Jackson HS boys basketball coach Tim Debevec begins 18th year as coach
MASSILLON, Ohio — In basketball-crazy Barberton, the city paints some of its streets purple when hoop season comes around each year. That’s not surprising to Tim Debevec, who played for the Magics under legendary Coach Jack Greynolds before graduating in 1988. Barberton is where Debevec’s basketball legacy was first forged. After coaching stops at Tallmadge, Green, GlenOak, and North Canton Hoover, Debevec begins his 18th season at Jackson, his 12th as head coach. The Bears are coming off a 14-12 campaign a year ago that saw the team reach the Division I district final game.
But Debevec was also the head coach in 2017 when he helped the program with his ‘Magic Touch’ as Jackson won the state basketball championship behind future Ohio State recruit Kyle Young. Under Debevec’s tenure, the Bears have won four district titles and six Federal League crowns. That’s all well and good. However, Debevec and his players know that Federal League opponents don’t care about past accolades. Neither do the Bears’ non-league foes.
If they don’t care, that’s fine. But they better bring lifts in their sneakers to match what Jackson will trot out there this season. The Bears stand as tall as the California Redwoods, starting with 6-foot, 7-inch senior center Owen Woolbert, an all-Federal League choice last season, and the team’s leading rebounder. Then there’s 6-6 senior Caden Edwards, who weighs 240 pounds, 6-4 senior guard James Bossart, 6-4 senior forward Ben Morena and 6-3 senior forward Alvin Altman.
“Woolbert averaged eight rebounds per game and he’s our biggest inside threat,” Debevec said. “We expect big things from him. Bossart is versatile and can play inside or out. He’s a three-point threat, and Edwards gives us a wide body out on the floor. But the league is very good this year with McKinley, Green, and Hoover. All the teams are well-coached, and our non-league schedule is very tough. We open against Stow and their coach (Dave Close) is closing in on 600 career wins. We also play Medina, Shaker Heights and we scrimmaged Pickerington Central and St. Vincent-St. Mary,” the coach added. “Larry Taylor got things rolling here in the 1990s. Mike Fuline won a state title here in 2010 and then we won again in ’17. I’m just trying to keep things going in the right direction.”
Craig Lawrence, a 5-11 senior guard will start at the point, and Debevec also has a cluster of sophomores and juniors with familiar names in Stark County basketball circles. Junior Anthony Fuline is Coach Fuline’s son, with the elder Fuline beginning his 12th season as men’s head basketball coach at Mount Union. And sophomore guard Mitch Finefrock is the son of former Central Catholic standout Kevin Finefrock, now superintendent of East Canton Schools. Rounding out the roster are 5-9 sophomore Cameron Weekley, 6-1 sophomore Kyle Monterrubio and 5-11 junior guard Anthony Craven.
“We’ve always tried to play the best teams in the state,” Debevec said. “It starts with our youth program where we have between 400-500 participating. We run K through varsity and have travel teams, and the administration here has been very supportive of our program. You need support from the top, and we certainly have that from our superintendent and athletic director. We also have three gyms, so it’s very competitive and hard to get time on the floor with our boys and girls’ programs trying to get practice time and playing time.”
That’s a lot to juggle. Only someone with a magic act could do it!
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.