Shady Spring – Coaching the Scott Brown-Little General Classic is an honor.
It’s the state’s top all-star basketball event with all-state seniors from every corner of West Virginia. For the coaches that lead each squad it’s an opportunity to coach players they usually face off against.
Chad Meador, who led Summers County to the Class AA state title game will lead the girls Class A-AA-AAA (Chick-fil-A) all-stars, probably appreciates that opportunity more than most. Saturday’s contest will be his last game as he submitted his resignation after the season, a decision he made prior to the start of the year.
“Coach Bob Bolen called and asked if I wanted to coach and it wasn’t a question,” Meador said. “It’s an honor to be a head coach in this game. I’ve been fortunate enough to be an assistant coach a couple of times but never the man standing up. Not only is it an honor to coach in this game, but to coach these young ladies. It’s nice to see (Wyoming East forward Colleen Lookabill) wearing the same shirt or (Kayley) Bane. I can say that for (Adyson) Hines or (Trista) Lester or Sydney Baird or Ana Young.”
Baird in particular has caught Meador’s eye, or more she had it long before most people knew her as one of the most prolific scorers in state history. It’s why the Webster County all-stater and Mary Ostrowski Award runner-up is one of the player he’s most excited to coach.
“I’ve seen Sydney kind of grow up from the outside,” Meador said. “They’ve come to our Rogers Oil Tournament. I remember she was just a little girl following her mother and she was in the back of the line shaking Candace Brown’s hand and she was back there dribbling. It’s pretty special being able to coach her.”
James Monroe head coach Matt Sauvage, who will coach in the game for the second consecutive season, has his eye on a kid he’s excited to coach in Morgantown all-stater Brody Davis. Davis is the cousin of Bill Evans Award winner and James Monroe all-stater Eli Allen. Davis’ mother and Allen’s father are siblings, generating a lot of familiarity.
“Brody, I know his parents so I’m excited to coach him,” Sauvage said. “His parents are from Peterstown so it’ll be exciting to coach him a little bit. But all these boys, they’re fun to get to know.”
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While it is an all-star game, there are some competitive notes that add to the fun.
Shady Spring’s senior class has never lost in its home gym. Saturday the quadruplet of Cam Manns, Jaedan Holstein and Braden and Cole Chapman will put that record on the line one final time as they suit up for the Class AA-AAA all-stars (C. Adam Toney). They’ll do so against Sauvage’s Class A-AAAA Mid-State Automotive all-stars. Sauvage led the Class A-AA all-stars to victory last year.
“Last year it was all fun until the last three minutes and it was a close game,” Sauvage said. “Everybody wanted to play hard. We’ll see how the game goes tomorrow and I’m more about hoping the boys are going to enjoy their experience and enjoy that side of it. That being said, towards the end of the game if it’s close obviously you don’t like to lose.”
Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson, who coaches the C. Adam Toney squad, shares those same feelings even if that streak his senior class established is on the line.
“We haven’t talked about (the streak),” Olson laughed. “I’m not going to do much tomorrow. We talked about it. We’ll sub in and out but in the end we want to win a game. These guys are big competitors but it would be nice to win the game.”
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Olson has as much familiarity with he event as anybody. He played in it when he was a senior and has served as the head coach once before in 2021.
Now he’ll have the opportunity to coach the event in his home gym.
“Honestly when Coach Bolen asked me I was excited because I get to coach my guys again,” Olson said. “But I still wasn’t over the title game loss. But looking at everything, and getting to coach my guys is awesome. As soon as I stepped in the gym and saw my guys smiling it was awesome. I saw a lot of guys we’ve played against and there was automatic chemistry and it was pretty cool. I’ve had some good experiences with this but getting to coach my guys and play in my home gym is pretty awesome. It’s nice to see them taking shots for me instead of against me.”
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It will be a day of lasts for the Meador family. While Meador concluded his run at Summers, his daughter Liv did as well. A defensive stopper, the senior earned all-state honors and will get one more game with her father before both call it a career.
“Coaching Liv’s always been special,” Coach Meador said. “I can remember her playing in youth league basketball in Hinton thinking she had some natural instincts. I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll coach her one day’ and here we are. In the blink of an eye we’re in an all-star game in what’s going to be her last game regardless of what happens. But back when I first started my goal was to not let the program tank. What I’m most proud of is we’ve been relevant the entire time. The girls bought in and wanted to continue that tradition and that’s a testament to the girls that remain with the program.”
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Three-point shootouts will be held before the girls and boys games on Saturday. The girls will start at 2 p.m. and the boys at 4 p.m.
The finalists were determined during Friday’s practice session with seven players qualifying on the boys side and six on the girls side.
Eli Robertson (Herbert Hoover), Brody Davis (Morgantown), Garrett Mitchell (Wyoming East), Reece Carden (Scott), Cam Danser (Morgantown), Cam Manns (Shady Spring) and DeSean Goode (Fairmont Senior) qualified on the boys side while Emily Sharkey (University), Mia Hankins (Morgantown), Cadence Stewart (Greenbrier East), Gabby Reep (Bridgeport), Ana Young (Pendleton County) and Sydney Baird (Webster County) qualified on the girls side.
The events will kickoff at 2 p.m. with the girls 3-point shootout, followed by the girls game at 2:30. The boys 3-point shootout and dunk contest will start at 4 with the game following at 4:30.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94