High school basketball preview: Open Door boys lost leading scorer Gavin Dobbins, but still has plenty of experience

Open Door Christian School coach Kevan Ford and the Patriots have heard the question. A lot. All the time, in fact. How, people want to know, can they possibly replace Gavin Dobbins, the school's all-time leading scorer who graduated, taking his 27.7 points per game with him? Their answer: Teamwork. The Patriots return eight letterwinners led by senior Kevan Ford II, the coach's son and the last remaining link to Open Door's 2019 Division IV district finalist team. Also back are sophomore Jai'den Howard, who earned honorable mention All-Ohio honors after averaging 13.7 points as a freshman, and 6-foot-5 junior Caleb Brooks, who led the team in blocked shots and was second in rebounding, behind Dobbins. "You can't make up that kind of scoring with one person," Coach Ford said. "These guys know their job is to collectively make up that scoring as a team. It's not one person who's going to do it. The ball has to be spread around. I think we have a lot of scorers and that can help us because you can't just key in on one guy." Howard quickly adjusted to high school ball last year, shooting 34 percent from behind the 3-point line and finishing second in most offensive categories. "Gavin did a lot for us last year," Howard said. "We don't have a player like him but we have more guys that defenses will have to key on this year. I had a big role last year and that gave me the opportunity to have an even bigger role this year. I've been working hard in the offseason. I'm ready for the challenge." Brooks said the team hasn't just been running shooting drills and working on their defensive sets to get ready for the season. The Patriots, he said, have also been focused on the mental aspect of the game. "We go into the game with the mindset that we're going to play as a team and play to the best of our ability," Brooks said. "Coach says all the time, 'Toughness over emotions.' We work on that a lot, coming into the game with a tougher mentality." Ford II is coming off a junior year in which he averaged 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists. "We're missing some things that prior Open Door teams have had," Ford II said. "But what we have is humility and teamwork. We've been working hard to jell as a team. If we practice like a championship team we can be a championship team." Open Door is coming off of a 12-12 season and while a .500 record is rather unremarkable, the fact the Patriots were able to play a full schedule while other schools missed weeks or even their entire seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic really benefited the Patriots' young players. "We tried to keep it as normal as possible last year and I think it helped that we were able to get more games in than some of the other teams in the area," Ford said. "With so many young guys on the team the fact that they got so much experience last year is very helpful for their development." Open Door is playing an independent schedule this season, replacing some of the schools not in the Ohio High School Athletic Association that it played in the Lake Effect Conference with teams like Rocky River and Division IV power Cornerstone Christian in an effort to better prepare the team for postseason success. The Patriots also play the majority of the Lorain County League teams. "Any time we can have a winning season it's a successful year," Ford said. "We don't pad our schedule to win every game. I'm trying to build the program and we need to play teams that challenge us to get better and learn how to play this game in different ways." As one of three returning seniors, along with Mitchell Wiley and Danny DeFranco, Ford II hopes to pass on all he's learned from former players to the younger members of this year's team. "As a senior, honestly it would mean a lot to have success this year," Ford II said. "I've had the chance to play with one of the greatest leaders I've even seen, Carter Wright. I remember him telling me as a freshman that he wanted me to be like him by the time I was I was a senior. If I can lead the team the way he has and the way Gavin did last and how Josh Zaborowski did when I was a sophomore, I will consider it a great season." Brooks expects new leaders and new standout players to emerge this year. "I'm pretty confident anyone in our starting five or even the guys off the bench can step up in an end-of-game situation and make the big shot," he said. "We can all shoot pretty well. We don't care what people think, we know we're going to be just as good this season without Gavin because we're a team. I think we'll prove a lot of people wrong this year." Contact Todd Shapiro at 440-329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.