Many high school basketball coaches have said that the regular season is basically a building block for the postseason.
The boys basketball team at Oak Hill proved that philosophy to indeed be the truth last year.
A year ago in sectional play, the Red Devils knocked off No. 1 seed Greenbrier East before beating No. 2 Princeton for the championship.
Now Oak Hill looks to build on that momentum, but will have to do so minus several key seniors that graduated last year.
“We will be different than last year. We lost five seniors that played. Part of that group has been starting since they were sophomores and Omar (Lewis) was starting since he was a freshman,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said. “It is hard when you lose that, so there will be some growing pains. It will be tough replacing the toughness of that team. Omar kept everybody in check. We had Jeremiah (Jackson), (Ethan) Vargo-Thomas, Cole Legg and Chance Minor. They were big tough kids and physical.”
The Red Devils will have two players returning to build around which are both experienced varsity starters in Malachi Lewis and Trevor Kelley.
Kelley stands 6-foot-5 and can stretch the defense. He also creates matchup nightmares for opposing defenders.
“Trevor can play inside-out for us. He can shoot the 3-ball and he is athletic,” Jackson said. “He gives us a starting point as far as guys that generate points for us.”
Playing in a back court of dynamic personalities last year, Lewis came into is own as a solid scorer. Now as a senior, Lewis could be primed for a huge year.
“Malachi creates matchup problems as well and he was our leading scorer last year,” Jackson said. “Early on he has shown that he can make plays for others as well. He didn’t have to do that last year with Omar and Ethan. He was the beneficiary of that. Malachi has shown he can make the game easier for everyone else. If he can do that, I think we will have a chance to be pretty good.”
Armonyi Hicks flew under the radar a bit last year, but was huge for the Red Devils later in the season and especially in the postseason.
“Malachi will share the ball-handling duties with Armonyi. By the end of the season we felt like he was one of the most improved players that we had going into the sectional tournament,” Jackson said. “He played in the sectional game against East and really stepped up. Once he gets in and gets comfortable we think he will have a good year. He is a tough kid and not scared of anything. He is quick and shoots the ball really well.”
After those three players the water gets a little murky in regards to starters and players coming off the bench. However, Jackson feels he has players that are capable of getting the job done for him.
“We have a lot of guys in the mix that haven’t played a lot of varsity, but we have plenty of guys that we can run out there and see what they can give us,” Jackson explained. “They just need to get their feet wet with some varsity time. We have been happy with how they have been practicing and they can shoot the ball pretty well. I thought we shot the ball in our scrimmage.”
Cole Nelson played some varsity minutes last year and could be a starter along with Levi Kiszka.
“Levi was the back-up quarterback on the football team and has really improved over the off-season,” Jackson said. “He got in the weight room and changed his body. He has also practiced really well and is a lot stronger than he has been.”
Andre Wright has joined the team after playing at Woodrow Wilson last year and Jackson says he looked good in the scrimmage game.
The Red Devils also have senior Jacob Blankenship that is another big kid that will see varsity minutes.
“Noah McClung and Brent Conley can play a lot for us,” Jackson said. “Conley’s upside is really high. He has good size, can score and shoot the ball well.”
Although has has some new varsity pieces to mix together, Jackson is convinced this team will ready to go when tournament time rolls around.
“They know they can get the job done. They are an unselfish group that makes the right reads and make good passes,” Jackson said. “I think we will be able to shoot the ball pretty well. There will be some ups and downs. Hopefully by January or February we will get it all figured out. If we are fluent on offense and get down and guard like we have in the past, this team can compete for the section.”
