MORGANTOWN — Coming off a record of 18-2 and a second-place finish in the state tournament last season, the Morgantown High boys’ basketball team (5-3) is doing everything possible to make another deep postseason run.
Checking in at No. 1 in the latest AP Class AAAA rankings is a great way to ensure the opportunity to do just that. Despite the ranking and looking toward the postseason, coach Dave Tallman encourages his team to take everything as it comes to them.
“We’re taking things one day/game at a time,” he said. “We put the toughest schedule together that we could so that we can be prepared for the postseason. You might as well play good competition. The ranking can benefit later on, but for now it’s just something for people to talk about.”
Achieving that top spot has been done with the chemistry of the players on the court, allowing MHS to confuse opponents with an all-around attack offensively and smothering defensive pressure. Despite a 5-3 record (all three losses by a combined score of six points), the Mohigans have beaten every team they’ve faced in-state so far and beaten nationally known school Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.) by a score of 75-58. In that game, every player who saw minutes for MHS scored, including at least one 3-point make for every player, as well.
This was the second time so far this season the Mohigans have had six or more players score a 3-pointer. Seven players did it in a game against Cabell Midland a week before Christmas.
Tallman credits his team’s ability to be unselfish.
“These guys really like each other and our chemistry is great,” Tallman said. “We have a lot of playmakers and shot-makers, but they don’t care who scores, they just want to win.”
Winning is something Tallman has established as a norm for the boys’ basketball team at MHS. He helped bring the first-ever state championship to MHS, going undefeated at 27-0 in 2016.
He also won a state title as a player at Magnolia in 2000, coached by his father.
Tallman emphasizes preparedness when going into a game as a huge part of being successful. It’s something he has noticed at two very different levels, including coaching as an assistant with the Best Virginia alumni team that competes in the TBT basketball tournament every year. Tallman describes it as “deserving to win,” a phrase he’s used for 15-plus years as a coach.
“What’s similar between the two different levels is the work that needs to be done in order to do a good job,” he said. “The best thing you can do for pro players who have already played at high levels is working hard for them to give them the best shot to win a game. It was our goal to outwork every staff in TBT and out-prepare them. The same goes for us at Morgantown.”
Having a major university in the same city has its perks, also. The alumni players have played a role in mentoring some of the players for MHS, and Tallman credits the family atmosphere that has been built by coach Bob Huggins at WVU.
“Our guys get advice and work with some of the old players and with the little time we have with them during the off-season it’s nothing but positive,” Tallman said. “We benefit from the trickle-down effect and are very lucky to have what we do in Morgantown.”
MHS will look to continue its in-state dominance as they host cross-town rival University on Friday night. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at MHS.
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