Basketball Preview 2017

Four Starters Back for ’Noles

By RICK THORP WOODSFIELD — As Jon Perkins opens his second season as head coach at Monroe Central, he’s quick to point out he has four starters back and another player who played a lot last winter. “We’re excited about that,” he beamed. Who can blame him? After starting his inaugural campaign with the Seminoles 1-9, Perkins’ squad finished on a high note, ending 7-16 on a loss to highly-touted Garaway in the sectional tournament. “I think we won the first game against Bridgeport and went on to lose our next nine,” Perkins, the former St. Clairsville standout and ...

Granato, Weir Looking to Get Back to Winning Ways

By RALPH COX WEIRTON — It has been a while since the Weir boys’ team has had a winning record and things at the end of last season didn’t look like the future was very bright with four seniors, three of whom did the bulk of the scoring, departing. But between last February and now a couple of things happened that has eased the anxiety of veteran Red Riders coach Mike Granato. First, Reed Reitter, who was an all-section basketball selection as a sophomore last year at Union High School in Burgettstown, transferred to Weir. Then Jake McCoy transferred from Oak Glen. They were ...

Stead Feels He Finally Has Stability With Red Riders

By RALPH COX WEIRTON — For the past three years, Weir girls’ coach Rick Stead has worked to get some stability in his program and for the first time he feels the hard work and dedication his girls have put in will pay off. Stead has 19 girls out for basketball and preliminary expectations are that there will be nine on the varsity team and 10 in the jayvee program. “When I came on board as an assistant to Bill Smith eight years ago, we struggled to get 12 girls out for basketball,” Stead said. “We had to bring young girls up from the middle school so we had enough to ...

Leary Excited About Oak Glen’s Speed, Athleticism

By ANDREW GRIMM NEW MANCHESTER — Oak Glen girls’ basketball coach John Leary knows he has a young group heading into the season, but he is excited about the speed and athleticism they bring to the table. “We have a lot of team speed and kids that like to get up and down the floor,” he said. “I’ve got quite a few of the girls that played on the soccer team and they bring a lot of speed and athleticism. That’s definitely an asset. “Size is definitely not an asset, I think the tallest girl in the program is 5-foot-8. We’re going to work with the strengths that we ...

Little Experience For Everly, Bears

By ANDREW GRIMM NEW MANCHESTER — Oak Glen boys’ basketball coach Jerry Everly is hoping that with just three returning players, the new faces on his club can carry over success from jayvee and freshman levels to the Golden Bears’ varsity program and help build off of an 11-12 record a season ago. “I really like these kids,” he said. “They are good. They have won at the jayvee level and have won on the freshman team, but this is a whole different ball game now. We’re a little younger in terms of varsity experience so I think we might struggle a little bit early, but I ...

Beallsville Ready to Start Competing

By RICK THORP BEALLSVILLE — With mostly freshmen on his roster last season, Beallsville coach Rick Jarrett knew there’d be a steep learning curve. The Blue Devils struggled to a 6-16 record but, along the journey, paved the way for what Jarrett believes is a very promising future. “We’re performing better right now then we did last year,” Jarrett said assessing his squad’s scrimmages. “So, that’s a plus. “I told them they had to grow up fast last year. There was no time to wait around. They had to get in there and get after it.” The Blue Devils did just that ...