St. Paul faces tested Warren JFK

At this point, preparation goes only so far. The St. Paul boys basketball team will face a Warren John F. Kennedy team that played for a regional championship last season in Division IV. The Eagles brought back an All-Ohio second team selection and were primed for another run with the OHSAA expanding the state tournament to seven divisions. The Flyers (20-5) and Eagles (16-9) will play in a Division VII regional semifinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Barberton High School. According to MaxPreps, JFK is the No. 16-ranked team in Div. VII, while the Flyers check in at No. 25. The first game Tuesday features No. 7 Willoughby Cornerstone Christian (18-8) against No. 15 Hillsdale (19-6) at 6 p.m. The two winners return to Barberton at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional championship game. As far as game prep goes, it's a good thing the Flyers faced standouts such as Margaretta's Julian Washington, Mapleton's Scotty Hickey and Crestview's Justice Thompson, to name a few. The Eagles are led by 6-foot-3 star forward Nick Ryan. He averages 26.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. He is shooting 69 percent on two-pointers and 30 percent on three-pointers. Also a soccer standout — he was All-Ohio first team in the sport in November — Ryan recently made school history for a second time. Already the all-time points leader on the boys side, Ryan scored 20 points in his team's 72-47 district title win over Bristol. He enters Tuesday's game with 1,887 career points, making him the all-time leader for boys or girls at JFK. "Just an outstanding player," St. Paul coach Steve Minor said of Ryan. He's like a slightly more built Thompson from Crestview, who then can go on the block, where he often gets doubled and he finds an open teammate. "He reminds me of a combination of Judah Keller (Margaretta) and Justice Thompson. He's the real deal." But Ryan also has plenty of help. Junior guard Henry Phillips (5-10) led the Eagles with 25 points in the win over Bristol. He averages 12.6 points per game. "Nick Ryan is one of the best players we will see, but with Phillips, those two are about 65 percent of their offense," Minor said. JFK is averaging 62.7 points and allowing 54 per game, though some of those numbers are skewed by lopsided losses while playing a very challenging schedule. Among their nine losses, five teams are also still playing this week, including New Castle, Pa. (21-4), Canfield (21-4), Akron Hoban (20-5), Canton Central Catholic (18-6) and Rocky River Lutheran West (17-6). In the win over Bristol, JFK made eight 3-pointers and finished 20-of-26 at the foul line, turning a 30-24 halftime lead into a 25-point win. "They may come out and pressure us, and we will need to handle it," Minor said. "We won't try and rush and hurry, but the kids are confident in our half-court and how we defend it. JFK likes to run, but if they are in the half-court, they will be patient, too." For St. Paul, senior Nolan McCall averages 12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. Sophomore Grant Kuhnle averages 11.8 points and 3.6 rebounds, and has made a program record 60 three-pointers this season. Senior Korey Frazee adds 9.5 points and 2.5 rebounds, and junior Landon Fries adds 9.4 points per contest. Senior Brock Houck (6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds) and junior Brady Fritz (4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds) are other key rotation starters and players. Minor said his team is embracing not only the first regional game for the program in 27 years, but the quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday. St. Paul recently won five games in 10 days to end the regular season as part of its current 14-game winning streak. "We had a nice film session and got some shots up Sunday, then Monday is full-go and it's time to play again Tuesday," he said. "The kids did a great job. We try not to bombard them all through the year with film work."