Westside Boys
Westside Boys
Renegades look to make deep postseason run
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
The pieces are certainly in place for Westside to make a run at its first state tournament berth since 2018 .
The Renegades return the bulk of their roster from a team that went 16- 7 but was knocked off by county rival Wyoming East 50-27 in the section tournament opener .
Third-year coach Thomas Evans ( 25-20 in two seasons ) is certainly excited coming into the season
“ We are a senior-dominated team and I expect us to build on last year ’ s successes ,” Evans said . “ Our goals are a region championship and an opportunity to contend for a state championship .”
All but one starter — Brayden French , the team ’ s second-leading scorer last year — return to the fold .
That includes leading scorer and three-point specialist Austin Bishop , a first-team all-Coalfield Conference and honorable mention all-state pick .
Bishop averaged 16.7 points per game and had 75 3s , including career-high marks of 30 points and eight 3s against West Logan .
“ He ’ s one of our leaders , led us in scoring and 3-pointers last year ,” Evans said . “ He ’ s improved his game over the summer and is just a lethal three-point shooter .”
The 6-foot combo guard averaged 2.3 rebounds , 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals .
Kaiden Vance , the football quarterback who broke most of the school ’ s passing marks , returns after a year that saw him nearly average a double-double in basketball , scoring 9.8 points and grabbing 10.1 rebounds
The 6-3 Vance is one of the best athletes in the school .
50 • WV SOUTH BASKETBALL
Jim Cook / For The Register-Herald
Westside ’ s Braxton Waldron gets past Wyoming East ’ s Zack Hunt to score for the Renegades .
“ He is a multiple allstate athlete — football and basketball — and his achievements on the field and on the court speak for themselves ,” Evans said . “ And he has a very high basketball IQ . He has the ability to move around to different positions .”
He was an honorable mention all-Coalfield Conference pick .
Bryson Blankenship , the resident big man and a four-year starter for the Renegades , overcame injuries to average 11 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season .
“ He is a very athletic forward-center who can stretch the floor with his three-point shot ,” Evans said . “ He started the season with a knee injury but really came on over the second half . He is going to be relied on heavily to add to his scoring this season .”
Blankenship was an honorable mention all-Coalfield Conference selection .
Coltin Lester is another senior starter back after averaging 7.7 points and had six games scoring in double figures , including a season-high 24 points in the season opener against Nicholas County .
“ He is a driver / slasher , and we need to have some of that ,” Evans said . “ He can score points in bunches and will be relied on heavily to score .”
Brayden Bishop is the fifth senior with an opportunity to move into the starting lineup this season .
“ He ’ s a very good defender and high energy ,” Evans said . “ He played mostly JV but will see an increase in significant varsity minutes .”
He appeared in 10 games and averaged 2.2 points .
Braxton Waldron , 5.5 points , 3.3 assists , 22 3s , is a returning starter from last year at point guard , but he suffered a broken collarbone early in football season and will begin the season on the sideline .
But the junior will be back .
“ He is a valuable part of what we do ,” Evans said . “ He should return in December .”
Jacob Mullins is a junior small forward .
“ He is an outstanding rebounder and defender ,” Evans said . “ Like Brayden Bishop played mostly JV last season but had a very productive offseason and has earned significant varsity playing time .”
In the hunt for playing time is sophomore combo guard Hendrix Cook , who averaged nearly 25 points per game on the freshman team . Evans said he is in line to see increased varsity minutes .
Led by Bishop , the Renegades were an outstanding shooting team from distance , netting 195 3-pointers , about 54 percent of their made field goals . The Renegades averaged 67.1 points per game on the season .
Most of the players on the Westside team were also football players on the Renegades team that made the postseason for the first time since 2015 .