JUSTPHOTOS.BIZ

After breaking his ankle in the sectional championship game 10 weeks ago, Brunswick All-Ohio center Pat Forsythe is now fully healthy and set to leave for West Virginia in about a week.

BRUNSWICK, Ohio – Pat Forsythe’s boys basketball career at Brunswick ended prematurely.

But it appears his college career at West Virginia will begin right on time.

The 6-foot-10 All-Ohio senior center, who was lost for the season with a fractured ankle in the Blue Devils’ 46-36 Grafton Division I Sectional championship game victory over North Ridgeville on March 4, has fully recovered, according to Devils coach Joe Mackey.

“Pat went through between four to six weeks of rehab and now he’s 100-percent healthy,” Mackey said Thursday morning. “He’s going down to West Virginia on June 24. The team is traveling to Italy this summer, and Pat is going with them.

“He’s excited to get there and get to work, and we’re excited to see him play. He’s still growing into his body, and he’s still learning the game. He’s only 17 years old. He won’t turn 18 until July. He’s got a bright future. The sky’s the limit for Pat.

“You’ve got to remember that this is a young man who didn’t start playing basketball until the seventh grade. On the ninth-grade team, he was the last guy off the bench. I remember going to our ninth-grade coach and saying to him, ‘Maybe you better start playing him. He could turn into something.’ Even when he was a junior, we couldn’t have envisioned him turning into the player he became.”

Forsythe, who committed to West Virginia early in his senior year after really progressing last summer, went on to average 22.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 6.3 blocks a game last season for the 15-7 Devils, who, in their first game without him, lost 47-44 to Berea in the Grafton District semifinals.

“He had an incredible year,” Mackey said.

Forsythe played last season at between 210 and 215 pounds. He lost some weight after being hurt but has since bulked up to 236 pounds.

“The coaches at West Virginia want him to come in at 230,” Mackey said.

Mackey said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins does not usually redshirt players, but with his young age and the fact the team already has three centers, the possibility of being redshirted next season does exist with Forsythe.

“We’ve talked to Pat about that, but we told him that whether he gets redshirted or not, he’s still going to be playing for a great program in West Virginia and a great coach in Bob Huggins,” Mackey said.

Search to find new Wadsworth softball coach may not go very long or far

WADSWORTH, Ohio – Wadsworth may have its new softball coach soon, according to Athletic Director, Rich Berlin, and the school may not have to go out of the system to do it.

“We’ve not officially started the search yet, but we have some internal candidates we’ll be looking at when we do shortly,” Berlin said. “We’ll know a lot more in a couple of weeks.”

The opening was created recently when Mike Schmeltzer stepped down after 13 seasons and a 249-103 record. Schmeltzer, who will remain at the school as an AP chemistry teacher and an assistant girls basketball coach, had coached the softball team since 1999.

His last Grizzlies team this season finished 22-7 overall after winning 13 straight games at one point. They were tied with Highland for third place in the Suburban League and made it to the Barberton Division I District championship game before losing to league champion Copley.

Lewis will honor commitment to Penn State despite coaching change

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio – They’ve changed men’s basketball coaches at Penn State, but Trey Lewis hasn’t changed his mind.

The Garfield Heights standout, and Division I Co-Player of the Year in Ohio, is still headed to State College, Pa. to play for the Nittany Lions.

“Trey remains rock-solid with his commitment to the school. He’s a Penn State guy,” Bulldogs coach Sonny Johnson said.

When Lewis, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, signed with Penn State, he thought he would be playing for coach Ed DeChellis. But DeChellis left after eight seasons to become the coach at the Naval Academy and was replaced by Patrick Chambers.

“Trey never flinched. He never wavered when all that happened,” Johnson said.

“Some other schools came after him during the change of coaches. There were a couple from the Big Ten, several from the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) and several from the SEC (Southeastern Conference).

“But Trey is a Penn State guy. He really likes the school and the program.”

And the Nittany Lions obviously like Lewis. Averaging 23 points a game, 4.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists while hitting 51-percent of his field goals overall, including an impressive 48-percent on three-pointers, and 78-percent of his free throws, he led the Bulldogs to a 24-2 record and their first trip to the state tournament in 61 years. They lost 67-59 to Columbus Northland in the semifinals.

The Bulldogs also won the school’s first Associated Press state poll championship and their third Northeast Ohio Conference title in four years.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Trey play at Penn State,” Johnson said.