Division III Boys Basketball State Tournament Preview: Fresh faces making the trip to Columbus

The 87th Annual State Boys Basketball Tournament welcomes some fresh faces in Division III this season.

Two teams are making their first trip to Columbus and the other two are only making their second.

All are aiming to raise the state championship trophy for the first time in the respective history of their schools.

Dayton’s Crusaders

Dayton Christian made the state tournament one other time in 1997 but the Warriors are headed back to Columbus under first-year head coach Chip James.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity,” James said. “We’ve got eight seniors that have dreamed about this since they were little kids. They remember when that team went to state in 1997.

“They couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity.”

When DC Has The Ball

Dayton Christian finished a respectable 14-7 last year but James has amped up the unranked Warriors (22-4) to get them into the state tournament with stout defense allowing 47.1 points per game.

“The number one thing I try to do as a coach is to try and get these kids to understand that if you play defense and if you’re tough you can play with anybody on any night no matter what,” the 27 year-old coach said.

“The backbone of our defense is man-to-man but we feel we can use some of our athleticism to get up in the full court and play people in the full court.”

Guard Aaron Deister a four-year starter and is the second all-time leading scorer for DC averaging 13.7 points per game this season. He is also the team leader in assists, steals and free throws.

Guard Nathan Serenius is good for 12 points per game and is the Warriors best defender, according to James.

In the paint, 6-foot-6 senior forward Kenny Florkey contributes 8.5 points per game and 6-foot-7 senior forward Aaron Bryant chips in 5.7.

Rounding out the starters, senior wing Casey Weber leads the team in three-point percentage scoring 7.1 points per game this season.

The Shot Heard ‘Round The World

Recognize Weber’s name?

If so, you probably saw him on YouTube, ESPN or any given national news outlet earlier this month as he became an instant sensation.

In the 63-46 sectional finals win over Arcanum March 6 at the  University of Dayton, Weber sunk a 90-foot shot at the third quarter buzzer.

ESPN caught wind of the amazing shot and came out to DC for a practice to film a feature on Casey and his shot.

“When ESPN called and wanted to send a crew out the day before the district final game, which was the biggest game I had ever coached in and the biggest game these guys had ever played in, my initial thought was it was too much of a distraction,” James said.

“At the same time, it’s a once in a lifetime thing for (Weber) and our team so we decided to go ahead and do it. I was thinking to myself that we have eight seniors and they’ve got to be mature enough to handle this.”

And James’ senior didn’t let him down.

“Even though there were cameras and lights and microphones everywhere, we really focused in and had a great practice that day and all week with all the hoopla,” he said.

“The thing I was most surprised about was our maturity and ability to take that in stride and continue to work hard.”

For good measure, here is another look at Casey’s amazing shot: