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Portsmouth has gone 5 straight years without a finish higher than 5th in the OVC. That streak ends this year, and I really believe the Trojans are going to make a dramatic turnaround from a season ago. So much so that PHS could be right there in the mix for the OVC title.

Anybody is who is familiar with how Joe Suboticki coached the Trojans from 1988-1991(a state title in 1988 and state runnerup in 1990) will see a familiar look employed by Coach Lisath. Defending the entire court, while pushing the ball relentlessly up the court.......all with a rotation of possibly 10 players. Creating turnovers, and scoring off those turnovers is something that Jeff wants to maximize.

A big milestone awaits Portsmouth basketball......4 wins needed for 1,500 all time (1,496-830). A 15-8 average record for nearly 100 years of basketball.

Which of these streaks will end this season?

1. Haven't won an OVC title since 2015
2. Haven't had a winning season since 2018 (16-8)
3. Haven't won a sectional title since 2017 (64 sectional titles all time)
4. Haven't won a district title since 2015 (37 district titles all time)
5. Haven't won a regional title since 2012 (15 regional titles all time)
6. Haven't won a Final 4 game since 2012 (defeated Ottawa-Glandorf 74-66 in D3 semifinal.....last SE school to win a Final 4 game)
7. Haven't won a state title since 1988 (defeated Chesterland West Geauga 54-47 in D2 final....4 state titles all time)
8. Haven't had a 20 PPG scorer since Kyre Allison in 2016 (21.5 PPG)
9. Have lost 10 in a row vs. Ironton (PHS leads series 92-76)
10. Have had 2 straight losing seasons at home in OVC play (both years 2-5)
11. Have lost to South Point 4 straight times (2 last season in OT) including 2 straight years in sectional play
12. Haven't had a 1,000 scorer since Matthew Fraulini (2020).....SR DeAndre Berry 320 points short of 1,000 going into this season

One streak that did end last season was a 16 game losing streak vs. Fairland. Portsmouth won at FHS 80-69 to snap that streak that dated back to 2016.

May not end all streaks but I have a feeling that quite a few of them are going to fall.

The history is on Coach Lisath's side to have a winning season. To date, Portsmouth has had 12 coaches who have had winning seasons in their very 1st year.

1926: Red Hopkins......13-4
1937: Paul Jenkins.......8-2 (season cut short by 1937 flood)
1941: Peg Ellcesser......16-5
1945: Paul Walker........12-11
1947: Bill Rohr............10-9
1952: George Heller.....14-8
1969: Bob Doll............13-9
1976: Dick Hopkins......12-8
1982: Tom Smith.........20-4
1988: Joe Suboticki.....27-1
2002: Rick Hopkins......15-8
2010: Eugene Collins....12-7

trojandave wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 10:50 am Which of these streaks will end this season?

1. Haven't won an OVC title since 2015
2. Haven't had a winning season since 2018 (16-8)
3. Haven't won a sectional title since 2017 (64 sectional titles all time)
4. Haven't won a district title since 2015 (37 district titles all time)
5. Haven't won a regional title since 2012 (15 regional titles all time)
6. Haven't won a Final 4 game since 2012 (defeated Ottawa-Glandorf 74-66 in D3 semifinal.....last SE school to win a Final 4 game)
7. Haven't won a state title since 1988 (defeated Chesterland West Geauga 54-47 in D2 final....4 state titles all time)
8. Haven't had a 20 PPG scorer since Kyre Allison in 2016 (21.5 PPG)
9. Have lost 10 in a row vs. Ironton (PHS leads series 92-76)
10. Have had 2 straight losing seasons at home in OVC play (both years 2-5)
11. Have lost to South Point 4 straight times (2 last season in OT) including 2 straight years in sectional play
12. Haven't had a 1,000 scorer since Matthew Fraulini (2020).....SR DeAndre Berry 320 points short of 1,000 going into this season

One streak that did end last season was a 16 game losing streak vs. Fairland. Portsmouth won at FHS 80-69 to snap that streak that dated back to 2016.

May not end all streaks but I have a feeling that quite a few of them are going to fall.

Didn't Sanderlin join the 1000 club last season?
1,2,9,10 and 11 will end this season.

I don't see a 20ppg scorer this season, but I do see about 4-5 that are capable of giving you 12-18 consistently which if I'm the coach I'd prefer 4-5 consistent scorers in place of a single high point man. Makes the opposing teams defense work when every player on the court at any given time is capable of putting his team on his back. Trojan tipoff is getting closer!

Jussmypinion: Kenny Sanderlin did score 1,015 points, but 2 of those years were at Wheelersburg. Matthew Fraulini and the other 10 players who scored 1,000 points (Phil Whitehead not listed on the banner in the gym....he scored 1,027 points) scored all of their points at PHS. Andrew Bendolph is in the same situation at Sanderlin in that he scored 1,000 points, but he played his junior year at Wheelersburg. I firmly believe that those 11 players who scored all 1,000+ points at PHS should be recognized in a separate category (Phil Whitehead is the 11th player that has scored at least 1,000 points.....he scored 1,027 points). The banner in the gym only lists 10 but Whitehead's name is not listed. I did the numbers for him and he did score 1,027 points. His name should be on that banner.

The banner in the gym lists only players who played their entire career at PHS.

I do think 3 and 4 are very possible, because PHS lost at South Point in the sectional final last season in OT, and SP made it to the regional final. The Trojans were very close to going to the regionals last season. The way Coach Lisath talks I wouldn't count out 5 either. Remember, it is the SE district and not the SW district that Coach Lisath had to deal with for 10 years at Dayton Northridge. He won 3 district titles at Northridge, and in the SW district, that's quite a feat.

2 weeks from today and the Jeff Lisath era will begin with the opening game vs. Lawrence County, KY at Trojan Arena. I'm hoping to see a packed gym for that 1st game. Let's show our support for a Trojan legend who is going to lead us to great things. A basketball revival!!

GO TROJANS!!

trojandave wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 11:37 am 2 weeks from today and the Jeff Lisath era will begin with the opening game vs. Lawrence County, KY at Trojan Arena. I'm hoping to see a packed gym for that 1st game. Let's show our support for a Trojan legend who is going to lead us to great things. A basketball revival!!

GO TROJANS!!

... YOU'VE got ME ready to get eyes on your Trojans trojandave!!! there has to be a "Trojan B-ball Revival!!!" merchandise out there already LOL ... I'm thinking you'll get that "packed house" a lot this season td!!! thanks as always for all of the great PHS hoops information ...

https://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/2 ... d-trojans/

trojandave with an assist here

A big thank you to Paul Boggs of the Daily Times for mentioning me in the article. I have talked with Paul on occasion, and he is a super good person. The article is well done and is a great read about Coach Lisath and the Trojans program.

One slight correction in the article on Eugene Collins record.......it's 201-130.

Portsmouth getting waxed by Webster tonight and Webster only has 4 players on defense 90% of time

Jeeps 4-1 varsity quarters (84-58 total)
JV Jeeps won one and tied one.

The Ghost of Swanker wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 6:48 pm Portsmouth getting waxed by Webster tonight and Webster only has 4 players on defense 90% of time

Can you really get waxed in a scrimmage though? I’m not saying it wasn’t one sided, SW should be really good, Portsmouth will be improved, but are about a month or so into the new system with a new coach.

Webster looked good and Portsmouth really struggled scoring, a totally different team then I seen against Ironton.

Portsmouth won first qtr 17 to 9 ,lost second qtr 12 to "2"
...the last two qtrs was all Webster by double figures,if their big boy would go back and play defense they would be a lot better.


Portsmouth has some work to do but after hearing coach Lisath I'm guessing practice this week won't be much fun.

Biggest problem I seen is we a relying on one kid to score when we have 3 or 4 that can shoot well,they have to step up .

biggdowgg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 8:04 pm Webster looked good and Portsmouth really struggled scoring, a totally different team then I seen against Ironton.

Portsmouth won first qtr 17 to 9 ,lost second qtr 12 to "2"
...the last two qtrs was all Webster by double figures,if their big boy would go back and play defense they would be a lot better.


Portsmouth has some work to do but after hearing coach Lisath I'm guessing practice this week won't be much fun.

Biggest problem I seen is we a relying on one kid to score when we have 3 or 4 that can shoot well,they have to step up .

Same dog no new tricks it looks like this season. Smh w

When I watched tonight SW had some of the same old same old with the one player bad body language lazy bad attitude nothing changed .
Portsmouth has a couple players that need to pass the ball and stop forcing bad shots.

I'm not overly concerned about our team at this point, we will get better as the season progresses. In the same breath, I was highly agitated about some of the things I saw at both ends of the floor, which will be addressed and handled this week in practice. I thought the first quarter we played together on both ends and the rest we got individualized which I addressed in my post-scrimmage talk with the team. A couple of things I have to keep in mind are 1. New Coach, New System and we are not even close to knowing or mastering our offense (but we will) 2. Defensively we struggled with help-side defense and gave up too many layups. (Most of SW scoring came from Eli Roberts who basically had his way). 3. Bad habits are hard to break but will be broken, which includes bad body language and attitudes which were more out of frustration. 4. We've had a tough stretch with kids being sick, and injured, family vacations and our football kids being late arrivals due to a playoff victory (which was totally awesome). Time will tell, but I believe we will have a good basketball team this season. 5. Things we lack, will certainly be improved upon sooner than later. I'm excited about our growth and development as we move forward. We are 0-0....Let's Go!!!!!

Jeff Lisath wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 10:41 am I'm not overly concerned about our team at this point, we will get better as the season progresses. In the same breath, I was highly agitated about some of the things I saw at both ends of the floor, which will be addressed and handled this week in practice. I thought the first quarter we played together on both ends and the rest we got individualized which I addressed in my post-scrimmage talk with the team. A couple of things I have to keep in mind are 1. New Coach, New System and we are not even close to knowing or mastering our offense (but we will) 2. Defensively we struggled with help-side defense and gave up too many layups. (Most of SW scoring came from Eli Roberts who basically had his way). 3. Bad habits are hard to break but will be broken, which includes bad body language and attitudes which were more out of frustration. 4. We've had a tough stretch with kids being sick, and injured, family vacations and our football kids being late arrivals due to a playoff victory (which was totally awesome). Time will tell, but I believe we will have a good basketball team this season. 5. Things we lack, will certainly be improved upon sooner than later. I'm excited about our growth and development as we move forward. We are 0-0....Let's Go!!!!!

Good post coach, cool to see you still on here chopping it up with us internet guys. Looking forward to the opener on the 5th. Go Trojans!

Excellent post Coach, Bad body language says a lot about a team,especially watching from the stands and attitude means everything to be Coachable! Let’s Go Trojans! Remember that the Convo used to be the Trojans Home away from Home. Hope the Trojans can have there names on Richland Ave (Ohio University’s sign next Convo onRichland Ave) come March when the regionals are played. Portsmouth Trojans name on that sign during districts and regionals, you would thought you were in Portsmouth. Let’s Go!, Love it!

Make no bones about it South Webster will continue to improve while learning a new system with a new coach. SW basketball got a little late start as well with the soccer team having the success they had this year ( Regional Finals).
Some things ( attitude & effort) need to improve but South Webster should have a very successful season and make a deep tourny run.

Jeff Lisath wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 10:41 am I'm not overly concerned about our team at this point, we will get better as the season progresses. In the same breath, I was highly agitated about some of the things I saw at both ends of the floor, which will be addressed and handled this week in practice. I thought the first quarter we played together on both ends and the rest we got individualized which I addressed in my post-scrimmage talk with the team. A couple of things I have to keep in mind are 1. New Coach, New System and we are not even close to knowing or mastering our offense (but we will) 2. Defensively we struggled with help-side defense and gave up too many layups. (Most of SW scoring came from Eli Roberts who basically had his way). 3. Bad habits are hard to break but will be broken, which includes bad body language and attitudes which were more out of frustration. 4. We've had a tough stretch with kids being sick, and injured, family vacations and our football kids being late arrivals due to a playoff victory (which was totally awesome). Time will tell, but I believe we will have a good basketball team this season. 5. Things we lack, will certainly be improved upon sooner than later. I'm excited about our growth and development as we move forward. We are 0-0....Let's Go!!!!!

Welcome back Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line Coach Lisath … pfloyd is looking forward to seeing this years edition of the Trojans … scrimmages are for learning - making mistakes , correcting mistakes - as a teacher you are always looking for “teachable moments” scrimmages are full of teachable moments … best of luck this season Coach …