CVII, No. 5 - My High School Journalism, The world's largest host ...

SPORTS
Austin Railey, Editor
Coach brings success to Walnut
Austin Carpenter ‘13
Five months ago, the Walnut
Hills men’s basketball program was
at a standstill after the announcement
of the firing of former Coach
Robert Moman. The program
had to go through part of the
off-season without a head Varsity
basketball coach. As athletic director
Tom Donnelly, assistant athletic
director Joshua Hardin and
principal Jeffrey Brokamp began to
interview candidates for the spot,
an unthought-of character came
into the picture.
“I have been playing basketball
since I was ten years old, and I
began coaching ten years ago,” says
Ricardo Hill, current head coach
for the Walnut Varsity basketball
team.
Born and raised in the Cincinnati
area, coach Hill attended
CAPE High School, then attended
Western Kentucky and Ashland
University where he played collegiate
ball.
Hill seemed to be the perfect fit
to coach at Walnut. As well as being
the head coach for the Eagles,
Hill is also the coach for Ohio
Western, a college team.
Coach Hill says that high
school basketball is very different
from college basketball.
“The high school game is a lot
more teaching, which is what I
absolutely love, and at the college
level, it is more strategic, which
has helped me grow as an overall
coach.”
Hill currently holds the
record for most assists in a game
at Ashland University with 19
set in 1992, the year he was an
Kate Warren, ‘14
One of the easiest ways to
make long-lasting memories at
Walnut is to get involved in team
sports. SENIORS who have been
at Walnut since seventh grade have
had the greatest chance to make
those memories and bonds. One
SENIOR who has had success in
her sport is Caitlin Perry.
Perry began playing basketball
in the 1st grade and continued
playing once she came to Walnut
in the 7th grade. She has been on
Coach Ricardo Hill Sr. poses prior to the Purcell game.
All-American. While playing at
Ashland, Hill led the Eagles to a
43 game home win streak and he
also led them to an Elite Eight
appearance at the Hall of Fame
National Invitational in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
In the midst of fifteen players
on the team, there sits SE-
NIOR Ricardo Hill Jr. Hill’s son.
“Coaching Ricardo has been a
wonderful dream,” says Coach
Hill. “I have basically coached
him his whole life and he is a
coach’s dream. He is a coach on
the court.” The father-son duo has
been together on the court since
Ricardo Jr. began playing AAU
(Amateur Athletic Union) basketball
as a kid.
Coach Hill has had the privilege
of also coaching not only a
statewide but nationally recog-
SENIOR Spotlight: Caitlin Perry
AUSTIN RAILEY/CHATTERBOX
SENIOR Caitlin Perry drives to the hoop earlier in the year against Purcell.
the Varsity team since sophomore
year and became team captain her
SENIOR year.
Perry has also participated on
AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)
teams in Cincinnati that include
the Cincinnati Royals, the Cincy
Legends and the Lady Mavs.
Through playing on four different
teams at Walnut, she has had
the chance to get to know some of
the girls really well.
When asked who she has enjoyed
playing with the most, Perry
responded, “I’ve played basketball
AUSTIN RAILEY/CHATTERBOX
nized team.
“This year’s team is a joy to
coach because the basketball IQ is
extremely high.” Currently, Walnut
is ranked second in the state
and top fifty in the country.
“We try to stay level headed by
maintaining our focus every single
day and putting the team before
any personal achievements.” Hill
says.
Hill and the Eagles are looking
to continue the best season
that Walnut basketball has ever
had and take this team to a State
championship for the first time in
school history.
“We are just having fun with
everything and the guys know
how to embrace the moment and
believe that if we put the work in,
we will get the results we want.”
with Ashley Brewster and Dominique
Jones since the 7th grade, so
it’s fun playing with them because
we know each other’s style of play.
But this year’s team is the most
talented team I have played on, so
I enjoy playing with all of the girls
this year.”
Being a SENIOR, Perry had
a long response when asked what
some of her favorite memories
were: “One is my very first high
school game, we beat Purcell.
Another is in freshman year when
I was with the Varsity team when
Phylesha Bullard and Tayler Stanton
were SENIORS and winning
districts,” she said, “Also, our first
game in the new gym this year,
when the crowd had so much energy
and we played a great game,
and just hanging out with the
team at practices and games.”
Perry plans to end her basketball
career in high school and is
looking to major in engineering in
college and currently has her eyes
on Purdue University, Ohio State
University, University of Cincinnati
or University of Michigan.
More SENIOR Spotlights will
be published in the online version of
the Chatterbox, so stay tuned to get
to know more about your SENIORS
and their athletic careers at Walnut.
Sports Staff
Austin Carpenter, ‘13
Isaiah Johnson, ‘13
Kate Warren, ‘14
Top ranked Eagles ready to
pound the Bombers
Charlie Hatch, ‘13
Next Tuesday’s clash between
Walnut Hills and St. Xavier has
been advertised as the “must-see”
home basketball game for a variety
of reasons.
The Eagles will be coming into
the February 12 game with the
best rankings in the school history
for basketball program.
According to www.maxpreps.
com, Walnut is regarded as the
best team in Ohio, and at one
point this season was ranked 44th
in the country. The Eagles are also
the state’s top team in the latest
addition of the Associated Press’
Coaches’ Poll.
Walnut has been in the USA
Today’s “Super 25 Best of the
Rest” list for the past month as
well.
The Bombers will come to
Walnut boasting the seventh
spot in the Cincinnati Enquirer’s
Coaches’ Poll. The Eagles top that
list.
In addition, the Athletic Department,
along with the studentled
Nut House, have come together
to create a wild atmosphere
for the matchup, which is being
advertised as a ‘White Out.’ The
event is also being sponsored by
O’Bryon’s Pub and Grill, Kroger
and Steveco International Graphic
Design
Tuesday’s game will be televised
locally thanks to Time Warner
Cable. The company has already
visited the gymnasium to help
Academically undefeated
Austin Railey, ‘13
“We lift weights daily before
and after practice two days
a week..... It’s strenuous on
the body,” says SENIOR Will
Schweller, co-captain of the winningest
athletic team at Walnut
Hills: the Academic Quiz Team.
Eagles have an outstanding
record of (8-0) leading the ECC
(Eastern Cincinnati Conference),
winning their last competition
against the previously undefeated
Anderson Redskins where the
Eagles were down in the lightning
round portion of the competition
and came back to recieve the win.
Yes, Academic Team is a sport, if
you’re wondering. It’s recognized
by the ECC as a sport just as football
and basketball are. But what
gives it this title? When asked if
COURTESY OF STEVECO
The first 300 Nut House members to
show up to the game will receive a
free shirt with this design.
find the best locations to place the
cameras and audio equipment.
The Nut House will also give
out free special edition white
t-shirts to the first 300 students to
sit in it’s behind-the-hoop section.
The shirts will be given out free on
a first come, first served basis, so
it is recommended that fans arrive
early before the 7:30 p.m. varsity
tipoff.
Everyone in attendance will
also be asked to wear white, to
help all of the Eagle fans bolster a
unified look.
The Athletic Department also
has another surprise they will
unveil at the game, but for now it
they plan on keeping it a secret.
Walnut still has to play
at Loveland of Friday before
Tuesday’s matchup, but all eyes
are looking ahead to ‘pound’ the
Bombers.
he thinks academic team is a sport
SENIOR Kevin Snape member of
the football team stated “I guess
technically they are, but I mean,
c’mon.”
Our own academic team has
had a history of “Sursum ad summum-ing,”
in which they’ve gone
undefeated in previous years in
academic competitions. Averaging
a score of 52.5 points per competition
the Academic event with
scores that nearly always double
their competitors. The Eagles look
to show off their academic ability
at the end of the year when they
compete in ECC Academic Team
postseason competition.
So to discount the academic team
as a sport would take away the
sport that has won most historically.
Want more sports news?
Visit the Sports page online at
for SENIOR Spotlights,
game updates, and more!
Page 4 February 5, 2013
Issue CVII.5