh Skinner, Kramer Simmons, Stanley and freshmen Joey Burrow and Ryan Leuhrman will now have to step-up big time if Athens is to build off its solid 5-2 start with losses coming at Vinton County (5-1) and at Warren (7-0).
     Wellston has faced some early season adversity as well playing under a first year head coach and not having a home to call its own for at least the first half of the year.
     While the Golden Rockets have their floor torn up and replaced, the team has hit the road and compiled a 3-2 record with losses coming at Vinton County and at Athens.
     With arguably the best front court in the league with 6-foot-5 Nigel Courts and 6-foot-6 Justus Ousley - and a solid point guard in Austin Craig - its very possible for Wellston to make a run at the TVC-Ohio title during the 2nd half of the season with all its league games at home.
     Perhaps the biggest sleeper in the Ohio Division has to be the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes. They have a great front court with 6-foot-5 Daniel Kline, 6-foot-5 Kyle Moore, 6-foot-2 Kyle Freer and a hot shooting point guard in Casey Cox - who has already scored over 30 in a game - and the addition of swingman Austin North has been a big plus.
     Its been the depth and help Cox has recieved in the backcourt this year that seperates this Buckeyes team from the last two seasons. Guard Marc Carter scored 15 points and was named MVP at the Hoops Invitational versus Trimble, Jacob Blake was the 'Bucks leading scorer at the Shriners preview and transfer Clint Handa has logged a lot of minutes in the backcourt as well.
     Nelsonville-York has already won 4 games with its only losses coming to DII New Lex (4-3), a one-loss Amanda Clearcreek team and an 8-point set back to Vinton County (5-2). If the Buckeyes are not able to win a TVC-Ohio title this year for some reason - a high seed and a trip to the Convo is definitly still in their reach.
     Meigs is winless this season, but ask any coach, and they will tell you going down to Pomeroy and playing the Marauders is not an easy thing to do. They are tough under the basket with 6-foot-4 Jesse Smith, 6-foot-3 Cody Stewart and 6-foot-3 Dustin Ulbrich - and when PG Dillon Boyer is shooting well from the outside - Meigs can be a tough team to beat.
    

             

     Top performance so far in the 2011/2012 season? Senior Casey Cox scored 31 points in the Buckeyes season opener versus New Lex.

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Ohio league game? Jordan Kidd scored a game high 27 points during the Vikings 68-60 win at Nelsonville-York.

                  

     Top performance by a TVC-Ohio girls basketball player? Junior Sami Ousley poured in 30 points during a Lady Golden Rockets win over Rose Hill.

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Ohio league game? Wellston Junior Jordan Davis scored 25 to help the Lady Golden Rockets beat Nelsonville-York 58-51. 

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Ohio league game II? Athens freshmen Dominique Doseck poured in 25 points in her first league game ever, a 54-49 loss at Vinton County

                  

     Senior leadership award? To say Josh Skinner has faced some adversity this year would be a gross understatement. The senior guard had to sit out the last 4 games of the football season because of injury, then lost fellow senior Mitch Rider for the basketball season, had to watch another fellow senior Josh Maxson struggle to regain his health the last three weeks and has lost point guard Devon Sharp for the season too. The Bulldogs will need Skinner's floor leadership, outside shooting and ball handling skills even more now as they try to stay in the TVC-Ohio race.

                  

     Best player you never hear about or see staggering stats from? Nelsonville-York center Kyle Moore is a 6-foot-5 'tough guy' that does just about everything for the Buckeyes. He can score, plays great defense and gets under the boards and mixes-it-up with the big boys every chance he gets.

                 

     Best player you never hear about or see staggering stats from II? Senior Nick Stanley is a defensive stopper for the Bulldogs and like Moore, will do just about anything and everything his coach asks of him. After suffering through a few nagging injuries early in the season, Stanley has come on of late and will be a key factor in any success Athens might have.

     After losing only one player to graduation from a team that lost to Manchester in the district semi-finals, Southern appeared poised and ready a possible run at the TVC-Hocking title - and trip back to the Convocation center - this year.
     Five games into the season, the Tornadoes seem to be right on track after winning their first four games before losing a heart-breaker at league rival Eastern before the break.
     Although Southern doesn't possess that real 'super star' too carry the team every night, they do however have a host of players which seem to score in double figures every game they play.
     Senior Andrew Roseberry poured in 20 during the Tornadoes big win over South Gallia, Nathan Roberts scored 18 in the same game, Ryan Taylor led the team with 16 points versus River Valley and Ethan Martin has scored 10 or more multiple times this season. With that kind of team work night-in-and-night-out, Southern will undoubtably be right in the thick of things throughout the season.
     Similar to Southern, the South Gallia Rebels returned almost its entire team that reached the district semi-finals last year. They also possess a line-up where a number of different players can hurt you on any given night - and although Jaylan Nolan decided not to play - the Rebels have been doing fine wihout the presence of a true point guard.
     Senior Corey Haner has taken over the reigns and has South Gallia leading the TVC in scoring at 68.4 points-per game. Danny Matney has been lights out scoring over 15 points in four-of-the-five games the Rebels have played.
      6-foot-3 center John Johnson scored 19 in the loss to Southern, scored 20 versus Wahama and Levi Ellis scored 16 during the Rebels 30-point win over the White Falcons. With Dalton Matney rounding out the starting five for South Gallia, the Rebels look to have a unit that is capable of winning a TVC-Hocking championship.
     Perhaps no team in the TVC is being overlooked more than Belpre. There wasn't a lot of pre-season hype surrounding the orange & black as they were breaking in a new coach in Jordan Thornhill.
      But after an impressive performance versus Athens at the Shriners preview, teams probably started noticing the Golden Eagles. Now that they stand alone atop the TVC-Hocking standings with a 3-0 mark - every coach probably has them on their radar as the team to beat.
     Led by a couple of underclassmen in sophomore Jake Ullman, junior Dakota Hoffman and 6-foot-3 sophomore Nick Therriault - the Golden Eagles have plenty of scoring options to win games. When you throw in 6-foot-5 junior Ryan Leasure and senior Drew Nestor, Belpre becomes a team that will be tough to deal with down the stretch in the Hocking.
     Eastern may have a new coach, Federal Hocking has Eastern's old coach - but both teams appear to be in the mix heading into the New Year. Max Carnahan has been a scoring machine for the Eagles thus far and 6-foot-3 junior Kirk Pullins poured in 19 points in the big win over Southern on Dec. 20th. Eastern had been looking for a second scoring option behind Carnahan and they may have found it with Pullins.
     The Lancers meanwhile have been utilizing their 7-foot center Chris Saylor to lock down teams defensively and point guard Shawn Parsons has given coach Caldwell a nice 'inside-out' game (with Saylor) by knocking down three's on a consistent basis. 6-foot-4 Junior Max Carney has been a nice surprise this year for Federal Hocking giving the Lancers one of the biggest front courts in the league and another scoring option inside the paint.

             

     Top performance so far in the 2011/2012 season? Isaac Lee (No. 5) scored 28 points for Wahama during a 3-point loss to Buffalo.

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Hocking league game? Miller Junior Trent Abram scored 26 points during a 59-50 loss to South Gallia.

                 

     Top performance by a TVC-Hocking girls basketball player? Freshmen Carley Tabler poured in a whopping 36 points during the Lancers 10-point win over Trimble. 

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Hocking league game? Belpre forward Allison Flowers scored 32 points versus MIller on Dec. 19th.

                 

     Top performance in a TVC-Hocking league game II? Eastern sophomore Jenna Burdette scored 27 points versus one of the best D-IV teams in all of southeastern Ohio (Waterford) during a 55-44 loss to the Wildcats. 

                 

     Senior leadership award? Watching Corey Haner play, its obvious he would make a great small forward with his size, athletic ability and shooting range. Although the 6-foot-2 senior is taylor made for the position, after PG Jaylan Nolan decied not to play this season, Haner had to take over floor leadership duties and has done a tremendous job helping the Rebels lead the TVC in scoring thus far.

                 

     Best player you never hear about or see staggering stats from? South Gallia probably wouldn't be a TVC-Hocking contender without their 6-foot-3 center John Johnson. The athletic senior is a perfect fit for the Rebels up-tempo style - not only on offense - but defense as well, where he creates numerous fast-break opportunities with steals and blocked shots.

                

     Best player you never hear about or see staggering stats from? Whenever Federal Hocking is discussed its all about head coach Howie Caldwell, 7-foot center Chris Saylor or point guard Shawn Parsons. But for anyone who has seen the Lancers play, probably knows 6-foot-3 junior Max Carney is a big reason why Federal Hocking is 4-3 to start the season. The 'other' big guy roaming the paint in Stewart is a hard-nosed player who pulls down rebounds, plays tough defense and can knock down the 15-footer with consistency.

A big story going into the season was head coach Howie Caldwell taking over the Lancers.



The trio of L.B. Remy (No. 44), Ryan Chesser (4) and Jordan KIdd (12) has VC on top.



South Gallia doesn't have its PG from last year but still is averaging 68.4 pts-per-game.



Athens is in the thick of things for a TVC-Ohio title with the help of freshman Joey Burrow.


 
The addition of Austin North has helped the Buckeye get off to a solid start this season.



Losing Sharp hurts - but how well Athens responds will be the big story going forward.