MORGANTOWN — Boys’ basketball coach Dave Tallman and the Morgantown Mohigans enter the 2022-23 season as the defending Class AAAA state champions in WV. After finishing with a record of 24-4, with no losses coming to a team within the state, MHS will aim to finish on top once again.
Although the loss of high-impact players like Alec Poland, Brooks Gage, and Jalen Goins will be felt, star junior guard Sharron (Sha-Ron) Young (6-0) and senior guards Brody Davis (6-5) and Cam Danser (6-7) all return, having played significant minutes last season.
MHS also added a transfer in Garrison Kisner (6-8) who returns to MHS after a year at University High. The West Liberty commit is seemingly the final piece of the puzzle for an all-around approach for Tallman and a group of players that look different than last year stylistically as a team, but who are just as talented playing together.
“We really like our guys coming into this year, they’ve been working hard but we still have a long way to go,” Tallman said after the Mohigans’ scrimmage Tuesday. “This was a great scrimmage to have (Tuesday), this will be some great film for us to break down and use to get better every day.”
Along with the core group of Young and the senior class, Tallman is confident in the bench support he has behind his starters. Presumably, junior guard Johnathan Shrewsbury (5-11) will round out the starting five, joining Young, Kisner, Davis, and Danser.
Two more juniors in guard Izzy Everett (5-11) and forward Jacob King (6-5) will be called upon to come off of the bench for the Mohigans, and look to make an impact.
“Izzy, Shrews, and Jacob have all paid their dues in the program on JV and are more than ready to step up and play at the varsity level,” Tallman said. “All three of them have been great in practice so far.”
A rule change this season will allow for players to play six quarters a night (previously four) between JV and varsity games, which will allow Tallman to use more of his bench game-by-game.
“I think we are definitely deep this year, I like the juniors that came up from JV this year, and we have some players returning from a state championship team,” Tallman said of his non-starters. “It’s a good mix, we’re obviously not anywhere close to where we want to be right now, but we will continue to get better.”
The Mohigans may even have the chance to play nine players if needed, as senior big-man Dakoma Neal (6-0) will see much of the floor, and sophomore guard Amarion Johnson may be asked to support Young and Everett in handling the ball on offense.
MHS will open the regular season at the BFS Tip-Off Classic hosted by University High School next Friday, December 9th, against Washington. Then the Mohigans will return to UHS for a game against Hurricane on Saturday, the 10th.
It won’t be long into the season for a highly anticipated match-up against last year’s Class AAA runner-up in MHS’s home opener against Shady Spring in the Little General Classic on December 16th.
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