New identity, same results for Ravenswood behind core seniors

By Joey White for WVMetroNews.com

RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. – After tasting defeat in the Class A state championship game last March, the Ravenswood boys’ basketball team has one thing on its mind this season – redemption.

Returning a strong core of seniors, the  Red Devils seem poised to write a new chapter in the school’s proud basketball history.

Gone, though, are a pair of seniors from last year’s team,  Riley Heatherington and Hayden Mandrake. Heatherington averaged 20 points per game to lead the Red Devils last year, while Mandrake orchestrated the offense.

“Last year’s team did a great job. We got to the state championship game, and we did a great job of getting there,” said  Ravenswood coach Mick Price. “But this group is different. They have their own identity that they have to get.”

That identity centers around Isaiah Morgan, Stephen Dawson, and Jayden Rhodes, a trio of seniors who have faced the task of picking up where last year’s seniors left off. All three averaged double-figures a year ago.

Morgan had 38 points earlier this week in a 78-39 win over Wirt County.

“Those three guys kind of played off those two seniors (last year) and what they did best,” said Price. “Now these guys have to step up in other roles, and we have to have other people fill in.”

Entering Friday at 12-0, Ravenswood currently sits as the No. 4 team out of Class A in the most recent MetroNews Power Index.

Included among those wins was a 62-61 thriller over Williamstown where Dawson hit the game-winning bucket with 12.5 seconds left.

But the overall goals this year are bigger than that.

“We need to do a better job of playing defensively together as a team,” said Price emphatically. “We better be a good defensive team because I don’t care who you are. If you get in the state tournament and you can’t play defense, you’re not winning.

“We’re going to work every day with the goal of getting there, but my goal is tomorrow when we finish practice that we’re better than we were they day before,” said Price. “If we’re not, then we’re going backwards.”

Price, who has over 650 career wins and two state championships, knows it will take more than just a high-powered offense to get the Red Devils back to Charleston.

“We have seven seniors that play a lot of minutes,” said Price. “Some of these guys have to step up. A little more is expected of them now.

“This is a pretty good group of kids, but they have to keep it together,” said Price. “It’s all about them. It’s not about last year, and it’s not about next year. It’s all about them.”