Since the emergence of players like John Davis III, Trey Sanders and Julio Stevens, the Bison Boys Basketball team has been regarded as one of the best teams in Northeast Ohio.

However, the team hasn’t been able to make it past the district finals since 2013.

This year will be different.

In past years, the path to Columbus has been filled with many good teams, including many with  size advantage over the Bison.

The road to states looks to be favorable this year, though.

In my opinion, the Bison will have one of the best lineups in the state this year.

While I don’t know who will be starting yet, the team has one of the best individual players in the state, senior Maishe Dailey.

Dailey has over 20 Division 1 offers, and is getting interest from powerhouses like Wisconsin and Illinois.

Many of his opponents will not be able to guard him this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes for over 30 points in multiple games.

But if a team were to figure out how to defend Dailey, the Bison have a plethora of offensive and defensive weapons surrounding him including seniors Ronald Jones, Jalen Davis, Tyrone Gibson and Dassan Rhodes.

This solid group of seniors is supported by a deep bench of juniors and sophomores.

When the team takes the court just after Thanksgiving, some students may be surprised to see an unfamiliar face: Desmond Crosby.

After attending Beachwood Middle School, Crosby spent his first three years of High School at Cleveland Central Catholic, leading them on many deep playoff runs, and last year bringing them to the brink of a state title.

Crosby has an offer from Division 2 Fairmont State, but if he runs the point like I know he can, I have no doubt that he could attract Division 1 offers as well.

Also, Head Coach Matt Miller has created a tough non-conference schedule that should have the team well-prepared come playoff time.

Not to disrespect the other teams, but I think the Bison will have no trouble going undefeated in conference play. None of the conference teams on the schedule have the size, athleticism, skills or basketball IQ to compete with the Bison.

Honestly, if Miller prepares the team for each opponent, I don’t know if any of the CVC opponents will come within 10 points of the Bison.

The Non-Conference schedule is another story, as Beachwood has area powerhouses on their schedule such as St. Edward’s, Walsh Jesuit, Bedford, Akron Buchtel, East Tech, Garfield Heights and Cornerstone Christian.

Although St. Edward has defeated us three years in a row, I think we can pull it out this year against the Eagles on our home floor. Their team is looking much weaker this year after losing two of Cleveland’s best players, Kipper Nichols, who is now playing at Tulane University, and Derek Funderburk, who transferred to Hargrave Military Academy.

I believe there’s a chance the team could go 19-0 in the regular season.

That’s because the team is their own biggest obstacle, and the ability for Crosby to gel again with his former teammates will be crucial.

At worst, I see them losing three or four games, probably to Garfield Heights, St. Ed’s and Bedford, but the team can beat all of them.

Garfield, in my opinion, is the toughest opponent on the schedule, as they have three seniors going Division 1: Willie Jackson to Missouri, Frankie Hughes to Louisville, and Braun Hartfield to Youngstown State.

They will be a tough team to beat, but like I said, we have one of the best lineups in the state.

Another intriguing matchup is Bedford, Miller’s former team, whom the Bison will face on Jan. 3 at Baldwin Wallace University.

So, for the regular season, I predict an 18-1 record, but 19-0 is definitely possible.

If you were wondering, the Bison are not a good matchup for the Orange Lions at all. Beachwood may very well crush the Lions by 30+ points in both meetings this season.

In the big picture, the playoffs are all that matters.

I really don’t know much about the teams beyond the Garfield Heights District Tournament.

However, the Bison are an overwhelming favorite to make it out of this district, as Villa-Angela Saint Joseph, the traditional powerhouse who beat us last year, is in rebuilding mode.

The Vikings lost multiple seniors to graduation, and three of those now play division one basketball: Carlton Bragg, who dropped 21 points on Beachwood, has gone to Kansas, Brian Parker to Marist, and Derek Pardon to Northwestern.

This is why many have already predicted this year’s team to receive rings at the Schott in Columbus in March.

Because of this team’s combination of size, speed, knowledge, depth and chemistry, if they can play to their full potential, a state championship banner will be raised in the gym this year.