Quaker boys focus on raising the standard of New Philadelphia basketball
NEW PHILADELPHIA — Coming off an 18-win season that included winning the Ohio Cardinal Conference co-championship, New Philadelphia’s boys’ basketball team will be looking to build off that success with a mix of veterans and youth this season.
The Quakers enter their second year under head coach Zach Ross after going 18-6 last winter, while sharing the ultra-competitive OCC crown with Lexington and advancing to the Division II district semifinals.
After losing three talented seniors to graduation, including 6-foot-5 All-Ohio performer Carter Vandall (Mount Union) and 6-5 All-District selection Michael Vickers, Ross is being patient with some new players filling starting roles.
“I think really just the goal for us is to try to live to our standard and raise the standard,” Ross said. “Obviously, it’s a results-based world, and I think too often if you’re looking at that, you’re not focusing on the things at hand. We’ve just been preaching a growth mindset with our guys. We feel like if we live to our standard, the standard of New Philly basketball, at the end of the year, we’re going to look back and say it’s a good year.”
The Quakers were originally scheduled to open the 2023-2024 campaign Tuesday, Dec. 5 hosting Steubenville, but that game (due to Big Red’s deep run in the football playoffs, which ended last week) has been moved to later in the season. New Philadelphia will now open the campaign Friday, Dec. 8 in an OCC game at Mount Vernon.
Three returning letter-winners will lead New Philadelphia this season: 6-2 senior shooting guard Colton Slaughter (11 ppg. last season), senior point guard Owen Miller and 6-6 senior Owen Schoelles, who will play a key role in the paint.
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The New Philly coach said his probable starting lineup will include Slaughter, Miller, Schoelles, 6-5 junior Boston Crowell and junior guard Carson Crandall. Quinn Miller and Vince Migoni will play key roles in the rotation as well.
“Obviously, losing three seniors as special as last year’s group, even though we have three lettermen back, they’re in totally different roles right now,” said Ross. “They have gone from being role players to kind of being the guy, now that Mike (Vickers) and Carter (Vandall) are gone.”
Ross likes what he’s seen from the Quakers in practices and in their scrimmages.
“We’re continuing to grow together as a team,” he said. “We’ve had three scrimmages thus far and there’s been growth in all of them, which is what you want. As long as our guys keep buying into that mentality of making it about other people and being a great teammate, I think that’s going to be the key for us, and I think we’re on our way there.”
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Ross, who was the head coach at Jonathan Alder prior to taking the Quakers’ head coaching post a year ago, is hoping to build depth and increase the number of players in his varsity rotation as the season progresses.
“We’re still figuring out lineups,” he said. “I think it’s going to take some time for us all to click. We’ve got some football guys and obviously everybody’s on different pages as far as conditioning goes and how that all works. We’re looking for more depth — we like our sophomore group and that’s kind of been the nice thing right now. We’re looking to play more people, we don’t want to play just six — that was hard to do last year.”
The Quakers posted a 12-2 league record in the ultra-competitive OCC last season and Ross says the league is loaded with strong teams again.
“It’s a very good basketball league,” he said. “Last year, everybody graduated some seniors, but everybody played freshmen on the varsity, too. Lexington and Mansfield Senior are going to be very good; they return everybody. Madison Comprehensive’s best player transferred (to Lexington), and he’s a dynamic player, so they’re going to be very, very talented.”
The Quakers’ non-league schedule includes games against Steubenville, John Glenn, Zanesville, Indian Valley, the Academy of Urban Scholars out of Youngstown, and of course, arch-rival Dover on Dec. 19 at home and Feb. 13 on the Crimson Tornadoes’ hardwood. New Philadelphia will also be in the Claymont Midseason Showcase slated Jan. 14.
The Quakers’ coaching staff includes varsity assistants Kyle Sundheimer and Andy Slaughter, volunteer assistant Noah Begue, JV coach Chris Miller, freshmen coaches Denny Trimmer and Lucas Ross, eighth-grade coach Doug Ross, seventh-grade coach Doug Evans and middle school coach Michael Ross.
Zach Ross can’t wait to see how the season unfolds for the Quakers this winter.
“We’re looking forward to it, I think it’s going to be a unique year for us, as everybody fills a role, but we’re excited,” he said.
2023-2024 New Philadelphia boys' basketball schedule
Dec. 8 at Mount Vernon
Dec. 12 at West Holmes
Dec. 15 Ashland
Dec. 19 Dover
Dec. 22 at Mansfield Madison
Dec. 29 Lexington
Jan. 2 at John Glenn
Jan. 5 Mansfield Senior
Jan. 6 Zanesville
Jan. 9 at Wooster
Jan. 12 Mount Vernon
Jan. 14 at Claymont Midseason Showcase
Jan. 16 at Indian Valley
Jan. 19 West Holmes
Jan. 23 at Ashland
Jan. 26 Mansfield Madison
Jan. 30 Academy of Urban Scholars
Feb. 2 at Lexington
Feb. 7 Steubenville
Feb. 9 at Mansfield Senior
Feb. 13 at Dover
Feb. 16 Wooster
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: New Philadelphia basketball season preview 2023-24
