Welcome back to The Deep Post, a weekly column sifting through the rumblings of the week past and ahead.
This week was full of rivalry matchups and litmus tests.
Opening Tip
The Wyoming East-Westside matchups returned to school campuses this year with the first installment going to Wyoming East 50-41 Saturday in New Richmond.
It was the first time the two teams have played in Wyoming County since Jan. 11, 2022 when an altercation broke out in the waning seconds. That incident was the latest and led the Board of Education to pull the plug. That was eventually walked back as Westside dropped to double-A last season on the boys side so the teams played one regular season matchup at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center and later met in the sectional tournament at the Brushfork Armory.
That brings us to Saturday which was uneventful on the extracurricular side. And that’s what we want.
But of the matchups I’ve covered between the two programs, this one felt different in a positive way. There wasn’t a long wait after the game for the coaches. Westside head coach Tom Evans seemed to treat it like it was another game, though he spoke positively about the environment the game produced as he munched on his postgame gummy snacks.
But in years past there always seemed to be frustration and stress postgame regardless of the outcome for either team. That didn’t seem to be the case Saturday. The loss surely stung for Westside but as forward Kadien Vance left the locker room he remarked, ‘We’ll get them next time’ in a manner that didn’t exude arrogance.
All of this to say, the rivalry seems to have reached a much-needed reset. Shawn Jenkins, the previous Westside head coach, told me on numerous occasions he had fans come up to him and tell him it’s okay if he goes 2-20, as long as those two wins are against Wyoming East. A mentality like that is dangerous because it puts so much emphasis on a game that matters little in the grand scheme. Sure, it factors into sectional seeding but depending on how the sectional tournament is played (it was all at the same site last year) the only difference it makes is whether your jersey color is your school color or white.
The game is a big one for both programs and communities, but it didn’t feel detrimental to them.
Saturday’s contest went off without a hitch. The officials did a great job calling jump balls early in simultaneous possession situations and it never felt chippy. That was the intended result.
Slow and steadyÂ
My one request to teams is to not blow your opponent out or get blown out yourselves because then I have to put lipstick on a pig.
Congratulations to the Wyoming East boys for taking a massive lead in the non-official competitive balance award race! When I make the schedule for the week one of the factors to take in is how competitive a game will be. We go in knowing some games will be blowouts but not all.
So far Wyoming East has provided intrigue in mosts of its games. Aside from the first three which were all decided by double digits, East’s last seven games have all been decided by 10 or fewer points. If you want you can even date that back eight games to the Bluefield matchup, one that was much closer for three quarters than the 27-point final margin indicates.
Those haven’t been easy games either. Summers County and Westside are much improved from a year ago, James Monroe has a chance to compete for its third straight title, Princeton is a talented quad-A and Charleston Catholic is probably the favorite right now to win the Class AA state title. The games haven’t always been pretty but they’re competitive.
I think that’s a testament to what East is right now. The Warriors aren’t overly talented but they play hard and like they’re supposed to win. Scrappy is often synonymous with bad but that doesn’t apply to this group. They scrap but they also believe they’re supposed to win and it shows. I don’t think they’re more talented than Bluefield or Charleston Catholic or even Princeton. But that doesn’t matter to them and they’re not deterred. I’ve seen kids and teams that look and play panicked when they’re at a talent or athletic disadvantage. This group isn’t like that and it’s what makes them so competitive regardless of the opponent.
Summers County’s Progress
If you’re associated or a fan of the Summers County girls basketball program there’s a lot to be pleased with.
The Lady Bobcats seem to get better and learn from their mistakes.
They went 2-1 this past week, avenging losses to Nicholas County and Mingo Central in blowout fashion.
I want to note that Mingo Central is not as good as its ranking suggests, in fact I can’t believe my fellow AP voters slotted the Miners at No. 2 after the No. 3 team (Williamstown) throttled the Miners by 37 points on a neutral court two days before the votes were due. Realistically, I don’t think Mingo is better than No. 7 right now with Wyoming East, Williamstown, Summers, St. Marys, Chapmanville and Parkersburg Catholic all seemingly better. You could probably talk me into Ravenswood and Wheeling Central ahead of them as well.
That’s not to shade Mingo or even delegitimize Summers’ Saturday win against it. It’s just what I believe is the reality of the moment.
Roping this back to Summers, the Lady Bobcats have made progress with decisive wins over opponents who had their number early on. That’s what those 22 regular season games are about. Last year’s state runner-up campaign followed the same trend.
Summers lost the first games it played against Chapmanville, Wyoming East and Mingo last year. It finished 4-1 against those three the rest of the way with the loss coming against Wyoming East in the title game. The Lady Bobcats have a new head coach but they’ve been through this song and dance before, recognizing it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
That said, I don’t know how they close the gap on Wyoming East. If it’s possible they’ll figure it out I’m sure but Wyoming East presents a matchup nightmare for them right now. Summers doesn’t have anybody that can withstand East’s on-ball pressure for 32 minutes. Liv Meador and Sullivan Pivont gave Summers a pair of reliable ball handlers but both graduated.
When Chad Meador was the head coach at Summers he faced a similar dilemma and took an approach to make sure the deficit was smaller each time the teams played. Summers eventually closed there gap and won last year’s sectional title game. This week’s results seem to indicated Rick Blevins is taking that same approach. The Feb. 2 meeting between the two in Hinton will go a long way in telling if this year’s team has the answers.
Bluefield refocused
Bluefield started 2-0 but took two on the chin against Graham and Huntington. I believe it led to an early season reality check and the realization that the miscues and lack of attention to details add up. Careless turnovers cost the Beavers against Graham and even then they blew a couple opportunities to tie or win the game late.
Back in the swing of things, they avenged that loss at Graham this week and picked up a couple more 20-point victories over Mingo Central and Princeton. Double-A is loaded this year with five teams in that top tier (Bluefield, Chapmanville, Charleston Catholic, Williamstown and Wheeling Central) and a misstep anywhere can derail a title season.
Those losses to Graham and Huntington came early enough in the season to sharpen Bluefield’s focus, and the Beavers will need to be honed in. Shady Spring, Beckley, Wyoming East, Charleston Catholic lie on the back end of the schedule.
Real Hoops
Here are my picks for the top games of the upcoming week, taking into account the weight, significance and expected competitiveness. I expect the winter weather will probably wipe the front half of the week.
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Princeton at Oak Hill (Boys) – A sectional matchup that’s usually competitive. Princeton is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. The Tigers could beat South Charleston or suffer back to back blowout losses to Bluefield and Beckley.
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Chapmanville at Wyoming East (Girls) – I still believe Chapmanville is a Top 5 team in double-A. Wyoming East beat the Tigers convincingly in Chapmanville earlier this season and this matchup should be another litmus test for both programs.
Friday, Jan. 12
Beckley at Oak Hill (B) – The earlier matchup between these two was probably one of the more exciting games played this year. Beckley won 66-64 at home in what turned into a 3-point shootout.