Warriors ’ senior leaders ready to step up
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
In some ways , Wyoming East shooting guard Garrett Mitchell is the last man standing .
He was one of the many young players who were thrown into the varsity fray three years ago when several veterans left the team before the end of the season . Instead of being edged into the fray , he went headfirst .
Now a senior , Mitchell is a senior leader of a team that is coming off its first state tournament berth since 2017 .
Junior point guard Cole Lambert , the very next season , as a freshman was thrown into the heat of a boiling cauldron of defensive pressure cooked up by Shady Spring and in other assorted situations , some by the design of coach Derek Brooks , some , the Shady game came in particular , by necessity .
Both those baptisms of fire were tough , but they are paying dividends now .
“ I hated it for them at the time , you get thrown in there as a 14-year-old kid going against 18-year-old kids , it ’ s tough ,” Brooks said . “ But now that we are past that , when you look back , it helped them . They had a good idea what it takes to play at this level and what they had to work on to be able to compete . and both those guys , to their credit , did that .” Indeed , they did .
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Jim Cook / For The Register-Herald
Wyoming East ’ s Garrett Mitchell looks to pass over Sam Jordan of Shady Spring .
Mitchell is one of the area ’ s top snipers , with 58 3s last season , including five three separate times , against Mingo Central , St . Albans and in a huge section tournament win over Bluefield . Mitchell averaged 13.6 points per game , and he was 60 for 84 at the free throw line ( 71.4 percent ).
“ He has handled pressure situations , he ’ s been in big games , he has seen a lot and I think that ’ s paid off ,” Brooks said . “ This year we are going to ask him to do even more . He ’ s going to have to score at a higher clip than he has , he is going to have to rebound , he ’ s pretty much going to have it do it all .”
Lambert is a point guard ’ s point guard , getting everybody where they need to be and on track to be the next great point guard from a school that ’ s had more than a few great ones . He averaged over five assists a game and 6.4 points . He had four double figure games , including a high 20 points against Chapmanville .
“ Cole is the hardest worker I ’ ve ever had ,” Brooks said . “ There isn ’ t a day that Cole doesn ’ t work on his craft in one way or another . It was tough for him to handle that pressure against Shady Spring but in a way , it was a big moment for him , because he was able to see what real pressure looked like . What ( Shady ) brings you don ’ t see anywhere else . and that made an impression on him .”
The Warriors lost longtime big man Tanner Whitten , a four-year starter who lost a whole season of his career to injury and Covid or he might have contended for the school ’ s all-time boys scoring record held by Gentry Shrewsbury . Also lost to graduation is sharpshooter Tucker Cook and big Chandler Johnson who transferred to Independence after averaging 6.5 points and as many rebounds per game .
“ You can ’ t replace a fouryear starter and a guy who meant so much to the program ,” Brooks said . “ I miss having him at the gym . He was a guy who was just always there .”
But the Warriors will prosper on . Jacob Howard will be tasked to try to replace Whitten , and he has done it before , going in when Whitten was in foul trouble in both the Region 3 win against Liberty and in the state tournament loss to Region 3 , Section 1 foe Bluefield . Howard averaged 4.6 points .
“ He is undersized ,” Brooks said . “ I don ’ t think he has grown an inch since he ’ s been here ,” Brooks said . “ He was a 6-foot-1 force in middle school and he is still a 6-foot-1 force . He has a big man ’ s skill set in a guard ’ s body . He likes to play big , but he can shoot it at a pretty good clip . In a JV game last year , it was at Mingo Central , he hit seven straight 3s . He can shoot it .”
Bryson Huff and Tanner Cook will get long looks in the starting lineup after being key reserves last year .
Zach Hunt and Landon Hughes and a Riverside transfer C . J . Burns could help out along with football players Dakota Cooper and Jackson Danielson .
Brooks is especially high on Danielson , the Warriors ’ QB who threw for over 1,000 yards and nearly rushed for that many as well . He thinks the firstyear junior will make an immediate contribution .