Richmond Heights boys basketball: Spartans mixing experience with new pieces

Demarris Winters looks for a shot off of De’Erick Barber’s feed (Ben Hercik)

Richmond Heights keeps finding taller mountains to climb, and those tasks have been handled well by seniors De’Erick Barber, Demarris Winters and Dorian Jones.

They have won three state championships, and all three hold multiple Division I college offers. This year, they will be senior voices for the Spartans, who will feature several new names, as well.

Included are transfer Greg Price and freshmen Mehki Ashberry and Jordan Taylor. Winter said building chemistry takes time, and events like Midwest Live help speed the process by playing against equally strong teams.

“It’s been an experience, there’s a lot of young guys coming in,” Winters said. “We’re just trying to get their minds into the program and do what we do. It’s all about buying into roles. Even if we all have the same skill set, knowing we have to still rebound, play defense, get in gaps, talking to each other is going to be important for all of us.”

Barber has been a strong leader from the point for the Spartans for the past three seasons, and he has been putting in extra work with the new players. He’s averaged over eight assists in all three seasons.

The Spartans have several scorers at every level, and Barber is excited to work with them so they’re a finely tuned machine once the season starts.

“Everyone is catching on fast,” Barber said. “Everybody knows that we all have different mindsets in the game and something that is important is that we all have that drive to be well-adjusted. We understand that it’s a process and not going to be super smooth right out of the gate but we’re excited for that challenge.”

As in years past, Richmond Heights will be guard-heavy, with several players featuring similar skill sets. Barber and Winters can run the game from the point, while others can work inside and out.

Everyone is learning how to play different roles, whether they are inside crashing the boards or being ready to shoot on any play. While Barber is more used to being the one who sets up the offense, he’s starting to become more comfortable playing inside when needed.

“It’s amazing, everyone is learning the offense really quickly,” Barber said. “A lot of us are guards so we’re all used to having the ball in our hands. I feel like we’re struggling moving off the ball and that’s been a point that we want to get better at. We’re all trying to get better at playing with each other and finding how to work off ball depending who’s bringing it up court.”

The Spartans have Tristin Kyle, a 6-foot-7 senior, in the post to help create second and third looks. He will be tasked to fill the hole left after T.J. Crumble transferred to Lutheran East.

Richmond Heights has an opportunity to make history this season, as it attempts to become the first-ever Ohio team to win four straight state championships. It’s a fact that they’re not shying away from, either.

Winters knows that the season will have a bittersweet feeling throughout. But all the players are excited to have the chance to place themselves alone in the state record book.

“It’s starting to hit a little bit that this is the final ride,” Winters said. “We have the same mindset as we’ve had in the past three seasons. We aren’t concerned with anything until we have that trophy above our heads at the end of the season. Even being up in Division V, the mindset remains the same for all of us.”

The Spartans aren’t the only defending state champions in Division V next season. Lutheran East, which has won two of the last three Division III championships are in the same district pool and the two would meet with a trip to Dayton potential.