The 2010 Bulldogs versus one of the best teams in Athens High School history.
Seperated by 20 years, the 1990 and 2010 Athens boys basketball teams share striking similarities.

    A QUICK LOOK BACK IN TIME:
      
     Twenty years ago, The Athens High School Boys' Basketball Team had one of its finest seasons in the school's history. The Bulldogs finished with nineteen regular season victories, more than any other Athens High team in the course of a regular season. The previous record of 18 victories in a regular season was set in 1964-65.
     The Bulldogs were ranked in the state throughout the course of the year. They finished the regular season being ranked sixth in Division II polls, which was also believed to be a record for an Athens High basketball team.
     The Bulldogs won the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League hands down, finishing with a 9-1 mark while Logan and Warren finished with 7-3 records. The Bulldogs suffered their only loss to long time rival Logan 91-75 mid-way through the season. This was the only blemish which appeared on their regular season record. However, they redeemed themselves with an impressive 77-64 win over the Chieftains at McAfee Gymnasium in the final regular season game of the year.  
     The graduating class of 1990 provided its fans with numerous accomplishments over the years and without a doubt was one of the most successful group of athletes Athens has ever seen. They started a list of incredible achievements at the young age of 12 when they captured a Little League State Championship. Three more State titles on the baseball diamond soon followed - also two Regional titles - and then finally they won the 1987 Senior League World Series championship in Kissimee, Florida.
     Once in high school, the group excelled in all three major boys sports and won league titles in football, basketball and baseball as seniors. They capped off their unbelievable run as prep athletes in the summer of 1990 by winning the American Legion State Tournament and advancing to the regionals in St. Cloud Minnesota - where they would finally see their storied careers come to an end. 
     Amid all the remarkable achievements, league titles and victories stands a night on the hardwood that most who remember the group would just as soon forget. After cruising through the 1989-1990 regular season and racking up an astounding 19 victories, the Bulldogs were primed and ready for a possible successful post season run in the Ohio High School State Basketball Tournament.
     Athens and its stellar regular season record and impressive resume - which included an SEOAL championship and non-league wins over Lancaster, Walnut Ridge and Chillicothe -ended up a victom of perhaps the biggest upset in Athens High School history. 
     After being awarded a No. 1 seed in the Division II Sectional Tournament, the Bulldogs and their fans had high hopes of winning yet another title and strongly believed they would be playing at the Convocation Center in March.
     An injury to senior shooting guard Jon Reed during the season finale versus Logan left Athens without its leading scorer heading into a first round clash with low seeded New Lexington, but the Bulldogs were still considered a heavy favorite to win the game and advance.
     The Panthers - led by high scoring sharp shooter Todd Fox - entered the contest with a sub .500 record, but quickly proved to be a tougher out than anyone expected. 
     On Febuary 24th, after a see-saw battle in an extremly small gym at Crooksville High School, the 1-loss Bulldogs suffered only their second defeat of the season when New Lex pulled off a surprising 59-58 victory.
     It was a last second shot by Fox from way beyond the three-point line - which hit nothing but the bottom of the net - that left those in attendence from Athens completely shocked and utterly dissapointed. They had become accustomed to seeing this special group of athletes succeed at everything they were involved in and the preconcieved notion heading into the tournament was that the team couldn't be beat.
     As the 2010 Bulldogs wrapped up a similar successful regular season, the comparisons between the two and timing of it all seemed almost eerie. Athens improved its record to 19-1 overall - just like the 1990 team - with a victory over Gallia Academy in the Sectional Tournament, but would see their season end three days later after losing to Warren in the Sectional Championship. Both the 1990 team and this years Athens Bulldogs ended up finishing the season with a record of 19-2 overall.

1990 ATHENS BULLDOGS

'BULLDOG BITS'

SCORING OFFENSE:
1990 Team - Avg. 72.2 pts per game.
2010 Team - Avg. 54.8 pts per game

SCORING DEFENSE:
1990 Team - Allowed 56.2 pts per game
2010 Team - Allowed 48.0 pts per game

FINAL RECORDS:
1990 Team - Finished 19-2
2010 Team - Finished 19-2

TOURNAMENT INFO
1990 - Lost in Sectionals to New Lex 59-58
2010 - Lost Sectional title to Warren 55-53

Frank Valentour goes up for a block.

2010 ATHENS BULLDOGS

Morgan                                       59-54 W

At Jackson                                     70-44 L

Gallia                                            56-31 W

Wellston                                      57-30 W

At Alexander                             44-37 W

At Vinton County                      53-51 W

Eastern                                        45-42 W

Nelsonville-York                        58-41 W

Logan                                          58-42 W

Meigs                                          51-31 W

At Trimble                                    42-36 W

Greenup Kentucky                    47-37 W

At Belpre                                    76-67 W

At Wellston                               57-44 W

Vinton County                           58-55 W

Alexander                                   50-47 W

At Nelsonville-York                  56-39 W

At Meigs                                    65-48 W

At Sheridan

Belpre                                          65-62 W

1990 SEOAL CHAMPS: THE ATHENS BULLDOGS (19-1) - RANKED 6TH IN THE STATE

THE 2010 TVC-OHIO CHAMPS VERSUS THE 1990 SEOAL CHAMPIONS

• Records: Both teams achieved impressive overall records of 19-1 and claimed outright League Championships. The '90 group blew away the competition in the SEOAL though as opposed to the TVC-Ohio, which from top-to-bottom could be viewed as a smaller conference. (EDGE - 1990)
• Non-league competition: The 1990 team finished an extremly tough non-league schedule that included games at D-1 Lancaster, Chillicothe, Waverly and home dates with Walnut Ridge, Trimble and Meigs to go 10-0 outisde the SEOAL. This years team went 7-0 with wins over Gallia Academy, Eastern, Logan and Greenup Kentucky with a date against Sheridan still lingering. (EDGE - 1990 ... Lancaster, Chillicothe and Waverly were all three very good teams in 1990 as was Walnut Ridge out of Columbus.)
• Backcourt comparisons: Its not uncommon for good teams to have a solid post presense, but great teams usually possess both an inside game and excellent guard play. Such was the case in 1990 and with this years Athens team. The '90 group was led by one of the best overall athletes to ever graduate from Athens High School - Scott Strickland. The 6-foot point guard was the Bulldogs quarterback in the fall, its floor leader on the hardwood and a catcher for the baseball team. Strickland, who earned a full scholarship to play baseball at Kent State, was a remarkable leader and excellent floor general while on the court. Jon Reed played along side Strickland and was perhaps the Bulldogs best overall offensive weapon. The 6-foot shooting guard - and teams' leading scorer - could handle the ball, drain outside shots and could even convert from inside the paint using his strength and athletic ability. 

       The combination of point guard Collin Pfaff and shooting guard Cori Butcher give this years' Athens team a very similar make-up to the one 20 years ago. Pfaff is a four year varsity player and shows the same kind of floor leadership that Strickland use to possess. Butcher is nearly the same exact player as Reed and does a lot of the things he use to do, including leading the team in scoring. (EDGE - 2010 ... This was tough and almost too close to call. I gave the edge to the 2010 duo because they both focus on basketball year around and their basketball skill set may be a smidget above the 1990 backcourt of Strickland and Reed.)

•  Front Court: While both the 2010 and 1990 squads were equipped with outstanding guards, their front court was just as talented and productive. Over the course of 20 years the game of basketball has evolved - like most sports have - and the teams, players and the style which they play have changed somewhat. In 1990, Athens utilized a 2-man front court with a 'swingman' running the baseline. 6-foot-5 Nate Schaller was a true center, 6-foot-4 Shad Patterson could either play down low on the block or the high post and 6-foot-3 Scott Decaminada was a 'do-it-all' three man that could score from just about anywhere on the court. With the 3-point shot still relatively newto high school basketball, scoring points may have been a little harder to come by 20 years ago as players relied more on posting up, coming off screens and finding holes in a zone from 15-feet out. Decaminada played his position almost to perfection and had the physical tools to be the prototype swingman during that time. He was big, strong and smooth as silk when handling or shooting the basketball and was named player of the year in the SEOAL his senior year. Decaminada, who earned a full scholarship to play baseball at Ohio University, ended his basketball career with 796 points - good enough for seventh place (at the time) on the Bulldogs all time scoring list.

• The 2010 front court resembles that of the 1990 team in terms of offensive production, but their make-up and physical attributes differ slightly. Athens has relied heavily on power forward Frank Valentour all season not only on offense, with his ability to score and rebound, but on the defensive end as well. Valentour, who could be considered a player of the year candidate in the TVC-Ohio Division this year, is a completely different player than Decaminada and is perhaps more skilled offensively than either Patterson or Schaller. 6-foot-3 Joe Stanley could be viewed as the Bulldogs starting center and although he is a few inches shorter than both '90 post-men - his ability to score, rebound and play defense is on even par with either player. Junior Dean Maffin is proof of how the game has changed over the years. Its becoming more and more popular for coaches to use your their swingman as a 3-point specialest instead of a slashing small forward who scores off the dribble or with mid-range jumpers. This kind of evolution in the game indirectly caused the dynamics of these two teams to be completely different. The '90 team was tall, athletic, extremly smart and they had a knack for winning no matter what sport it was. This years squad is a little smaller - perhaps a tad-bit quicker - and is capable of scoring points and winning games in a variety of different ways. (EDGE - Tie ... its way to difficult to give either team an advantage when comparing front courts. The big men down low on the 1990 team were 6'5, 6'4 and 6'3. The 2010 group stand only 6'3, 6'3 and 6' tall - but the combination of Valentour, Stanley and Maffin have a completely different style to their game - and play in a different offense that tries to spread the floor. The bottom line: both teams were equipped with talented front courts but are far too different to try and compare.  

• Intangibles: With both teams having numerous similarities its really difficult to try and prove if one might be better than the other. Plus, there is no exact science when attempting to compare and contrast two athletic teams that are seperated by 20 years. There are a few things that can be looked at and disected to perhaps come to a conclusion which may be reasonable. When it comes to the 1990 team, that squad possessed some attributes that were quite unique and they experienced things throughout their career that a normal group of athletes would never even come close to experiencing. At the age of 12 they were already engaged in high levels of competition that netted them a district title, and then a Little League State Championship. Before any of them owned a drivers liscence they had played on five tournament teams that captured 4 state titles, 2 regional titles, 1 world series Runner-up title, and the 1987 Senior League World Series Championship in Kissimee, Florida. By the time they were well into their high school careers, anytime they stepped onto a playing suface they expected to win. That kind of attitude and confidense gives the '90 team a distinctive characteristic that not many teams have or had. Besides a 'winning attitude' and unbelievable work ethic, the group had a level of maturity that was and is very rare. Most of them were members of the National Honor Society, they excelled academically and a lot of the players really excelled in the other sports they participated in. Strickland was an all-league quarterback in football and led the team to an SEOAL title his senior year. The baseball aspect has been well documented already. Jon Reed was an exceptional golfer and was named the league MVP his senior year. Patterson was an All-State selection in soccer and also kicked for the football team.

• While the class of 1990 featured a unique set of attributes, this years Athens team has developed its own quality traits that led them to an impressive 19-1 record and the teams' first ever TVC-Ohio title on the hardwood. For starters, the 2010 team wasn't always the 'best team on the block' as they spent the previous few years taking their lumps while still a member of the SEOAL. Before joining the TVC-Ohio prior to the 2008-2009 school year, the Bulldogs suffered through some tumultuous seasons in basketball and endured numerous double-digit losses in the process. The seniors on this years team experienced what it felt like to get pounded by 20, 30 and sometimes 40 points by their opponent. The embarrassing set backs must have triggered something inside the group and motivated them to work extremly hard to get where they are. As opposed to the '90 team which seemed to already know what it took to be winners before they ever put on a varsity uniform, the 2010 team had to learn through tough experiences what needed to be done  in order to get-to-the-top of the mountain. Another factor that sort of sets the 2010 team apart from the one 20 years ago is the dedication to the sport by point guard Collin Pfaff and shooting guard Cori Butcher. The backcourt duo focus solely on hoops and made the decision not to play other sports so they could have more time to improve as players. Having a couple of so called 'Gym Rats' on your team is definitely a plus with basketball being a sport that requires a lot of time and effort for a player to truly raise his/her skill level. Butcher and Pfaff have done that and it has shown throughout the season on the court.

• Prediction: A match-up between the 1990 Athens Bulldogs and the 2010 team would definitly be one heck of a basketball game with loads of individual talent all over the court. Although predicting a real winner is pretty much impossible, if I personally had a vote I would have to give a slight edge to the 1990 team. They averaged almost 18 more points per game on offense competing in the SEOAL and even had a slightly tougher non-league schedule than this years group. Also, the team 20 years ago would for sure have a height advantage with 6-foot-5 Nate Schaller, 6-foot-4 Shad Patterson and 6-foot-3 Scott Decaminada starting in the front court. Both teams had outstanding guard play and the combination of Pfaff/Butcher from the 2010 team and Strickland/Reed for the 1990 team would most likely just cancel each other out. Head Coach Fred Gibson would probably utilize his size advantage on defense and run a 2-3 zone to try and contain 2010 scoring & rebounding machine Frank Valentour, which leaves one position and  player that not only caused match-up problems 20 years ago - but would also do the same in this fantasy contest. 6-foot-3 forward Scott Decaminada, who was 1990 SEOAL player of the year, could be the real difference maker and would most likely cause the 2010 team a lot of havoc inside the paint, off the dribble and from the outside. For those who never seen Scott D. play, he had the skill set of a Markie Tate (Belpre) - maybe not as quick but bigger. He had an inside game similar to Frank Valentour - but an inch shorter - and he could drive to the basket like Cori Butcher but finish with a dunk instead of a lay-up. Although Decaminada earned a full scholorship to pitch for Ohio University and spent four years on the mound for the Bobacts, he could have just as easilly went to any D-II school in Ohio or perhaps even a small D-1 college and played basketball. (EDGE - 1990 ... In the end I think the '90 team wins a close one, 64-60, over the 2010 group. But, I have been known to be wrong before and this years team could just as easilly beat that special team from 20 years ago by 10 or15 points - nobody will ever kow for sure.)

SCOTT DECAMINADA (42) GUARDING THE POST, WHILE JON REED (11) LOOKS ON.