Independence Boys
Independence Boys
Patriots will benefit from other sports ’ success
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
It may take a while to get them on the gym .
But it ’ s not a situation third-year Independence boys basketball coach Shawn Jenkins hasn ’ t seen before .
In his first two seasons , Independence ’ s football squad made deep runs to the playoffs — winning it all two years ago — delaying the return of several key players .
And Independence , No . 3 in Class AA , had another chance to do it this season . But Jenkins was ready for it . The Patriots now won ’ t open the basketball season until after Christmas .
“ It ’ s a great thing for the kids , our coaches , the school and the community ,” Jenkins said . “ Sure , you ’ d like to have them at the start , but they will get here . I ’ ve been to some games , that ( football ) team is fun to watch play . And I ’ ve always been for kids playing multiple sports .”
While many players are indeed football guys , one player who has been there is junior and two-year starter Ashton Arthur .
Arthur averaged 14.5 points and had 17 double-figure games . He had 12 in a row at one point , including a season-best 26 against Class AAA state champion Shady Spring .
Arthur knocked down 54 3s and was an 80-percent free throw shooter ( 60 of 75 ).
“ He came in his freshman year , and you could tell right away he was a shooter ,” Jenkins said . “ And he is still a shooter . He can get hit and knock 10 down quick . And he has gotten stronger . He ’ s starting to take the ball to the basket . But he can really spot up and be our knock down shooter . And I think we have the guys that can help him elevate his game even more .”
Then come the football players and one of those is Arthur ’ s classmate and
14 • WV SOUTH BASKETBALL
Jenny Harnish / The Register-Herald
Independence ’ s Degan Williams drives to the basket during against Greenbrier West at the New River CTC Invitational at the Beckley-Raleigh Convention Center .
backcourt mate — the second part of a junior class 1-2 punch — Sylas Nelson .
Last season , Nelson averaged a team-best 15.3 points per game with 38 3s , including nine in a 35-point effort against PikeView .
He had 15 double-figure games .
“ He shoots the ball well , he goes to the basket hard , he gets to the foul line ,” Jenkins said . “ He ’ s a great football player , but I ’ m telling you he is a pretty darned good basketball player , too . He does a lot of things , he ’ s a great athlete , a complete player .”
Ironically , the two juniors have similar numbers coming into their third seasons . Nelson has 428 career points and 18 double-figure games . Arthur has 427 points and 21 double-figure games .
Jenkins said the key might be freshman Brock Green . He has no trouble saying that . After all , Green was a football record breaker as a ninth-grader , breaking the season record for yards passing .
“ He ’ s handled himself really well on the football field . He reminds me of Justin ( Cogar ) in that regard ,” said Jenkins , former coach at
Westside , who coached Cogar , the current football coach at Westside .
“ He passes the ball so well for a big man . He gets the ball down low and because he ’ s a smart player who has a high basketball IQ and a great passer , he knows where to go with it . I can see him in the post running our 41 series ( four out ) and dishing that ball to our shooters .”
Another football player who has Jenkins excited is Landon Riddle , who hasn ’ t played high school basketball .
“ He ’ s got that dog in him ,” Jenkins said . “ He is a guy who is a leader .”
Football player Kaden Bradbury is a player Jenkins thinks can help .
“ He ’ s going to play some big minutes for us ” Jenkins said . “ He ’ s a good athlete , a guard who can shoot the ball .”
On the other side of the equation from the football guys are a pair of baseball players who played for a state title in June , Reid Warden and Degan Williams .
Senior Warden came in against Winfield and got the save in the semifinals against Winfield . Sophomore Williams , a first-team all-stater , was also all-tournament as a freshman .
Brady Rose and Koltin Murphy will vie for time .
The Patriots find themselves in a tough Class AAA Region 3 , with teams like Class AAA state champ Shady , state tournament team Herbert Hoover , as well as bigger schools like Greenbrier East and Princeton .
Those teams have been added to the schedule .
“ I ’ ve still got that WyCo ( Wyoming County ) mentality ,” Jenkins , a Baileysville native , said , laughing . “ We ’ re going to play a pretty good schedule . We can ’ t wait to match up against teams in our region and have a couple measuring stick games in the middle .