Oak Hill Boys
Oak Hill Boys
New coach , players accepting challenge
By Steve Keenan the fayette tribune
The first day of practice for the Oak Hill boys this year was a little “ different ,” said first-year head coach Andy Kees .
Kees , a nine-year assistant , took over the post when Benitez Jackson resigned in the offseason to take a job at WVU Tech .
The Red Devils will take a little while adjusting to playing for Kees , and Kees for the first couple weeks won ’ t have the athletes around who are in the playoffs for the OHHS football team . “ Our numbers were a little down because quite a few of them were down at the football field , and that ’ s okay ,” Kees said . “ It gives us the opportunity to look at some other players .” Kees said he supports the players and the Oak Hill football team . “ I ’ ve been very clear and transparent ; our football team is having a special year , and they have my full support ,” he said . “ I don ’ t want those guys to lose focus on what they ’ ve worked for .”
Kees inherits a team that went 8-13 last year , including a 72-43 loss to Woodrow Wilson in the section tournament opener .
The big departure from that squad was guard Malachi Lewis , who led the Red Devils into the postseason with a scoring average of 15.6 points a game , in addition to grabbing 5.5 rebounds and handing out 3.3 assists per night . Andre Wright and Noah Mc- Clung were also seniors .
Leading the returners is senior Levi Kiszka , who averaged about 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest a year ago
34 • WV SOUTH BASKETBALL
Steve Keenan / The Fayette Tribune
Oak Hill ’ s Levi Kiszka tries to collect a rebound ahead of Woodrow Wilson ’ s Zyon Hawthorne .
and “ was a nice surprise for us last year ,” said Kees .
Fellow seniors Cole Nelson and Carter Richardson will be expected to provide solid contributions . Another senior , Isaiah Rinehart , is a
“ fantastic kid , a good team guy .”
“ There are some juniors I ’ m really excited about ,” said Kees . “ Brent Conley ( about 6.5 ppg ) contributed and started a lot of games for us ,” he said . “ Ivan Perdue ( junior ), I think he ’ s going to be in the mix . Tom Jones is probably one of the most skilled guys we have ( and ) has a high basketball IQ .”
Football players expected to eventually be in the mix include cousins Armonyi Hicks ( 5.6 ppg ), who “ played quite a bit for us last year ,” and Antoine Hicks , a sophomore . “ We ’ re really excited about him ,” Kees said . “ As a freshman , he got a lot of junior varsity time ; he ’ s really athletic .”
The football quarterback , Devin Richardson , has told Kees he is planning to play basketball . “ We ’ re not really familiar with what he ’ s capable of , but I know what type of athlete he is .”
When the football players do join the basketball team , “ They ’ ll have to hop on a moving train ,” Kees said .
“ We have a handful of returners who all have an opportunity to contribute ,” Kees said . “ I like our depth a lot right now . We have a good combination of seniors and juniors getting some minutes , and we have some experienced guys coming back .
“ I fully expect us to be competitive . We definitely have to have our own identity . We ’ re going to have to have nine or 10 guys to contribute for us to be good ; they ’ re all going to have their hand in the pile . They ’ re embracing that challenge and that aspect .”
The Red Devils will be in Class AAAA Region 3 with St . Albans , George Washington , South Charleston , Woodrow Wilson and Riverside .
Email : skeenan @ registerherald . com ; follow on
Facebook Follow on Twitter @ gb _ scribe