— Story by Taylor Kennedy
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia Tech men’s basketball team was watching the Big East tournament while heading to the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
When the Golden Bears got to their game, the rest of their season would be in jeopardy. Tech’s head coach James Long remembers that day like it was yesterday.
“We were actually driving to the arena, and some of the conference tournaments were cancelling around the country. We were actually watching the Big East one, and those teams never came back out after halftime. We were on our heels as a staff to see what would happen,” says Long.
Long and his team were walking towards the Pentagon to start preparing for their next game in the NAIA Tournament. As the Bears entered the arena, they were informed that they could not compete due to what was going on nationwide. Tech entered the national tourney with a 23-8 record.
“We were getting out of the parking lot and going into the building, and they cancelled it right there,” says Long.
Long knew that the news was devastating to not only his team but particularly to his seniors.
“The hardest thing as a staff was finding the right words to give closure to the seniors. To let them know what they did was special. The hardest part was trying to give them closure, and make them feel accomplished for what they did that past season,” says Long.
Long is a Charleston native and played in 23 games for the Mountaineers from 2014-2017.
Heading into the offseason, Long and his team had to adjust to the different safety protocols to make sure everyone was healthy. These adjustments hurt what Long and his coaching staff do from a schematic point of view.
“What we do schematically takes a lot of game reps. We always say that it is going to be ugly early in the season because you have to go out there and see different defenses. Just like everyone else, you need game reps. You need to understand what other teams are doing. When you play against the same guy everyday, you understand their tendencies and it is easier to find those gaps and read what they are doing,” says Long.
Long felt like there was progress throughout the preseason due to the open dialogue in the small groups with the assigned coach. The open dialogue would allow the coaches to know how the players were feeling, what they liked or disliked, and other necessary topics.
“We had to get really creative, and I think a lot of that is dialogue is with your players. Is this helpful? Is this going to benefit you in the game? Is this going to translate to helping you in the game? We just always tried to keep that open dialogue in this offseason,” says Long.
The Golden Bears welcomed seven new faces onto campus this season. Long has been impressed with how the newcomers have adapted to the new environment.
“Very, very versatile. I know a lot of people can say that, but I am thinking about Ashton Parker, young man from South Carolina, and Thomas Hailey, young man from Charlotte, when I think of the versatility. I love all the new guys, but in regards to the versatility those are the guys who can do everything,” says Long.
Long trekked around southern West Virginia, and he was able to land a couple young prospects.
“We have some local West Virginia guys. Philip Mullins from Chapmanville won a state championship in high school. Ty Johnson, his brother Chase plays at Dayton. Ty has been really good for us. He has just had a rough go with injuries. All in all, we love our new guys,” says Long.
West Virginia Tech is currently 3-4, including winning three of its last five, but seven games have been cancelled due to COVID-19. Long has been most impressed with how his team has embraced everything so far.
“I think they really embrace the growth mindset we talk about. It is really hard, but the great teams focus on possession to possession. If you are going to drop possessions or not execute, are you going to refocus on that next possession?” says Long.
One of Long’s key returners was former South Charleston standout Tamon Scruggs. Scruggs earned preseason honors before the season, but he had not stepped onto the court since the last game. Long saw Scruggs’ injury as a growth for the new guys.
“Our preseason all-conference player, Tamon Scruggs, had not played up until Youngstown. You can complain about it, but for me and my staff we saw this as a great thing for our young guys. That is a lot of usage coming from Tamon, and that was going to be dispersed among our new guys. I think they have embraced that growth mindset of getting better. I feel really great where we are as a team,” says Long.
West Virginia Tech looks for its first road win of the season Saturday. The Golden Bears will head to Baltimore to take on the Morgan State Bears. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.