MORGANTOWN – In a year when one positive case of COVID-19 can derail an entire team, precautions take precedence. However, no matter how insulated a program or school is, there are certain times the virus slips through the cracks.
That was the reality 55 student-athletes at University High school were facing just as winter sports practices were coming into full swing in mid-February. Someone associated with the athletics department, not a student or coach, had contracted the virus and, thus, measures were taken to squash any more spread.
One of those student-athletes was senior basketball player Ryan Niceler.
Niceler was baptized early in how COVID could dismantle things, as he was one of the starters and key players for the Hawks in 2020 as the Hawks held their top rank in Class AAA throughout most of the season. Looking primed to repeat state title victories, Niceler and the Hawks were ushered out of Charleston almost as soon as they got there due to the pandemic. No state tournament, no chance to make history.
“We knew that for about two weeks we were the only team in the state of West Virginia that wasn’t practicing, so we’ve been making sure we practice hard every single day,” Niceler said. “For a week or two we were trying to get in shape. We’re really trying to focus on our defense this year.”
With the loss of guards Kaden Metheny and K.J. McClurg, as well as big man Mike Maumbe, Niceler’s mention of defense isn’t just one in passing. Still, the Hawks have retained two staunch defenders, one being Niceler and the other, junior Aaron Forbes. Still, without two guards who were the spear tip of coach Joe Schmidle’s press, UHS will be a more zone-heavy team.
“Everybody’s doing good, as long as they’re working hard,” he said. “We’ll probably play a lot more zone than we did last year just because of our length. Defense has been taking up a majority of practice recently.”
Taking over the reins wasn’t a new concept to Niceler, nor that the makeup of the team would be completely different. So to prepare for his senior year he’s had to switch up his game entirely.
“I’ve been working on my scoring ability, shooting, and in the off-season, I was trying to get strong and gain weight by lifting weights a lot,” Niceler said. “My [travel] team dropped out of some tournaments this year, so I’ve mostly been working on my own.”
Personal goals include being a steadfast leader and bigger scorer, while goals for the team are just as simple: Have a good season and return to the state tournament.
The competition in 4A isn’t new for the Hawks, so he knows what to expect. Still, a large part of the Hawks schedule that’s missing is out-of-state games, one they cut their teeth on with teams like Kennedy Catholic out of Pittsburgh. With COVID-19 those games were the first to be nixed, naturally. So, to be missing out on those games, plus the quarantine period at the beginning of the season, it could be a difficult journey to the state title. Niceler’s not letting it get him down, though.
“It would be amazing for us,” he said when asked about getting back to the state tournament. “It was real disappointing because we knew how good our team was that year. We all had a team meeting talking about everything after all that stuff happened. Yeah, it was real disappointing. But it motivated a lot of our players to try and be as good a team as we had last year.”
And what does he think about the strange schedule this year?
“It’s going to be a lot different, a lot harder,” he said. “We’re going to have to be going all out, a lot, throughout the week. We’re going to get tired but once we’re in shape it shouldn’t affect us. He’s [Schmidle] is good at putting people where they’re supposed to be so we have the best chance at winning, so I know he’ll do a good job with that.”
Niceler and the Hawks take to the pine for their season-opener on March 11, hosting conference opponent Parkersburg South. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
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