Shady Spring head boys basketball coach Ronnie Olson expects hard work, commitment and sacrifices from his team.
The Tigers’ head man not only demands it from his team, he demands those qualities from himself.
“I think my wife has been elbowing me in my side because I have been watching Hampshire (basketball film) in bed at night. I have missed the Mandalorian and American Idol,” Olson said, laughing. “We have watched tons of film on them and we have shown the guys several games.”
The reason the Trojans have occupied so much of Olson’s time is simple.
Thursday evening, top-seeded Shady Spring opens the Class AAA portion of the 2022-23 state boys basketball tournament against No. 8 seed Hampshire.
While the game pits No. 8 versus No. 1, Olson and his players refuse to take the Trojans lightly.
“What sticks out to me is that they are really well coached and they run really good sets. They also have a couple of kids that can really play,” Olson said. “We don’t want to be that team that gets upset early. We probably talk about the No. 8 versus No. 1 seed more than anybody. They have our attention.”
The two players that have garnered the most respect from the Tigers are senior post Easton Shanholtz and junior Jenson Fields.
“Shanholtz is 6-5 to 6-7, but he is a stretch-type guy. He can shoot the 3 and even when he posts up, he will turn and face (the basket) like a college player. He is really tough to deal with,” Olson said. “The big guys we have dealt with are (true) post players, but that is about all. It will be a change with a big guy stepping outside like that.”
Fields will get the full attention of the Shady Spring pressure defense.
“He is the point guard and he is really good as well. They center the offense around those two guys and they make them go,” Olson said.
Two years ago, the Trojans rolled into Charleston and knocked off No. 1 seed Robert C. Byrd in the quarterfinals. Olson explained why he feels Hampshire will be Shady’s toughest opening round opponent of the last three years.
“No disrespect to any team we have played before in the state tournament, but this will be our toughest first round matchup. The last two years we played opening games against teams that were not at full strength. This will really test us,” Olson said. “Last year North Marion had players suspended and Covid knocked out some kids at Herbert Hoover two years ago.”
Hampshire will also bring a bit of the “unknown” to the contest Thursday.
“We are just not as familiar with some of the northern teams because they don’t have as much media as we do down here in southern West Virginia,” Olson said. “They beat Weir on the road and Weir was the favorite. They were up 20 on them at one time. They play primarily man-to-man, but will mix in some 2-3 (zone) and 1-3-1 (zone) as well. Hampshire is also a slow-paced team, so I can only imagine what it will be like against us.”
While the Trojans may be somewhat unfamiliar to the Tigers, Olson talked about preparing his team for various strategies in the postseason.
“We have practiced for different approaches for the last three weeks. We have worked to prepare for stalls, slow downs and various things we could see at the state tournament,” Olson said. “We are ready for those things, but it is still a grind and it won’t be easy if teams decide to do that against us. I want to prepare my team to put them in the best position possible.”
While many have the Tigers winning another state championship Saturday night, Olson does not believe it will be a walk in the park for his team.
“The (Class AAA) field is deeper than people think it is. I feel like it is deeper than last year,” Olson said. “I don’t think our players are looking at who is in the tournament. I feel like they are locked in and just wanting to take care of the game in front of them. Just take care of business.”
The winner of the Shady Spring and Hampshire game will battle the winner of Herbert Hoover and Scott, Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals.
The Class AAA state championship game will be played Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
