GREENVILLE – Greenville’s sophomore forward Eric Brenner tied a school boys basketball record Tuesday night in a 68-66 loss to the Stebbins Indians. The 6’1” sharpshooter drilled eight three-point shots on his way to a game-high 29 points, tying 2019 GHS graduate Noah Walker for the most threes made in a game, Walker’s coming against West Carrollton in a February contest his senior year.
Other past games of note involving long-range bombs include Brenner making seven as a freshman against Xenia; Isaiah Gable, Class of ‘17, dropping six on Miamisburg as a senior; and Clay Guillozet, Class of ‘16, netting six versus Coldwater in January of ‘16.
As far as career stats go, Gable notched a total of 135 threes in his schoolboy days, eventually continuing on to play for D-I Southeast Missouri State and later D-II University of Charleston. Walker recorded 126 threes in three years of varsity action while Guillozet hit for 125 in four years of play. Of course Clay moved on to D-II West Liberty and later Valdosta State and is now in his fourth season of professional ball in Luxembourg.
Guillozet holds the Wave all-time scoring mark with 1,583 points, followed by Jake Cook, Class of ‘93, with 1,203; Gable at 1,184; Tom Holzapfel, Class of ‘78, with 1,171; and Craig Wohlgamuth, Class of ‘98, putting in 1,138. First year Green Wave head coach Matt Hamilton, also in the Class of ‘98, ranks sixth all-time with 878 markers.
It should be noted that Holzapfel’s varsity career came when there was no three-point line and the regular season consisted of 18 games. Cook and Wohlgamuth’s high school days saw the addition of two more contests or 20 before the tournament while Guillozet and Gable played during the current 22-game regular season era. Even earlier, 14 and 16 game regular seasons were played through the 40’s and 50’s.
I was the GHS junior varsity coach during Holzapfel’s high school days and can confidently say that Tom would have ranked high on the list of three-point scorers. Averaging 27.1 points per game his senior year, he was a superb marksman from outside and scored over 30 points five times his final year, posting a then school record of 44 points against Valley View. Tom later moved on to Wright State and was an integral part of their 1983 NCAA Division II National Championship team.
Jake Cook was a 6’6” force on the court for then coach, now Greenville City Schools superintendent, Doug Fries. Jake was a terror in the post for opposing teams and put up a school record 52 points against a run-and-gun Sidney ball club his senior year. A tremendous pitcher on the baseball diamond he played several years in the Red Sox minor league system.
Craig Wohlgamuth was a rugged yet skilled 6’3 forward who did damage both inside and out. No one in my many years of coaching, observing, and twenty-seven years of telecasting GHS basketball put forth more effort than he did. As an undersized post player in college, he helped lead the Ohio Northern Polar Bears to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2001.
The GHS annals are full of many talented individuals who sometimes have gone both unrecognized and under-appreciated, being on teams that fell short of lofty goals and achievements. I’m sure that I’ve omitted a few on the list of three-point shooters although I’m not too far off! Maybe in the future we’ll take a look at Lady Wave basketball and some of the greats that graced the hardwood over the years!
