Wrapping up the high school basketball season

May 14—I'll admit it, I was skeptical when we were given a final date for the high school basketball season to start.

I figured an uptick in cases would end the whole thing around April and we'd be back in the same boat we were a year ago.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

While a few teams lost their seasons to the coronavirus down the stretch, for the most part the teams that were expected to be in Charleston were, as well a few news faces. It made for a historic two weeks as the four class experiment was put to the test. The results were positive.

l A historic day

I'm not sure we'll ever see anything again like we saw at the boys state tournament on Wednesday, specifically in the Class AAA division. To end the morning session, No. 7 Winfield upset No. 2 Fairmont Senior which came to Charleston with just one loss to its name. Naturally a game like that would make the higher seeds cautious moving forward, but that worked both ways, inspiring the underdogs. We opened the evening session with No. 8 Hampshire upsetting No. 1 Robert C. Byrd, a team many viewed as the best in the state regardless of classification. No. 1 seeds were 45-0 against the eight seeds coming into that game.

If that wasn't enough, No. 5 Wheeling Central and No. 4 Nitro capped the evening with a thriller. The Maroon Knights won the game on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

l Record watch

It was one of those tournaments where you scanned the program daily to see what records were in jeopardy. There were more than a few. Wyoming East's Skylar Davidson threatened the single game steals and assist records in East's quarterfinal and semifinal wins. She finished with 14 assists against Petersburg, just one shy of the Class AA record which was set in 2002, against.... Wyoming East! Davidson joked with head coach Angie Boninsegna — who was on the East staff in 2002 — that if she stayed in the game a little longer she could've gotten the record back.

George Washington's Kalissa Lacy tied the Class AAA record for 3-pointers made when she canned seven against Beckley in the quarterfinals. Her team added five more, which tied the single-game team record for Class AAA. Of course those are all new marks since this past season saw the introduction of Class AAAA, but that just adds perspective on how special that performance was.

Tug Valley's Kaylea Baisden nailed nine 3-pointers in her quarterfinal game, not only rewriting the Class A record book, but the entire girls state tournament record book. The previous mark had been established in 2019 by Paige Shy, but based on what the Charleston Coliseum does to shooters, Baisden's mark may stand for awhile.

Last but not least, Shady Spring's Cole Chapman tied the Class AAA single-game assist record with 12 against Herbert Hoover. Teammate Todd Duncan had eight steals in that game as well— one shy of the record. To cap it off, the Tigers had nine 3-pointers in the first half and were on pace to break the game record of 13, but took their foot off the gas in the second half against a Herbert Hoover team that was missing several varsity players due to contact tracing. That shouldn't undermine what Shady was able to do. Chapman threatened the overall tournament assist record, dishing out nine in the semifinal.

l An unforgettable run

I'm not sure there are words to explain what Skylar Davidson did during her week in Charleston. She made her push for two records, left no doubt she was the best player in Class AA and led her team to the state championship as they won all three of their games by double figures. If that wasn't enough she played 94 out of 96 possible minutes. One former coach told me he was skeptical she could play at Glenville State next year. He followed that up by saying her performance against Petersburg in the semifinals, when she dished 14 assists, erased any doubts he had. Bryce Radford's 50-point performance against First Love in the winter of 2018 and Gabby Lupardus' 23 assists against PikeView, also in 2018, have been in a class of their own for me as far as individual performances go. What Skylar Davidson did puts her in that company in my book.

l A win for culture

The girls and boys basketball state tournaments were both a testament to team cultures and getting players to buy into their roles. The latter is probably the hardest to do in an age where each player wants the spotlight. Shady Spring, Pendleton County and the Wyoming East girls were the best examples of this.

Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson talked about it after his team beat Winfield in the semis. His players were unselfish and didn't care who scored or who did what. That was evident. Braden Chapman rebounded well in addition to his scoring. Cole Chapman dished the ball to open teammates and scored at the rim when the defense presented lanes. Cameron Manns didn't take a bad shot in three games. Jaedan Holstein was an enforcer on defense and was at the rim to help finish if his teammates missed a layup. Todd Duncan played the second half of the title game with a sprained ankle and it would've been hard to tell if he didn't disclose it.

Pendleton didn't overwhelm anybody, they were just a patient group that executed, hustled to the boards and moved the ball around until they got an open look. I'm not sure they took a bad shot as a team in their three games on the Coliseum floor and it paid dividends as they led late in the fourth quarter of the championship game.

And then Wyoming East. I've already talked about it at length, but this wasn't a group like the ones the Lady warriors have had in the past with Kara Sandy, Jazz Blankenship, Gabby Lupardus and Emily Saunders. Those kids could play rock, paper scissors to see who would score 25 that night. This 2021 group instead bought into playing defense for 32 minutes and making life miserable for opposing teams. They did just that, forcing 27 turnovers per game in the state tournament.

l The four classification system works

Again, I was skeptical. The early days of the girls state tournament only added to that as every game seemed like a 30-point decision. But at the end of the day it worked. Tug Valley, which faced the task of beating St. Joe and Parkersburg Catholic in its region in years past finally made it to Charleston. In doing so, the Lady Panthers proved they were far and away the best team in their class, winning the title game by double digits. Wyoming East, a smaller Class AA school had the benefit of playing schools with similar enrollment numbers as opposed to playing Fairmont Senior, North Marion or Nitro — schools that border the higher classification numbers. On the boys side Hampshire was finally able to notch a state tournament appearance and made some noise, upsetting Byrd. There are still some kinks to work out, but the goal of competitive balance was achieved. I'll be surprised if we see a return to three classes.

l Brighter days ahead

Before Shady's run, no boys team from this area had won a state tournament game since Beckley in 2016. It was a fall from grace for a region that prided itself on being the cream of the crop in high school basketball. Coincidentally, 2016 was also the same year we last had a team win a title. That was Wyoming East on the girls side. Both East and Shady won titles this year, providing a much needed boost. Both teams lose key players in Davidson and Duncan, but return almost everybody else. Nothing is guaranteed, but if the youth movement continues this area can see a renaissance in hoops.

Email: tjackson@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @tjackRH