'Maturity and growth' guide Cuyahoga Falls to success in boys basketball
The turnaround of the Cuyahoga Falls boys basketball program is ongoing for fourth-year coach Todd Taylor.
With a talented junior class, the Black Tigers enter the Division I sectional-district tournament with a record of 12-10 overall and 8-6 in the Suburban League American Conference.
Falls has compiled a winning season for the first time since the 2015-2016 season (12-11). The Black Tigers were 2-21 in 2019-2020, 3-14 in 2020-2021 and 5-17 in 2021-2022.
Cuyahoga Falls coverage:Cuyahoga Falls selects coach Todd Taylor to lead boys basketball program
“What we have really seen is the maturity and growth in all of our kids," Taylor said. "We have a heavy junior class. The growth that we had from last year to this year, and them stepping up with the leadership, we are really proud of them.
“We are pretty critical about our practices and when we practice well, we generally play well in games. I think there has been improvement this year with our practices.”
Falls features five junior starters — Timmy Mitchell, Bryce Smith, Le'Aaron Austin, Justice Wilkes and Drew Huffman.
“It all starts with Timmy Mitchell, our point guard,” Taylor said. “Timmy had a good last year. He was second team all-league as a sophomore. He runs everything for us and he very rarely comes off the floor. He is the quarterback on the floor for us. The ball has got to be in his hands in crucial times. He has made significant strides from last year to this year taking care of the ball, cutting down on his turnovers, finding the open guy and hitting some big shots for us this year.
“Drew Huffman has probably made the biggest jump from last year to this year in his scoring. He is averaging over 15 points a game and he is getting five to six rebounds a game. The growth from last year to this year with the work he put in in the offseason really helped him. He is playing with a lot of confidence."
Falls finished fifth in the SLAC behind Revere (18-4, 12-2), Tallmadge (15-7, 10-4), Highland (12-10, 9-5) and Copley (11-11, 9-5). Falls beat Copley twice, split with Highland and was swept by Tallmadge and Revere.
The Black Tigers also split with Kent Roosevelt (9-13, 6-8) and swept Aurora (3-19, 2-12) and Barberton (0-22, 0-14).
“Le'Aaron Austin is our big kid and he is very good around the basket and he has taken his game and stretched it out a little bit where he is knocking down some 3s,” Taylor said. “He does a real nice rebounding. He is our leading rebounder at a little over six a game and is a very good passer.
“Bryce Smith has made a lot of strides this year. He is a very good athlete. He can shoot the basketball and he can finish at the rim. We ask a lot of Bryce, and I have seen a lot of improvement during the season. Justice Wilkes is that guy that goes on the floor and rebounds and blocks shots. He dives on the floor and is a lot more aggressive this year. He gets steals and he gets stops. I am really pleased in the strides he has made.”
Falls' top reserves are senior Matt Pelfrey, sophomore Joey Earl and junior Matt Petrie and Dakota Cleveland.
“Our senior Matt Pelfrey is a tremendous leader on and off the floor,” Taylor said. “He really keeps the kids calm on and under control.”
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Falls compiles a winning season in boys basketball