New faces dot Dover's starting lineup. Can they secure a 33rd straight winning season?
DOVER — The words “storied tradition” and “Dover basketball” go hand in hand.
The Crimson Tornadoes boys’ basketball team, under legendary head coach Bob Von Kaenel, is coming off a 20-3 campaign from a year ago. Dover is looking to continue its winning ways at the highest level this season, but with four new starters in the lineup.
Dover begins the 2023-2024 campaign as the ninth winningest program in Ohio high school boys’ basketball history with 1,509 wins. That includes an incredible 32 consecutive winning seasons — all under Von Kaenel — who is beginning his 33rd season as head coach. The Ohio Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame inductee has 721 coaching wins (starting at Tusky Valley and later at Dover), which is fifth-best all-time in the Buckeye State.
“We’re the only school (in Ohio) that’s in the top 10 in wins in football, basketball and baseball,” Von Kaenel said.
The 2023-2024 Tornadoes offer an interesting mix of youth and experience. On one hand, Dover has six letter-winners, but on the other hand, the team returns just one starter — 5-foot-10 senior Carter Grove — from last season.
More: Dover girls keep it interesting until final buzzer vs. Carrollton
Dover’s six numeral-winners — all seniors — include Grove, 6-4 Zane Conner, 6-4 Tommy Coletti, 6-0 J.J. Barton, 6-6 Jacob Hanner and 6-3 Trey Ridgeway.
Grove is the leading scorer returning on the team after averaging just under 10 points-per-game last season.
“Carter is definitely the leader for us,” said Von Kaenel. “But Tommy Coletti has had a great summer and grew from 5-11 to 6-4. He plays on the perimeter, and he’s really a talented kid. His best basketball is all ahead of him. The other guys, from Jacob Hanner to Tommy Coletti, probably played the most minutes off the bench of the guys returning, along with Trey Ridgeway, J.J. Barton and Zane Conner.”
Non-letter-winners vying for playing time and/or starting spots include all juniors in 5-11 Xavier Mathias, 5-10 Nathan Leggett, 6-1 Mason Grewell, 6-2 Colin Bruno and 6-4 Jack McKinnon.
Von Kaenel’s coaching philosophy, one that has worked to perfection, remains the same at Dover.
“We’ve never run, we slow it down,” said the Dover mentor. “Usually there’s somebody bigger, faster and stronger than us, especially with who we’re playing, so we have to take care of the ball, be deliberate and get the good shot each trip down the floor. If it takes 15 seconds or a minute and 15 seconds, we want to work to get that shot.”
Being a Division I independent, Dover will play nine new opponents on its schedule this winter. Among those schools are Canton McKinley, Dalton, New Albany, Columbus Bishop Hartley, Cuyahoga Falls, Akron North, Tusky Valley as well as some OVAC tournament opponents. The Tornadoes play arch-rival New Philadelphia on Dec. 19 on the road and Feb. 13 at home.
“(New Philadelphia) is the only team we play twice,” said Von Kaenel of the rivalry with the Quakers, one of the oldest in Ohio. “Everybody else is one time.
“It’s hard to say how we’re going to do, because of the schedule change,” he said. “We have nine new opponents that we didn’t play last year. Being an independent right now, it’s tough to fill a schedule. We’re not a real attractive non-league opponent for teams (because of its strong winning tradition). The OVAC tournament is what we really have to play for.”
The Dover coach provided an example of what it’s like not being in a league.
“We open with Akron Ellet and the following week we play at Wooster on Tuesday, Hiland at home on Friday and Canton McKinley away on Saturday,” said Von Kaenel. “We’re just trying to get games. We also play New Albany, which is supposed to be the best team in Columbus this year, and Linsly who rumor has it has two seven-footers.
Those are some challenges, and we play Hartley down in the Mount Vernon (tournament) and Cuyahoga Falls up at Hoover in their classic and we have our own two-game Holiday (tourney). To get games, that’s pretty much what we’ve got to do. We play a lot of those neutral site games, and hope they’ll take us again next year.”
Von Kaenel is hoping Dover eventually finds a league to join.
Mount Vernon is leaving the Ohio Cardinal Conference for the Licking County League after the 2023-24 season, which would create an opening for a new OCC member. Although nothing is official, Dover, a former Ohio Cardinal Conference member, would be the most logical choice for that future opening.
Von Kaenel would welcome it.
“This would give us something to play for,” he said.“I know there’s concern with them (OCC members) driving down 250 to us, but the road runs both ways — we have to drive up a lot more times then they have to drive down here.”
Von Kaenel said it’s also a challenge being one of the smallest schools in Division I boys’ basketball in Ohio.
“We’ve been D1 now, this will be the ninth year, and all nine years we were either the smallest school or one (of the smallest in the state),” he said of competing in the D1 tournament against schools with enrollments much larger than Dover.
The Tornadoes’ assistant coaching staff includes veterans in Scott Doak and Matt Von Kaenel.
The Tornadoes tip off the season Friday night, Dec. 1 when they host the Akron Ellet Orangemen.
“Our first goal is to get to 12 (wins to keep the consecutive winning season streak going) and that’s a challenge this year (with the rugged schedule), but that’s part of our history that we’re proud of,” Von Kaenel said.
2023-2024 Dover boys' basketball schedule
Dec. 1 Akron Ellet
Dec. 5 at Wooster
Dec. 8 Hiland
Dec. 9 at Canton McKinley
Dec. 15 Zanesville
Dec. 19 at New Philadelphia
Dec. 22 vs. Columbus Bishop Hartley (at Mt. Vernon Nazarene Invit.)
Dec. 27 Dalton (Dover Holiday Classic)
Dec. 28 Lake (Dover Holiday Classic)
Jan 4 Linsly Prep (WV)
Jan. 6 at New Albany
Jan. 13 vs. Cuyahoga Falls (at 21st Hoover Hoops MLK Classic)
Jan. 16 Alliance
Jan. 19 University School
Jan. 23 at Perry
Jan. 26 at Parkersburg South
Jan. 30 Akron North
Feb. 2 at Steubenville
Feb. 6 at OVAC Tournament (Game 1, TBD)
Feb. 9 at OVAC Tournament (Game 2, TBD)
Feb. 13 New Philadelphia
Feb. 16 at Tusky Valley
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Dover boys basketball will have four new starters in lineup in 2023-24
