Trees are stripped bare of their leaves and a chill emerges in the air, and in Cincinnati, that can only mean one thing. Winter has arrived. And with the arrival of winter comes the resurgence of basketball season in the 513. Cincinnati has long been a city of basketball prowess, producing Division 1 college basketball talent year after year. Within this pool of basketball talent stands Loveland High School, looking to make history with a league title this season.
Loveland comes off a 10-13 season last year, a somewhat disappointing campaign by the Tigers’ standards. Injuries plagued the Tigers last season and with the loss of six graduating seniors, the Tigers had a lot of ground to make up if they wanted a shot at an ECC title in ‘24. However, the offseason was very good for the Tigers, as they gained two transfers from Archbishop Moeller High School with Carson Brown (12) and Chase Martin (10). Brown is a shifty and quick guard with a swift handle, while Martin is an athletic slasher with a smooth jumper.
The new additions, along with the seniors in this program, have been a big reason for the culture change over the off-season. “This strong bond we have built over the offseason is especially credited to the leadership we have tried to provide as seniors,” says Jack Sauer (12). “These new guys bring an energy to this team that wasn’t present last year.” Ben Hicks (12) agrees, stating, “As a group of seniors, our number goal wasn’t to improve anything on the court. It was to improve the culture off the court and in the locker room. This off-the-court culture and togetherness that we have seen develop this offseason can hopefully allow us to win a lot of games this year.”
This winning culture is a big part of why the Tigers believe they can win the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. The ECC is wide open, with the departure of key seniors on nearly every team in the conference. Winton Woods is the favorite as of now, led by Cincinnati commit Tyler McKinley. Kings is also a team that could pose a threat to the Tigers, returning nearly all of their scoring production from last season.
However, before the Tigers can worry about Kings or Winton Woods, they need to focus on rival Milford in their season opener. The Eagles sit in a similar boat to the Tigers, uncertain about their future, yet knowledgeable about the amount of talent on their roster. The Eagles have had the Tigers’ number over the past couple of seasons, winning seven straight season series against Loveland, one of the many reasons why this is such a huge season opener. “Opening the season with a conference game sets the tone for the rest of the year, especially since we are playing our biggest rival,” Andrew Breese (12) states. Hicks agrees, saying, “If you want to win a league championship, every night is a test and you can’t take any night off, especially against a rival like that.” With a talented group of seniors and depth and versatility at every position on the roster, will this Tigers team be the one to make history? We will find out, starting December 1st at 7:30 pm.