Nicholas County Boys
Nicholas County Boys
Stump returns to lead “ gritty ” Grizzlies attack
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
Through early season workouts , and flex days , Nicholas County coach Brian Phipps saw a fight in his squad .
And the veteran coach was not surprised by what he saw .
Phipps saw a spark of that in an unlikely scenario , during a blowout loss at Hurricane on Feb . 20 .
“ We went to Hurricane , and they have a pretty talented team ,” Phipps said . “ We had some guys who were sick and out of the game and didn ’ t play . But my guys who were there that night , they played hard . They scrapped . Despite the situation they played hard .
“ And we look around and say , ‘ you know what , that ’ s the way we need to play .’
“ As a coach that is what you want to see from your team , a team that keeps on fighting . That is where we first saw it and it was good to see . I believe that is the way that we have got to play , and it has carried over to this season . We have a team of guys who play with grit .”
With that newfound grittiness , the Grizzlies also return their top player from last year ’ s 8-15 season , Trey Stump , a 6-foot-1 shooter who is a returning all-Coalfield Conference pick .
Last season Stump averaged a team-best 16.3 points per game and made 71 3 pointers , one of the top deep ball shootists in the area . He shot 37 percent from behind the arc . Stump also averaged 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists . He is one of three players who played in all 23 games last season . The others were seniors Cole Brown and Ethan O ’ Dell .
Tina Laney / For The Register-Herald
Trey Stump of Nicholas County brings the ball up the floor against Sissonville .
Phipps raved about the shooting ability of his senior leader , who has appeared in 59 games in his career and has scored 541 points .
“ He ’ s our leading scorer and we want him to shoot the ball ,” Phipps said . “ If he is open from 3 , and gets a look , you have a feeling it ’ s going down because he is a shooter . He ’ s a senior co-captain and he is going to score . He has worked on all aspects of his game , but man can he shoot it .”
Another player back from last season is Isaiah Miner , who was the first player off the bench for the Grizzlies .
The senior co-captain averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds last winter and shot a team-best 59 percent from the floor ( 58 for 99 ).
Miner now moves into a full-time role as a starter and Phipps thinks he is ready to make the move .
“ The kid can flat jump out of the gym ,” Phipps said . “ He is the double-A state champion in the high jump . He had his breakout game against Lewis County when he came off the bench for 21 ( points ) and 12 ( rebounds ).
“ He is only 6-foot tall , but his skills are more that of a post player and he is going to play some post , but he also might move out a little more this season .”
Senior Brock Miles , at 6-foot-2 the tallest player on the team , will be the main post player for the Grizzlies .
“ His job is to shoot down the other team ’ s post player ,” Phipps said . “ That and rebound and box out . “
Ira Mylott is back and will see more after playing mostly JV a season ago . A pitcher on the baseball team , he averaged three points and 1.5 rebounds in limited varsity action .
“ He played JV because he hasn ’ t played but he is a go-getter ,” Phipps said . “ He can shoot , get a board and he runs the floor .”
Maverick Smith returns after seeing action in 10 varsity games .
“ He doesn ’ t realize how good a player he can be ,” Phipps said . “ He can get to the rim and when he is focused , he can shoot it .”
Other players who will be competing for varsity action include Isaac Miner , Briar O ’ Dell , Spencer Keiper , Channing Sarver , Eli Thomas , Braden Brown and Jaden Smith .
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