CLEAR FORK, W.Va. — An initial 10-1 start propelled Westside to the overall No. 4 spot in this past week’s MetroNews Power Index as the Renegades have proven once again to be contenders in a competitive Class AA.
“It’s just a good group of kids with great chemistry and great senior leadership,” said Westside coach Nick Cook. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start with the success of the football team making it to the semifinals – it couldn’t have come at a better time, though, with all of the experience that we had coming back.”
A huge part of the football success for the Renegades centered around quarterback Justin Cogar — his role is similar on the basketball court.
“He’s our man,” Cook said. “He’s averaging right at 20 points and 12 rebounds per game – that’s not a bad stat-line for a kid who is supposed to excel only at football. He’s a huge part of our team and he’s just a great kid.”
Cogar averaged 16 points per game a season ago and has increased his production even more this year with the loss of then-senior Corey Bowles, who averaged 18 points per game in 2013-2014. Alongside Cogar, senior Justin Kenneda’s role has expanded as he is putting up 16-17 points per contest.
Another senior, Will Fox, is averaging eight assists per game at point guard.
“If there’s a better point guard in the state, I’ve got to see him,” Cook said. “The kid does everything. He plays defense, gets us in our offenses, he can score and he can pass. He’s doing a lot of really good things for us this year.”
An important stretch for this year’s Westside team came in late December as the Renegades traveled to the eastern panhandle for games against Class AAA opponents Jefferson and Martinsburg. Westside lost to Jefferson the first night 78-64, but bounced back with a 65-62 win over the Bulldogs.
“When you can beat a team the caliber of Martinsburg on their home floor, it’s a great win. It was a great momentum boost for us,” Cook said. “We also got to go into Washington D.C. and tour the city. That’s something I hope the kids will remember as much as the ball games. It was a really good trip to build team chemistry and spend some time together away from everything.”
Westside also has impressive wins so far over Logan (71-64), Bluefield (79-49 and 71-57) and Wyoming East (70-51). This past week, the Renegades edged Class A contender Greater Beckley Christian in overtime, 73-67.
It’s a Renegades team that will certainly be battle tested by the time postseason action comes around out of Region 3 in Class AA.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Cook said. “You just want to build to that time frame and be playing your best at that time. There are a lot of good teams in our region in Wyoming East and Bluefield and PikeView has a really nice team this year.
“In our section alone with Liberty, Independence and Summers County, it’s always a dog fight,” Cook said. “We hope to get to that point again this year like we did last year and have some success.”
The Renegades last year advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament where they lost to Robert C. Byrd in overtime. The complete interview with Cook is posted at the top of the page.
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WESTSIDE Senior Basketball (B) Schedule |
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1 | 12/09/14 07:30PM | A | SCOTT | 64 | – | 61 | W | |
2 | 12/16/14 07:30PM | H | BLUEFIELD | 79 | – | 49 | W | |
3 | 12/19/14 07:30PM | A | MAN | 102 | – | 79 | W | |
4 | 12/29/14 06:00PM | A | JEFFERSON | 64 | – | 78 | L | |
5 | 12/30/14 06:00PM | A | MARTINSBURG | 65 | – | 62 | W | |
6 | 01/03/15 07:30PM | A | LOGAN | 71 | – | 64 | W | |
7 | 01/06/15 07:30PM | H | LIBERTY (RALEIGH) | 89 | – | 60 | W | |
8 | 01/09/15 07:30PM | H | WYOMING EAST | 70 | – | 51 | W | |
9 | 01/13/15 07:30PM | H | SCOTT | 93 | – | 70 | W | |
10 | 01/16/15 07:30PM | A | BLUEFIELD | 71 | – | 57 | W | |
11 | 01/20/15 07:30PM | A | GREATER BECKLEY CHRISTIAN @RCC | 73 | – | 67 | W | |
12 | 01/23/15 07:30PM | H | INDEPENDENCE | – | ||||
13 | 01/27/15 07:00PM | A | BIG ATLANTIC CLASSIC | – | ||||
14 | 01/31/15 02:00PM | A | BIG ATLANTIC CLASSIC | – | ||||
15 | 02/03/15 07:30PM | H | MOUNT VIEW | – | ||||
16 | 02/06/15 07:30PM | A | WYOMING EAST | – | ||||
17 | 02/11/15 01:00PM | A | RIPLEY@ CHARLESTON C CENTER | – | ||||
18 | 02/13/15 07:30PM | A | LIBERTY (RALEIGH) | – | ||||
19 | 02/17/15 06:30PM | H | MAN | – | ||||
20 | 02/20/15 07:30PM | H | LOGAN | – | ||||
21 | 02/21/15 07:30PM | H | ROBERT C. BYRD | – | ||||
22 | 02/24/15 07:30PM | A | MOUNT VIEW | – | ||||
wins: 10 lost: 1 ties: 0 |