Your Ohio Team of the Week: ECC-champion West Clermont prepared for anything

Cincinnati Enquirer readers voted West Clermont High School boys basketball as the Ohio Team of the Week, based on votes tallied Feb. 15. Our basketball teams receive a feature that runs the following week. 

West Clermont head boys basketball head coach Craig Mazzaro believes he has one of the best coaching staffs in Ohio.

The proof is in the numbers as his staff boasts a slew of veteran prep coaches like Jerry Doerger, who is 30th all-time in Ohio with 537 wins over a 50-plus year career at Moeller, McNicholas and Clermont Northeastern. His staff also includes former head coaches John Patrick (Bethel-Tate), Jim Stahl (Glen Este) and Doug Brown (Deer Park, Talawanda). 

Mazzaro's resume is nothing to scoff at, either. The 1978 Amelia High School grad coached 21 seasons at his alma mater before becoming the first-ever boys coach at West Clermont in 2017. He's nearing 300 career wins. 

"We probably have more coaching wins combined than any coaching staff in the state. I don't know the exact number, but it's probably close to 1,000. Not too much gets pulled over us in games, practices or anything," Mazzaro said. 

The group of experienced coaches are loyal to old-school methods that are proven win-producers. West Clermont excels at rebounding, playing defense and controlling the ball. A big reason why the Wolves are 32-13 overall in their two years of existence.

One big defensive adjustment came against Loveland this season. On Jan. 11, West Clermont edged the Tigers in overtime, 76-74. When the two clubs met in the regular-season finale on Valentine's Day, the Wolves' held Loveland to just 34 percent shooting (14-for-41) in a 51-39 win that gave West Clermont its first-ever Eastern Cincinnati Conference championship. 

"That was our goal the whole time. We just kept winning each game," Mazzaro said of the conference crown. "The last part of the season, a lot of our games were on the road. Coaches do a great job preparing, guys do a great job listening and we've just been taking it one game at a time." 

West Clermont is 16-1 this season when holding opponents to under 50 points per game. Its only loss came under hapless conditions, when their bus broke down and they arrived on North Bend Road right before tip-off and bowed to St. Xavier, 48-39. Since that defeat the Wolves have won 13 of 15 games and enter sectional tournament play as a No. 7 seed. 

It's been the type of season Mazzaro believed West Clermont could've had last year. In 2018, the Wolves dropped five conference contests - four of which were decided by three points or less - and finished third. 

"In four of those games we missed a last-second shot," Mazzaro said. "We could've easily won like this last year, but we knew we had a good group coming back. Everybody knows their roles, everybody gets along. It's been one of those years that you really enjoy."

Leading the defensive charge for West Clermont is 6-foot-10 center Jackson Ames, who has already garnered Division I looks. The junior is third in the ECC in rebounds (159) and leads the conference in blocks (45). Ames was overlooked last year after missing the first 11 games because of the OHSAA transfer bylaw. He averaged 2.4 points per game last season, a number that has ballooned to double digits this year at 10.2 with the second-best field goal percentage (56.2) in the ECC. 

"When he plays strong, he's very good and he's very young. He's a young 16 years old and could be a sophomore," Mazzaro said. "There's tremendous potential there and he's not afraid to work hard every day in practice he tries to get better at something. He's got a very, very high ceiling. He's got a good game, but he's just gotta get more consistent and more powerful."

Fellow junior D.J. Vianello has been a pleasant surprise for the Wolves this season after being a junior varsity standout as a sophomore. Last season, Vianello scored one varsity bucket in a playoff loss to Sycamore, but has made a smooth transition to the varsity level, averaging 9.6 points per game. 

"You never know what's gonna happen when you get to varsity. He's been a tremendous addition for us because he's a gamer," Mazzaro said. "He's scored most of his points in the second half and he hit the game-winner against Loveland in overtime."

Senior John Aicholtz was one of West Clermont's safe bets to make a big impact on this year's club. Last season, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 10 points per game and he's increased that to a team-best 12.3 this year. Mazzaro calls him "one of the better athletes in the city who can do a little bit of everything." In the net-cutting win over Loveland, Aicholtz scored only nine points, but snagged six rebounds and dished out seven assists. 

Mazzaro also raved about seniors Ismail Ismail and Gavin Pitts on the defensive end. Ismail has 21 steals this season and has found a groove at times on offense, scoring in double figures six times. Pitts, the starting point guard, leads the ECC in assists (83).

With a veteran coaching staff comes preparation and the singular goal of keeping the program focused on the task at hand.

If higher seeds prevail in the sectional tournament, West Clermont could see ECC-rival Turpin the sectional final Mar. 2. The two clubs split the regular-season series with Turpin winning 70-51 Dec. 11 and West Clermont winning 47-45 Jan. 22. But you won't catch Mazzaro and company looking ahead. The Wolves are using a nine-day break to focus solely on first-round opponent Fairfield, whom they will battle Saturday at Lakota West High School. 

"We're working on improving what we need to work on and trying to take 'em one game at a time. We haven't looked ahead to anyone except Fairfield," Mazzaro said. 

West Clermont's 13-2 stretch to end the regular season started with a 57-47 victory over Fairfield Dec. 28, a game that was too close for comfort. The Wolves led 34-17 at halftime, but trailed in the fourth quarter before pulling away late. 

"It was a back-and-forth, kinda funny game," Mazzaro said. "We led by a bunch and they caught us before we closed 'em out at the end. They're very capable, but rest assured we will be well-prepared."