3:06pm: Hotline with Dave Weekley

Nicholas County’s LeRose among state’s elite scorers

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — It hasn’t been the start to the season the Nicholas County boys basketball program hoped for.

One year after winning 15 games and falling one win short of a trip to the state tournament, the Grizzlies have won only two of their first six contests as they prepare for a challenging January slate that begins Saturday against Parkersburg Catholic.

Yet as Nicholas County tries to regain the form that nearly led the Grizzlies to Charleston a year ago, it does so with one of the state’s better scorers in explosive junior Luke LeRose.

LeRose is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 23 points and earned Class AA second-team all-state honors — and the 6-foot-1 offensive-minded guard appears only to have improved since.

Despite seeing different looks from defenses that often include multiple players designed to help slow LeRose, he was averaging 33 points through his team’s first five games, and had scored at least 29 points in each game.

“If they’re double teaming me, that means someone is open,” LeRose said. “So first, I look to get my teammates the ball and pass it to them to get them open shots. Then it’ll eventually open up for me and I can do my thing.”

While LeRose does a lot of his damage from the perimeter, his quickness allows him to hurt opposing teams with penetration. LeRose made 40-of-47 free throws through five games and connected on 19 3-pointers while shooting nearly 46 percent overall (53-of-116).

In an 80-59 loss to Oak Hill back on Dec. 19, LeRose missed his first several shots, but came on to pour in 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting.

“After you make that first shot, you get in a rhythm,” LeRose said. “I was in a rhythm, but also I’m trying to get my teammates open shots.”

By his standards, LeRose got off to somewhat of a slow start this season. Despite scoring 32 points in a season-opening loss to Princeton, he made 7-of-18 shots. LeRose followed that up with a 29-point effort in a loss to Braxton County, though he made only 12-of-34 shots against the Eagles.

But starting with the Grizzlies’ first win of the season against Tucker County, LeRose poured in 104 points over a three-game stretch, making at least 10 field goals in each game and shooting 34-of-64 over that stretch, including 14-of-20 in a 39-point performance in a win over Gilmer County.

“I like our upside,” Grizzlies coach Brian Phipps said. “Nobody wants to be 2-4, but we’ve improved since game one. I have to get that in their heads. We want to be on all cylinders in March and it’s a process. There are going to be ups and downs and ebbs and flows throughout the season. Our guys for the most part have handled adversity pretty good and Luke’s a big part of that.”

There have been positives for LeRose and his teammates in defeat, something the junior guard hopes will pay off down the line.

In the meeting with Oak Hill, the Grizzlies trailed 51-31 in the third quarter before rallying to get as close as 53-46 in the fourth after LeRose scored 11 points in a span of 3:01.

“We have to keep fighting like we did,” LeRose said. “We’ve showed good signs and if we continue to do that throughout the season I think we’ll be successful.”

While LeRose’s game leaves a strong impression on his teammates and the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, opposing coaches take notice as well.

“Luke hit some tough shots and that’s what he does,” Oak Hill coach Benitez Jackson said. “He’s one of the best players in the state.”





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