Kettering, Ohio — At 1:15 on Saturday, August 8th, Miami Valley Hoop Vault broke the news of elite Dayton point guard, Ryan Chew, officially transferring to Kettering Alter. The 2022 prospect, and former Bellbrook stand out, has been contemplating the decision for a while now . . .
“I’ve been playing on and off now with Jacob Conner for a couple of years throughout the AAU scene, and in open gyms. We’ve always had great chemistry on the floor. I’ve known Alter is an amazing school with a great tradition. I just wanted to be apart of it”.
Chew isn’t wrong, Alter’s tradition and past has been filled with an abundance of one simple thing . . . winning.
Even as recent as the Knight’s 2019-2020 season, they continued their winning tradition with a conference championship and deep tournament run with wins over #17 Northwestern, #11 Ponitz, #4 Kenton Ridge, and #1 Wyoming before their run was cut short due to Covid, fueled by seniors Conor Stolly (Thomas More), Brady Uhl (Cumberlands), and sharpshooter, Jack Smith.
Chew has proved to be one of the best point guards in the city. He’s set to be a four year varsity player, and finished his sophomore season 1st Team All-Conference and 8th in conference scoring (14.8 ppg).
Chew is not only a lights out shooter, but can pass with consistent accuracy as well. The Alter guard posted a career high, seven assists, in a game last season against A.J. Eller & the Brookville Devils. He also had a pass that went viral over social media during AAU season recently, receiving a repost from OverTime that received 475 retweets and 2,800+ likes.
“I’ve never seen someone actually do the pass in a game. After I did it, I was like, wow. I didn’t think it was going to make it.”
His new teammates had this to say about the season altering addition . . .
“I was really excited when I first heard the news, because I know how good of a player Ryan is. I think he’ll make our whole team better overall. I know he’ll push us harder in practice everyday,” said ’23 A.J. Leen.
“I’ve known and played against Ryan since we were little. He reached out to me a week ago, saying he was considering transferring. I was so excited. Adding a player like Ryan will not only make our team better but having him around will make everyone else work harder in practice,” replied ’23 Anthony Ruffolo.
“Ryan coming to Alter will only make our team stronger, and our depth at the guard position will be even deeper. I’m eager to see what he brings to the table, because I’ve heard good things but never actually seen him play in person,” stated ’23 Gavin Geisel.
All three 2023 prospects spent their freshmen seasons on junior varsity for the Alter program, but are expected to have a huge role increase for the upcoming season. All three are expected to make a case for a starting position at the varsity level.
A.J. Leen has been lighting it up on one of Dayton’s best 15U teams, Team Flyght. The team is highlighted by top five sophomore, Antaune Allen (Dunbar), along with Lee Benson (Meadowdale) & Emmanuel Deng (Centerville), just to name a few. Leen, along with Team Flyght, recently went 9-2 on the Midwest Circuit and finished runner up in the finals.
Meanwhile, Anthony Ruffolo has been hooping with 937 Hoop Dreams, coached by one of the most well-known trainers in Ohio, Wade O’Connor. The team consists of Collin O’Connor (Tecumseh) and Eli Brooks (Bellbrook), who will be having a huge role increase with Chew’s departure. In Ruffolo’s first tournament, he put three twenty plus point games, leading his team to the elite eight where they lost against Indiana Elite. Most recently, he guest played for Midwest, where he went 5-0 and won the Bearcat Classic with big wins over Louisville Magic, Mid Ohio Pumas, and Cincinnati Royals.
Gavin Geisel continues to contribute at a high level for one of the most decorated AAU programs in the state, All-Ohio. The program currently consists of two of the top three ’23 players in the Dayton area, including Lawrent Rice (Wayne) and Will Maxwell (Oakwood). Geisel is also recognized as one of the top ’23 prospects in the city. Many have yet to take notice though, being shadowed by Alter’s deep senior class last season. Expect that to change for the 2020-2021 season, due to his role increase in the program and ideal work ethic.
Not only will the Alter Knights be a top contender for the GCL Co-Ed title this upcoming season with their deep 2023 class and newest addition, but also with division one prospect Jacob Conner leading the way.
Out of the thousands of prospects we cover in the state, Jacob has hands down had the hottest Summer. Conner went from a single offer from Bryant, to now holding ten division one offers heading into his junior season.
The 6’8″, guard, has managed to add thirty pounds to his frame and received calls from at least ten schools including West Virginia, Virginia, Wright St (offered), Northern Kentucky (offered), Marshall (offered), and Ohio (offered), following his performance at our Dayton Elite Invite-Only Run.
“It’s a big time pickup for our team. It’ll help our team, experience wise, for this year. I’m excited to work with him”, said Conner.
Chew has been one of the city’s many Summer stock risers. He spent the first half of the off-season with Team Flyght, who he committed to back on February 25th. But, he’d go on to leave for Midwest Basketball Club along with former Bellbrook right hand man, Gabe Pavlak.
When asked about his reaction to Chew’s departure, Pavlak responded, “I wasn’t expecting it because we were a duo, even since freshman year. We were the only two freshmen on varsity and both had big sophomore years. The next two years for us were going to be big. We were going to win a conference championship and make a big tournament run together. Chew was a big part of our team. But, it’s going to make me and my team work that much harder.”
Since Chew’s announcement, Pavlak has been bombarded with questions of whether he’ll transfer like his fellow Eagle . . .
“It’s not on my mind. I’m sticking with Bellbrook through high school. I’m still excited for this season. It’s going to be a test for us, losing our leading scorer. But, we’ll push through and compete none the less.”
Chew had this to say about his relationship with Pavlak, who he made aware of his transfer just the night before making it public . . .
“Well . . . Me & Gabe have surprisingly become really close over these past two years. We used to hate each other, until about mid-season of our freshman years. He will always be my brother. I see big things for him in the future.”
He also had no love lost when it came to the Eagles’ coaching staff, who he made aware of his transfer only hours before being announced . . .
“It’s going to be hard leaving the Bellbrook staff. Coach Tate and Coach Chitty always pushed me to be the best me I can be. I love both of them for that. It’s also going to be hard leaving Coach Short. It was his first season, last year. He came in and really helped the team in a lot of ways. I’ll always love Bellbrook.”
A lot of questions still remain after the new announcement. Will Chew be Alter’s newest Knight in shining armor? Will Alter be able to compete with a small ball lineup in a physical GCL Co-Ed conference? How will Bellbrook recoup from losing their leading scorer? Will Pavlak truly remain an Eagle?
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