Portsmouth Trojans Boys Basketball

One of the most mysterious records of Trojan basketball is one of the most prestigious, that being the list of Trojans who have scored at least 1,000 points in their career at PHS. There have a number of players who have reached that milestone with exact point totals, some who reached it but exact point totals are not known, and then there are some who are on the cusp if not a member of this exclusive club.

In reviewing the OHSAA list of all-time wins for schools, Portsmouth High School has moved up to 8th place on the list with 1,417 wins. I have the year by year records for the Trojans since 1913, but records such as these are not an exact science, since they are normally compiled from several different sources........newspapers, yearbooks, etc. The OHSAA lists the time period for the 1,417 wins as from 1916-2014.

For almost 40 years, the Portsmouth Trojans were members of the Greater Ohio League (approx. 1930's--1970's). During this time, the GOL was one of, if not the most powerful basketball league in the state, along with the Columbus City League. From 1944-1961, the league produced 11 Class AA (big school) state champions. Middletown in 1944, 1946, and 1947, Hamilton in 1949, Springfield in 1950, Middletown in 1952 and 1953, Hamilton in 1954, Middletown in 1956 and 1957, and then Portsmouth ended the fabulous run in 1961, beating Urbana 50-44 for the Class AA state title.

Over the course of almost 90 years, the enrollment figures used to determine what classification a school was placed have changed quite often. The OHSAA started its state tournament with 2 classes in 1923, and it stayed that way until 1970, when 3 classes were introduced. The 3 class system lasted until 1988, when the decision was made to have a 4 division state tournament. Portsmouth High School's enrollment has changed quite drastically over the last 40 years. 1978 marked the first year for the Trojans in Class AA, which was the middle of the 3 class system.

There have been several streaks in Portsmouth's rich basketball history. Listed below are some of the noteworthy streaks:

The official schedule is listed below. The Trojans will play a double round robin schedule in both the SEOAL and OVC. That will comprise 20 games, with only 2 non-conference games left to fill the 22 game slate. Those non-conference games will be at home vs. Wheelersburg and Chillicothe, and will be part of a Christmas Holiday tournament. Wheelersburg, Chillicothe, Notre Dame, South Gallia, Peebles, Minford, and Portsmouth round out the field. PHS will play Wheelersburg the first night and Chillicothe the next day. PHS will not be going to Florida this year, but plan on going next season.

The Portsmouth Trojans have won 14 league/conference championships in school history. Here is a list of those titles, with overall record included:

Since 2008, the Portsmouth Trojans have been involved in quite a few very close sectional games. Here is a list of those games:

Here is a list of the Portsmouth Trojans 20 win seasons and how each of those seasons ended:

Here are some miscellaneous categories of Portsmouth's rank in the State of Ohio and in the Southeastern District:

1. State tournament appearances: 15..............State Rank: 3rd..........Canton McKinley is 1st with 28

2. State Championships: 4...............................State Rank: Tied for 6th..........Middletown, Akron SVSM and Cleveland VASJ have 7, Columbus East and Dayton Dunbar have 5

3. State Championship Game Appearances: 8.........State Rank: Tied For 5th.........Cleveland VASJ has 12, Canton McKinley has 11, Middletown has 9, Akron SVSM has 9