{"id":207642,"date":"2026-07-06T20:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T01:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=207642"},"modified":"2026-07-06T20:35:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T01:35:35","slug":"random-thoughts-changes-looming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/random-thoughts-changes-looming\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts: changes looming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around a job well done, new basketball divisional assignments and LeBron James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well done<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tip of the cap goes to Eric McCracken and Kevin Price and everyone involved in the June 24 Lincoln Highway Classic, which was played at Russell Fisher Field in Van Wert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first annual event was a smashing success. Interest was high and it was very well attended. The idea didn\u2019t come to fruition overnight \u2013 it took a great deal of time and planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was well done and should become an annual staple of summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-MAC final?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is eight months away, but could we see an all-MAC Division VII boys basketball state championship game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe. Obviously, a lot of things have to happen, but it\u2019s possible defending Division VII state champion Delphos St. John\u2019s could face Division VI state runner-up Marion Local. The Flyers dropped down to Division VII for this coming season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Cameron Elwer graduated but Delphos St. John\u2019s still returns a stable full of great players. Marion Local should cause all sorts of matchup problems in Division VII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So possible? Yes? Probable? We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When basketball divisional assignments were announced last week, there were no changes in the Western Buckeye League. However, there could be a change that helps Van Wert, with an emphasis on could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The team that defeated the Cougars in the Division IV regional semifinals \u2013 Jonathan Alder \u2013 will compete in Division III this season. That could help Van Wert, if the Cougars can return to the regionals. Again, a lot of things have to happen. Time will tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet another change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayne Trace is going from Division VI to Division VII. If you missed it, the Raiders will be the largest Division VII school in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eye opening change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lima Sr., a top five team in Division II for much of the 2025-2026 boys basketball season and a D-II state semifinalist, is now in Division III. That doesn\u2019t seem possible, but it\u2019s happening. Look out Division III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeBron James<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a theory. It very well may be off-base but here it is anyway \u2013 according to his agent, LeBron is in no rush to pick a new NBA team to presumably close out his career with. If you somehow missed it, LeBron is a free agent and can sign with any team. Obviously, his first choice is not a perpetual basement team. He wants to go to a championship contender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my theory \u2013 teams aren\u2019t exactly knocking down his door to sign him. Sure, he can still play. He\u2019ll be 42 in December and still plays at a high level, which is incredible. He\u2019d be a draw, no doubt. Despite that, I can\u2019t shake the feeling that there\u2019s interest, but not overwhelming interest. Due to the salary cap, some teams can pay more than others, but how many teams are going to cough up big cash for him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My guess \u2013 the early speculation was he winds up with Golden State. I wouldn\u2019t argue against that. Cleveland is possible too, but I\u2019ll be a bit surprised if that happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around a job well done, new basketball divisional assignments and LeBron James. Well done A tip of the cap goes to Eric McCracken and Kevin Price and everyone involved in the June 24 Lincoln Highway Classic, which was played at Russell Fisher Field in Van […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-14 02:49:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207643,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207642\/revisions\/207643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}