Jake Meisler knew exactly how it felt to be Jake Leibacher, Judah Keller and Julian Washington.
All of them experienced the joys of a championship for Margaretta boys basketball. They also got to play the game in a place that cherished the opportunity to watch them do it.
Meisler earned Sandusky Bay Conference player of the year honor as the Polar Bears captured the second league crown in program history in 2004, 39 years after the first. He was one of 10 Margaretta athletes in a poll this week to determine who fans remember since the year 2000.
Meisler played college basketball at Capital University, but returned to Margaretta on Steve Keller’s coaching staff in 2012. Both coaches retired after last season, partially to follow the college careers of Judah and Washington.
Washington heads to Dayton to play basketball and Judah to Findlay to play football. The Polar Bears earned league crowns in 2022, as well as the last three seasons. Margaretta advanced to regional the last three seasons.
“We’ve had a special group,” Meisler said. “The best team in school history last year. We sat down, ‘What’s next?’ Another decade together or step away. The program was ready for that change.”
It was brutal for Meisler to share news of his decision with seniors Kale Bailey, Tyson Bailey and Jaxson Bohn. It was never going to be easy to step away.
“Coach Meisler has poured his heart and soul into Margaretta,” Keller said. “He’s put Margaretta student-athletes first and held them accountable to become better people and players.”
Meisler spent 18 years of his life in Margaretta’s gym as a player or coach. The community made him want to match their support for the kids.
“I spent half my life — I’m 40 — I had a good high school experience with my teammates and coach Troy Roth,” Meisler said. “Steve Keller and Drew Grahl are good people. It’s easy to want to help. I love basketball. I’ve never not sat on a bench in a winter since I was 12.
“What better place to give back than where you came from? I like Margaretta people. I appreciate what they stand for. They love their kids and they love their community.”
The seats are on one side of the gym, with the exception of a small pocket on the opposite side. Most of the seats are typically occupied for basketball games, boys and girls.
Prior to Meisler, this wasn’t always the case.
“They saw the success the girls program had with Tim Tucker,” Roth said. “The SBC titles and playing in the state semifinals. They wanted it to be something where when you’re taling about Margaretta, it wasn’t just how good the girls program was.
“Younger kids looked up to those kids succeeding and you hope they replicate those things.”
Meisler sat in the Margaretta bleachers watching Port Clinton warm up before a game to determine the league champ. Current Margaretta superintendent Ed Kurt put his arm around Meisler and told him, “Win or lose, you’re about to be part of something special.”
The Polar Bears, who were tabbed to finish fifth in the preseason, didn’t lose. That’s the game many people remember as the perfect snapshot.
“We couldn’t have come close to doing what we did without everyone on the same page,” Meisler said.
Roth has video proof of every player on the roster impacting a game in the conference chase. Meisler was joined by classmates Rob Hawn, Matt McGory, Adam Miller and Kevin Rohrbacher. Ben Boos was a junior and Matt Zahel a freshman.
Meisler hated losing more than any player Roth coached and spent more time preparing, as well. Margaretta fell only to St. Mary Central Catholic on the road in the SBC in 2004.
The Polar Bears might have played their best game of the season to pulverize the Panthers at home. They knew then a conference crown was a realistic goal. They beat a state ranked Port Clinton team, including Andrew Lemmon on the road in double overtime.
It feels like a lifetime ago, but Meisler now understands how significant it was for his team to win a championship.
Meisler was a skinny 6-foot-2-inch freshman when Roth arrived, but Meisler grew into a force at 6-6. He was the best post player in the league that season, averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds, and he still occasionally scored from the perimeter.
“He took it to another level,” Roth said. “He got better every year. You don’t see that often. He improved and added more.”
Keller coached Clyde when Meisler was a player. Keller reached out to the program icon when Keller left Sandusky for Margaretta.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into at first,” Meisler said. “We had some tough years early on, while we developed the culture. He’s a good friend. I’m fortunate our paths crossed.”
Meisler owns Ohio Buckets, a nonprofit youth basketball organization. Buckets is one of the more prominent AAU programs in the Midwest, with players from Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky in the third through 11th grade.
Meisler started Buckets because Roth’s sons Ryan Roth and Justin Roth wished to play basketball in the spring. In his time, Meisler played on outdoor courts and the YMCA.
Margaretta players like Leibacher, Keller and especially Washington frequently trained at a small gym Meisler still owns in Vickery. Future generations of Polar Bears are certain to have similar opportunities, especially since Margaretta’s new coach, Toby Miller, works closely with Meisler with Buckets.
Meisler coached Miller at Margaretta in 2015. Meisler isn’t the best player in Margaretta history as that honor goes to Washington.
Meisler, however, paved the road for future Polar Bears to create their own championship paths and he helped to keep the new cars oiled.
mhorn@gannett.com
419-307-4892
X: @MatthewHornNH
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Jake Meisler changed, helped maintain boys basketball at Margaretta
Reporting by Matthew Horn, Fremont News-Messenger / Fremont News-Messenger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Matthew Horn, Fremont News-Messenger | USA TODAY Network
