MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Heading into the offseason, University basketball coach Joe Schmidle was worried his team may become complacent. They had just won the Class AAA state title with a tight 51-45 win over No. 1-seed Martinsburg, and he would be returning a group of talented guys.
“I haven’t seen that,” he said while on the topic. “They’ve [worked in the offseason] to get better and make the younger guys get better.”
Some of those guys he mentioned are K.J. McClurg and Kaden Metheny, the two guards that have already accepted Division I scholarships with Niagara and Bowling Green State, respectively. According to Schmidle, the duo are the nucleus of the team. Both have been working in the offseason to improve as much as possible heading into their final year of high school.
“I think one thing I’ve been doing this year that I didn’t last year is leading the team and taking them under me,” McClurg said. “I’m trying to keep that intensity [from last year] and bring everyone together. We love each other and we can do great things – we all have the same goal.”
“It was an incredible year and a great experience for us all,” Metheny added. “We know what it takes to win it again and we want that same feeling. It’s an unbelievable feeling so we’re working hard to achieve that. We’re trying to be good role models [to the young guys] and show them what it takes to be a great player.”
Not only are the two the main leaders on the team, they also pushed for what is one of the toughest schedules a West Virginia hoops team will play this year. Highlighted early is a home game against Poca, a group that will be competing for a AA state title. Further down the road, they’ll take part in a line of tournaments including the Pittsburgh Winter Jam Fest where the Hawks will square off with resining 6A state champion Kennedy Catholic, the school that’s produced Division I players Sagaba Konate and, most recently, Oscar Tshiebwe.
“We wanted to challenge our kids,” Schmidle said. “They wanted to be challenged, let me put it that way – they’re the ones that wanted to play in the tournaments. That’s when they have fun, they’d rather go out and play against someone good and lose rather than beat somebody by 40 points. They want to compete.”
“I think it helps us,” McClurg said. “A lot of the teams we play out of state are talented and give us a different look [at the game].”
Another monster team the Hawks will face is Millennium from Goodyear, Ariz. The Tigers have just three players who are shorter than 6-foot and are host to 6-foot-9 center DaRon Holmes who has already been offered scholarships by UCLA and Virginia. That game will be UHS’ first in the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“I’ve got to give credit to coach Schmidle for letting us [play that hard of a schedule],” Metheny said. “It will make us better. We know what we’re capable of and that we can play with the best. We’ll go into those games with a lot of confidence that we know we can win them. Yeah, it’s a tough schedule, but we believe we’re built for it.”
Here are some other notes to keep in mind before the Hawks’ season kicks off:
Looking past the big names
Schmidle is happy to see the return of McClurg and Metheny, but he wants to note that he’s got a solid group of underclassmen backing up the big names.
“I’m pleased with how hard our young kids have worked,” he said. “Everyone knows the K.J. McClurgs, Kaden Methenys and Mike Maumbes, but I’ve got a couple of sophomores who are pretty darn good. Blake Barkley and Aaron Forbes have been doing a great job. Ryan Niceler started every game for us last year, and will be another big factor in our plans this year.”
The young guys, practicing against the older, more experienced players, offer a good base that Schmidle notes will carry on the torch when this group of seniors graduates.
Mazza to Morgantown
A major component to the Hawks’ this year is transfer John Ross Mazza. Mazza, a 6-foot-2 guard transferred in from Bridgeport who ended its season 24-7 and failed to make the AA playoffs after losing to Lewis County.
Schmidle noted that Mazza’s skills will fit in great with the program, bringing another shooting component to the guard rotation.
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