It’s been two years since Wyoming East last made the state tournament but there’s optimism in Wyoming County that the Warriors will be back in Charleston this year.
Despite losing all-state point guard Cole Lambert, East returns a strong nucleus of experienced and talented players as well as some young ones that will help lead the program. They’ll work under Mullens legend Herbie Brooks who will serve as the team’s interim head coach while head coach Derek Brooks is away from the team indefinitely.
The elder Brooks is impressed with the group he’ll field this season.
“First off you got Braxton Morgan,” Brooks said. “He’s a junior. He’s been with us since he was a freshman. He’s worked on his game. and his body has changed. He’s developed and that’s gonna help us on the offensive and defensive end. We gotta get some points out of him. We need that from him again this year as well as rebounding the ball which hasn’t been an issue for him. He goes after the ball and he plays aggressive. He knows that the ball is the most important thing out there and he goes and gets it and he’s stepped up in practices and then our two scrimmages. We definitely gotta get more points out of him, we need him shooting the ball more and taking advantage of some mismatches cause he’s a very athletic kid.”
Morgan is versatile and surrounded by shooters as well.
“Zach Hunt can really stroke the ball,” Brooks sad. “He’s went through several slumps different times during different years, but he’s a pure shooter and if we get him in the right frame of mind as far as knocking shots down and taking good open shots when he’s open, hopefully, he can continue to knock him down for us. He’s worked all summer and all fall. His body has changed he stronger he’s quicker and he’s more confident so hopefully he can continue to knock shots down for us and he was going in the right direction.Another kid that saw limited action last year but can shoot is Landon Hodges. We expect big things from him this year as well. He can shoot and is long and athletic and can defend.”
Filling out the roster are a trio of talented underclassmen that Brooks expects big things from in Konnor Fox, Talan Muscari and Broc Johnson. All three are expected to start this year.
“Konnor is 6-foot-8, maybe 6-foot-9,” Brooks said. “He’s grown a little bit. If we could just get his confidence up – he gets down on himself. He’s taking good shots and everything but sometimes, I’ll try to tell him shots don’t fall but if you miss the shot, don’t put your head down. Get back on defense and get a blocked shot back on that end. Come down and if you get the same old shot, take it again. I’m not mad at you or we’re not gonna get down on you cause you miss shots as long as they’re good shots. You gonna miss shots but he’s a big body kid and if he can keep his confidence, he’s gonna help with Tremendously.
“We got several freshmen but two of them are very, very talented and they will start immediately. We got got Talan Muscari and he gets the ball basically from Cole Lambert at point guard. He’s very heady, very quick, can shoot it and get to the hole. He’ll find an open man and he’s gonna give us big minutes. Again he’s starting so we expect big things from him. Our other freshman is Broc Johnson and he’s about 6-foot-4 and he’s a very good basketball player. He’s long, wiry and he can shoot it and go to the hole. He rebounds well and defends tremendously. He’s so long he can guard you can go to four different positions and probably sometime depending on who it is, five. We expect a big things for those from those freshmen. They’re gonna be a big part of his team and they’re gonna help us get.”
With a young, talented squad that’s versatile, Brooks already sees a strength he’ll utilize.
“I think the strength is gonna be up-tempo,” Brooks said. “We’re gonna be able to get up and down the floor. In a couple scrimmages we scored a lot of points, more than we were used to scoring last year so hopefully that continues. We can push the ball up and down floor and get a lot of points. Talan does a great job of getting the ball out and pushing it up the floor.”
Brooks, a prolific three-time state champion at Mullens during his playing days, knows the standard is high in Wyoming County. Despite a youth movement, the goal remains the same.
“The goal is always go to Charleston,” Brooks said. “That’s the ultimate goal is the state championship but of course you gotta win your games. I told them at this practice and the other day if we win our games rankings will take care of themselves. Rankings came out (Monday) but were seven so I told the guys don’t pay attention to that. They’re gonna rank you where they’re gonna rank you. I know you look at them and you like to see your name up in the top three. I don’t particularly like being ranked seventh but we go to win our games. Everything else will take care of itself if we go play one game at the time like we’re supposed to do. If we win our games, we will steadily move up in those rankings and everything else will take care of itself.”
