CVII.7 - March 26, 2013

March 26, 2013

www.whhscbox.com

Walnut Hills High School

Charlie Hatch and Jonah Roth, Editors-in-Chief

Volume CVII, Issue 7A

Issue CVII.7A

EAGLES MAKE HISTORY

(KYLE CHASE/ CHATTERBOX)

The Eagles celebrate as they raise their Regional championship trophy after defeating La Salle. The season would pan out to be the most successful one in Walnut Hills history.

Austin Railey, ‘13

of excitement and community to our school" said SENIOR Nut House member Lauren Nurre.

83-36; That was the final score to the Eagles game which would raise brows to the potential this team had.

In the first four games, the Eagles would out score their opponents 293-162 including three conference match ups.

And then came Huntington Prep.

Coming into the Boyd County Classic as the third best team in the country number according to USA Today, Huntington Prep was Walnut’s first real dose of competition. With six D-I recruits, including the top player in the country Andrew Wiggins, Prep would be the best team the Eagles would face all year.

The Eagles would lose 61-54 but this game would be the last loss the team would experience for three months.

SENIOR Jordan Tyson said, "It's funny because I don't really look at the game [against] Huntington Prep as a loss, but more of a confidence booster for us that would help us the rest of the season."

The Eagles showed this confidence with a 23-game winning streak including wins over top ranked teams St. Xavier, Springboro, and Roselle Catholic, who at the time was the 35th ranked

team in the nation, according to <maxpreps.com>.

During their streak they won the Eastern Cincinnati Conference outright and had at least one player in each of the major statistical categories.

When asked how it felt to win league Sterling Gilmore said, "Great like one of our many goals had been achieved and accomplished."

But the history book had only begun to be written for the Walnut Hills Eagles.

Then came the ‘March Madness.’ Not the NCAA March Madness, but the OSHAA version.

In what became the talk of the town, the Eagles would advance all the way to the state semi finals winning a Sectional, District and Regional championship.

"I know how great of an accomplishment it is, but it hasn't set in yet of how big it actually is," says SENIOR Mike Jones.

The team would fall short of advancing to the state championship game but would end the season with a 27-2 record, an ECC title, a top three state ranking, a top 25 national ranking, seven ECC ‘All-Conference’ players, the AP ‘Player of the Year’ and ‘Coach of the Year’ and most importantly, a place in Walnut Hills history forever.

AUSTIN RAILEY/ CHATTERBOX SENIOR Sterling Gilmore poses for the camera before the first game of the season. Despite an ankle injury during the middle of the season, Gilmore was able to bounce back and play a significant role for the Eagles.

KYLE CHASE/CHATTERBOX Principal Jeff Brokamp holds up the latest piece of hardware by the Eagles.

“You always feel pressure in big games, it's all about just playing and getting over it,” said SENIOR Ricardo Hill several weeks before the start of the 2012-2013 Walnut Hills High School basketball season.

Little did he know the history that would ensue in his last season in an Eagle uniform.

Although expectations were high, some people were unsure how the season would unfold with a new head coach in Ricardo Hill Sr., and two new transfers; D.J. Wingfield from Lockland and Jordan Tyson from Columbus DeSales.

"We will have to be unselfish if we want to go far as a team," SENIOR Khari Burton said about the team’s adjustment to these changes.

Dec.1, 2012 would be the first time this new Walnut Hills team, would hit the hardwood together in their first game against Purcell Marian. The excitement around the team was very visible in the community. The first game sold out and turned away others outside.

Excited alumni, students and parents all packed the new gymnasium to see the Eagles in action and they would not disappoint.

"The first game of the year was surreal....This huge feeling

Walnut Hills High School

Historic season closes with one final hurrah Charlie Hatch, ‘13 In last Friday night’s Division I state semifinal, the Walnut Hills Eagles were left packing their bags early as they fell 58-51 to the ToledoRogers Rams at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena.

The 10,829 people that went to the venue watched a scrappy game from the opening tip, as both teams were never able to settle down and get back to their fundamentals. The Eagles finished the contest with 17 turnovers, while the Rams had 11.

For Rogers, senior guard Tony Kynard had an incredible evening as he put up 25 of his team’s 58 points and recorded six rebounds. His wing man in the back court, Clemmye Owens, finished with 10 points and five boards. Both guards will attend the Division I school BethuneCookman University next fall.

As for the Eagles, the team arguably had the best performance all year from SENIOR forward D.J. Wingfield, who finished with 20 points on 8-12 shooting, and nine rebounds in Friday’s contest. The big man Isaiah Johnson tallied 17 points, 11 boards and four blocks.

Adam Brown led the bench in scoring with four points shooting 100% from the floor to go along with his six rebounds. Khari Burton had four assists to go along with his two points.

The Rams went into halftime with a 29-28 lead over the Eagles, but looked outplayed in all dimensions of the game.

Ultimately when it came to crunch time, Walnut was unable to knock down free throws and gave up silly turnovers that the 16th ranked team nationally had not done all season long.

The match up marked the first time in Walnut Hills High School history that the team made an appearance at the ‘Final Four’ in Columbus, Ohio.

Friday’s loss snapped Walnut’s 23-game winning streak, ending the Eagles’ season with a final record of 27-2. Both the winning streak and the final record are also school records for the basketball program.

Rogers went on to lose 76-67 to Mentor the next night in the championship game. This was the second time in three seasons that the Rams made it to the semifinals.

Despite a bitter defeat that left many both on and off the court in tears, this Walnut Hills team has created more buzz than any other athletic team has in the school’s history. Last Friday night was no indication of how dominant the Eagles have been all year; it just happened to be an off night that made for a long ride home back to Cincinnati.

Some students in the Rogers section had on shirts that said, “We all we got.” Friday evening, they got the Eagles.

CHARLIE HATCH/ CHATTERBOX “We ready!” Junior Marquis Austin leads the team in their pregame ritual against Centerville. By the end of the season, even the Nut House inked arms to join in with the team.

Volume CVII.7A

FINAL FOUR

The Chatterbox

Statewide It takes a whole community to go to state honor for the Eagles Charlie Hatch, ‘13

Austin Carpenter, ‘13 On March 18th, the Eagles got the news that every basketball team wants to hear. SENIOR Isaiah ‘Big Dog’ Johnson was named ‘First Team All-Ohio’ and Coach Ricardo Hill was named Ohio ‘Coach of the Year’ by the Associated Press.

Along with ‘Big Dog’ and Coach Hill, SENIOR DJ Wingfield was a ‘State Honorable Mention Selection.’

“It was an honor making First Team All-State but it was short lived. It does not matter unless we as a team meet our goal,” says Johnson, “Walnut is finally getting some recognition.”

During the regular season, Johnson averaged 17.6 points a game including 15.6 points during postseason play while grabbing 9.6 rebounds a game.

Johnson, being the big man down low for the Eagles, was a vital role in Walnut’s run to Columbus.

“I have great teammates, I do not deserve all the [credit],” said Johnson. Yes, the big man gets his points and is a presence in the paint, but he is not the only factor.

“Coach Hill is the best coach in the state,” Johnson says. “He deserves the hype.”

First-year head coach, Ricardo Hill Sr., was named Division 1 Ohio ‘Coach of the Year’ after leading the Eagles to a 27-2 record, a conference championship, and the school’s first ever ‘Final Four’ appearance.

“It is very humbling to win this award. My coaching staff deserves it as much as I do,” says Hill.

In his first season as Walnut’s head coach, he is already writing his named in the stone. “I am the type of person who tries to be the best at what I do. During the first team meeting, we set the bar high and all the players bought in.”

SENIOR D.J. Wingfield was an All-State honorable mention selection. Wingfield averaged 17.1 points a game while grabbing 6.7 rebounds.

As a transfer from Lockland High School and Cincinnati Country Day School, Wingfield was looking to leave a mark at the school he attended for junior high. “[Wingfield] is a stud,” Hill says. “He works hard at everything he does and goes 110%.”

When asked about the winning the award, Wingfield responded by saying, “It feels great but not as good as it will when we win a state championship!”

Although the Eagles never had that opportunity, there is no doubt that the team couldn’t have made it this far without all three members of the basketball program.

We have witnessed greatness...

Last year I wrote an article saying, “If you could write a script to describe the best possible season for the boys basketball team, it would sound like this year.”

Little did I know that our basketball team would already make more buzz in the off-season than all of the 2011-2012 team.

Rumors circulated that <flyintothehoop.com> regarded Walnut Hills as the top team in the state last spring. On top of that, former head coach Rob Moman resigned, and the Eagles had a coaching vacancy.

To be honest, I was really upset with the hiring of Ricardo Hill Sr. If Walnut was supposed to have some incredible season, why did we hire an assistant to take the reins?

And to make me even more skeptical, the head coach was going to have his son on the team?

Was this going to be another textbook example of the dad that thinks their son is better than he really is?

Thankfully, I was wrong.

As a matter of fact, I became one of Coach Hill’s biggest supporters.

Every game he donned a suit, light blue shirt and gold tie, walking up and down the bench motivating his team, motivating the Nut House and letting everyone in the gym know his true emotions, all the while maintaining class.

Those are the characteristics of a great coach.

After the new hire, more hype surrounded the team as two new faces would have a spot on the roster. Another 6-foot-10 big man coming in from Columbus!? Then the homecoming of D.J. Wingfield!? Plus, a new state-of-the-art gym to start the season!?

The stars were aligned.

From opening tip against Pur-

the country in an atmosphere that undoubtedly favors the opponent, it’s hard to expect anything positive coming out of the game.

Instead, the loss put Walnut Hills on the map.

Following the game and for the rest of the year, the hottest team in Greater Cincinnati was at 3250 Victory Parkway. With the top spot on the Cincinnati Enquirer’s ‘Coaches Poll,’ the state’s number one ranking according to the Associated Press and a top twenty ranking in America through MaxPreps, Walnut was the team to beat.

In a conversation with the ‘Big Dog’ Isaiah Johnson, he told me that all of the pressure burdened on the team was starting to disappear. Sure the opponents wanted to crush Walnut’s Cinderella story, but the Eagles were hunting something else too, and he hinted at a spot in Columbus.

And they hunted, taking down 23 straight opponents before falling to Rogers at the ‘Final Four’ in Columbus.

KYLE CHASE/ CHATTERBOX Coach Ricardo Hill Sr. cuts down the net after a victory over La Salle at the Cintas Center. In his first season as head coach, Hill led the team to the ‘Final Four’ for the first time in Walnut history.

cell Marian it became obvious that this was going to become a season to remember.

For two years I’ve told my boss that Walnut could make state if we could reassemble the juggernaut that was our junior high hoops squad. On December 1, we did.

As the first couple of games rolled along, the Eagles barrelled over all of their opponents with ease. All of them, until they met up with Huntington Prep.

When your high school is playing perhaps the best team in

There is no easy way to sum up all of the amazing moments that took place over the course of the last four months.

Perhaps the best way to prove how great this team was, would be offer a quick history lesson.

In 2005-2006, the basketball program went 1-20. This past season, they finished 27-2. As the rapper Drake would say, “Started from the bottom now we’re here.”

Within the last couple of months I have talked with countless alumni ranging from last year’s graduates all the way back to the 1940s, and all of them are proud of this team.

The Eagles weren’t just winning for themselves, they were winning for the whole Walnut Hills community.

They were winning for the people who said that Walnut Hills was a place for bookworms who

HENRY SEVERDING/CHATTERBOX Isaiah ‘Big Dog’ Johnson cuts down his piece of the net at the Cintas Center following a win against La Salle.

Johnson made the AP ‘First Team All-State.’

Page 3

were never athletic.

And they were winning for Cincinnati Public Schools, who time and time again lose the cream of the crop athletes to the private school powerhouses.

This season will go down as the most exciting season in school history in any sport, because it brought the whole group together.

There was a sense of pride, whether you laced up on the hardwood or waved a gold pom-pom from the Nut House.

I know it sounds corny, but I’ve never been so proud to be an Eagle.

Last Friday night I looked up into the sea of gold behind the hoop at Value City Arena, and saw the most diverse crowd imaginable.

The Nut House was packed like sardines while around and about the student section the rest of the Walnut fans cheered just as loud. 11 buses went up to Columbus just to watch the team play, not including the hundreds of others that stayed in hotels throughout the capital city.

I think it’s fitting that the largest crowd the Nut House has had since its birth happened to be in the place where the original ‘Nut House’ was started. To make it even more special, the first student leader was there in awe the whole time.

There were more fans in attendance for the Walnut-Rogers game than for the actual championship match up the next night.

From tip off on December 1, we have all been there for one another, together as one.

All season long, we continued to shout “State for Stu,” and for the first time in school history, and hopefully not the last, we made it.

We have witnessed greatness...

SARAH WAGNER/ CHATTERBOX The Walnut Hill Athletic Department sold over 3000 tickets to Friday night’s game against Rogers. The Nut House packed the student section entirely.

A letter to the Nut House

Dear Nut House,

I just want to start off by simply saying thank you. Thank you for all the love and support you have given to the team and I over the years. You all are the best fans in the entire nation. Sticking with us through the good and the bad times means more to us than you will ever know. If it was not for you guys this season would not have been possible. You picked us up whenever we were lacking and gave us that extra push whenever we needed it. You are a huge part of all the success that this team and past teams have experienced. You guys were always there when we needed you, and even made a three hour car ride to see us play when you could have been doing something else. I know personally having all your support made me play so much harder. You guys don’t know what your loyalty and support did for this team this year. We would not of made it that far without you all coming out game after game showing everyone why you all are the best student section in America. Last year’s team, this year’s team and future teams will always owe any success that they will receive to The Nut House. You all have made these past six years the best years of my life. And for that I want to say thank you.

Yours truly, Isaiah Johnson

Walnut Hills High School

Volume CVII.7A

Photographs by Kyle Chase, Eric Haas, Charlie Hatch, Austin Railey and Henry Severding Design by Charlie Hatch, Joe Schmidlapp and Kate Warren