'He's the guy': Jonathan Stangl an imposing presence for Central Catholic boys basketball
PERRY TWP. — Jonathan Stangl is an imposing figure on basketball courts, too.
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound junior certainly made his presence known in Central Catholic's biggest game of the season on Friday.
Stangl scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds to help the Crusaders beat rival St. Thomas Aquinas 68-37. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say his best games are yet to come.
First, let's clear up one thing.
Football is going to be a big part of Stangl's long-term future. He was a second team All-Ohio offensive tackle for Central in 2023. He already has NCAA Division I offers from Kent State and Ball State.
Stangl says the opportunity to make an impact as a varsity basketball player is a "surreal experience."
"Just playing with this group of guys, I played with a few of them my freshman year on JV, and it has just become a family," Stangl said. "It's a great time out there playing with them."
Stangl hoped to be a part of head coach Matt Creamer's varsity rotation his sophomore season. A broken ankle suffered in Central's final football game kept him out until January.
"He dressed varsity and would play minimal minutes in a blowout," Creamer said.
There were no setbacks this season. In addition to his career high against Aquinas, Stangl scored 11 points in a win over Perry on Dec. 15 and 10 points in a loss at Ottawa-Glandorf on Wednesday.
"He's the guy now," Creamer said. "He didn't start the first couple of games because he was getting out of football and getting in basketball shape.
"He's doing some good things. He's getting better every week and getting stronger. When he scores in double digits, we're playing pretty well."
Stangl was at least five inches taller than any player the Knights had on the floor. That gave the Crusaders a dominant presence in the post offensively and defensively.
All 13 of Stangl's points came in the first three quarters. His final basket was a putback just before the third-quarter buzzer that gave Central a 53-26 lead.
"He's dominant in the paint," Creamer said. "He alters shots, he blocks shots, he rebounds and he scores inside."
As a football player, Stangl calls each snap "a six-second battle." Basketball is a non-stop battle. He hopes to shed some pounds to help build his endurance, but maintain a certain weight to prepare for football.
"I love playing basketball," Stangl said. "I'm going to keep playing it because it's really helping me with my future."
Luke Vlacovsky also scored 13 points for the Crusaders, who improved to 5-3. Easton Miller added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
For Stangl, scoring a career high in a dominant win over a rival added up to a perfect night.
"I couldn't think of a better way for it to go," Stangl said. "Everything was clicking. We were able to move the ball well inside and out.
"It was a complete team win."
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jonathan Stangl has career night in Central Catholic basketball win
