NORWALK, Ohio — One change to St. Ignatius’ lineup from its first loss to St. Edward and two victories since then is the role of freshman point guard C.J. Little.
He came off the bench the first time they played at St. Edward in January. Shortly after, St. Ignatius coach Cam Joyce inserted him into the starting lineup and moved junior guard Jon Effertz off the ball.
At 6-foot-1 and still 14 years old (Little said his birthday is in June), the freshman does not try to play beyond his years. He just happens to do it at times by not letting the big stage faze him.
“He’s growing up before our eyes,” Joyce said. “He’s going to be a really, really special player.”
Joyce pulled his youngest player to the side early in the Wildcats’ 55-54 regional semifinal win against St. Edward after a turnover. He reminded Little what he doesn’t have to do: push the issue with a third-year guard in Effertz by his side and a slew of 6-7 — and bigger — forwards in front of him.
Little didn’t force plays last week in St. Ignatius’ 56-52 district final victory against Lorain, and he settled down against their rival Eagles (15-5) in the Division I regionals, scoring five of his six points in the fourth quarter with a vital three-point play at the hoop. He also hit all three of his free throws down the stretch and had four assists.
Included in those assists was an alley-oop in the second quarter to senior forward Henry Raynor.
“I have to grow up for sure,” Little said “because I’m the point guard and the point guard has to keep the whole team in check. It’s hard, but the seniors help me out. The team helps me out.”
Both Little and Effertz took turns at the point in practice since the start of the season, but the change came after a four-game losing streak.
With the move, the Wildcats (17-6) won nine streak games until the final weekend of the regular season.
“It worked out more because he can shoot better than me,” Little said of Effertz.
Both still take turns initiating the offense.
Both will inbound the basketball, too, a role reserved on most teams for the point guard. Little, though, had the ball in his hands for the game’s most important inbound pass Wednesday night with 14.8 seconds left.
He passed to Raynor, but with the help of Effertz drawing the defense away from the post so the go-ahead basket could happen. Raynor benefitted a few times from Little’s passing.
“He’s so fast, he draws so many guys,” Raynor said. “He’s a great finisher. That and-one was huge down the stretch, the pass, the ‘oop. He does so many great things, and I’m excited to watch him grow up over the next few years.”
See Little’s contribution to the Wildcats’ down-to-the-wire win in the video above. Additionally, here are four more points from the OHSAA boys basketball tournament.
1. Why Norwalk?
Neither St. Ignatius nor St. Edward asked to have their regional semifinal moved closer to Cleveland, despite Lima Senior and Toledo St. John’s Jesuit initially moving their game.
Getting comfortable with Norwalk appealed to St. Ignatius coach Cam Joyce, whose team plays Lima Senior on Saturday.
“We felt like it’s a bigger gym,” Joyce said. “We can fit more people here, and if you win, you’ll have already played in the gym. Why switch it when we can stay here? We’re going to have win on Saturday anyway.”
The OHSAA selected Norwalk as a neutral-site replacement for its Akron/Toledo regional, which traditionally rotates between universities in those two cities. Toledo was scheduled to host last year’s regional final, favoring the farther west schools, and this year was supposed to be Akron’s turn.
By playing Wednesday in Norwalk, St. Ignatius maintained the advantage of familiarity it would have enjoyed with the University of Akron.
The drive to Norwalk is only 15 more miles than Akron.
It’s still 50 miles shorter than the trip that will be made Saturday by Lima Senior, which advanced after Toledo St. John’s withdrew for contact tracing.
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2. Greater Cleveland regional championship
Mentor swept through the Greater Cleveland Conference this season, but it must go through Medina a third time to reach the state final four.
Luke Chicone thought his team had a chance last year, when he scored 39 points in a 76-72 double overtime win against the Bees in the regional semifinals at Cleveland State. They meet a round later this year at Twinsburg, which will host the regional final Saturday at 2 p.m.
Mentor (24-0) beat Medina (18-6) twice this year, including a 76-65 road victory in the Cardinals’ second game of the season and a 76-70 home win last month.
No team has come closer to beating them since that Feb. 4 meeting in Mentor. Massillon Jackson came close Wednesday, but fell, 60-53, as Chicone scored 23 points and hit 11-of-13 free throws.
“We have one thing going for us and it is Luke Chicone,” coach Bob Krizancic said after the game. “Even if he is not scoring, most of the pressure is on Luke Chicone so that makes it better for everybody else.”
Corey Tripp is just as vital to Medina, and the 6-3 senior guard scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter of a 54-43 win earlier in the day against North Canton Hoover.
“He is unbelievable the way he can push the tempo in a game,” Medina coach Chris Hassinger said. “They put three guys on him at times in transition and he splits and dices. He is a pretty phenomenal.”
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3. Elite eight nearly set in Division I
All three area teams in Division I that entered the regional semifinals will play Saturday for a chance to reach Dayton and the state semifinals, which will be Saturday, March 20.
The Central regionals, which include Gahanna Lincoln (21-2) vs. Olentangy Liberty (20-5) and Westerville Central (20-2) vs. Hilliard Bradley (18-4), are scheduled for Thursday at Westerville South High School. The OHSAA announced Tuesday it moved the games from Ohio Dominican University to accommodate more fans. The winners of those games will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday in Columbus. Here are the other three matchups on the OHSAA Division I bracket.
⦁ Medina (18-6) vs. Mentor (24-0), 2 p.m. at Twinsburg
⦁ Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (20-4) vs. Centerville (23-3), 7:30 p.m. at Princeton in Cincinnati
⦁ St. Ignatius (17-6) vs. Lima Senior (19-4), 2 p.m. at Norwalk
4. Division II trio take the court Thursday
The favorite, the upstart and the comeback.
That’s St. Vincent-St. Mary, Gilmour and Buchtel.
Those three teams take the court Thursday in the Division II regional semifinals, starting with STVM (21-2) vs. undefeated Struthers (25-0) at Barberton High School. The Fighting Irish are the state’s No. 1-ranked team, making them the favorite.
Gilmour (10-9), which follows at Barberton against Youngstown Chaney (12-6), is the upstart program with a freshman, sophomore and junior in its starting lineup and an upset that shook Division II in the district semifinals. The Lancers, who beat Warrensville Heights a week ago on the road, play a Chaney program in its third year back since Youngstown axed sports teams at that school.
The comeback is Buchtel (17-4), which looks for a return to the state final four with junior guard Chris Livingston, against Toledo Central Catholic (7-11) in Elida.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com).
The Link LonkMarch 11, 2021 at 05:38PM
https://www.cleveland.com/highschoolsports/2021/03/st-ignatius-freshman-cj-little-growing-up-before-our-eyes-key-points-from-the-ohsaa-boys-basketball-tournament.html
St. Ignatius freshman C.J. Little ‘growing up before our eyes:’ Key points from the OHSAA boys basketball tou - cleveland.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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