— Story by Taylor Kennedy
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Heading into the weekend, the Glenville State men’s basketball team is one of two undefeated teams left in the Mountain East Conference. The Pioneers currently sit 3-0 following their win on Wednesday over Davis and Elkins.
Getting teams together safely and staying safe has been a new challenge every team is tackling. Coach Caldwell says that since the end of last year it has been difficult. Caldwell was a guest on the Thursday edition of the Citynet Statewide Sportsline.
“It has been very challenging, very challenging to say the least. We have had two 14-day shutdowns where we are with the team for three or four weeks then we have to take two or three weeks off. You spend a week or two just trying to get them halfway back into shape then you get shut down again. Those are the challenges everyone is facing. We look at that as an opportunity. We are just very thankful to have the opportunity to play,” says Caldwell.
.@CoachCaldwell15 joined @BradHowe07 to discuss this year’s @GSCPioneers men’s basketball team, some of the early performances that have helped his team, and https://t.co/rn6maOBVPd. natives getting some early playing time. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/vJaWY1WODW
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 14, 2021
“We kept reinforcing a positive message, and the message was if that time comes, and we are granted the opportunity to play we are going to make sure we are ready. Judging by the start, we have gotten off to a pretty good start. It is more of a credit to them than anything else because they never took a day off. They never took a step back. They got themselves mentally and physically ready to start the season,” says Caldwell.
The Pioneers have had some early impressive performances through the first three games, including Hegel Augstin’s 40-point outburst against W.Va. State. Caldwell gives credit to three of his upperclassmen for the impact they have had so far.
“When you look back at last year, we averaged around 90 points per game. We lost 70 of that. We returned 20 points per game. In this league, it is such a high tempo that if you score 75-80 points every night you are not going to win. You have to be able to score the basketball. We replaced that with a couple of those guys like Hegel. Hegel has been phenomenal for us this year, and John [Williams] and Nick [Edwards] have been great as well. With us, we are still a work in progress,” says Caldwell.
Williams currently ranks fifth in the MEC in scoring at 21 points per game, and Edwards is tied for 13th averaging 17 per game. Caldwell also mentioned that his squad sits at the top of the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. The unselfishness his team has displayed has made Caldwell excited to see they jell together.
“I am very pleased that they are sharing the ball. I am very pleased to see their excitement level for each other and sharing successes,” says Caldwell.
All three of the Pioneer games have been decided by less than six points, including the first two being won by one possession. Caldwell has been impressed at how his team has been able to deal with the adversity.
“We tried to put these guys in situations to fail, and see how they handle that adversity. They never blink an eye. It is so weird with these guys. Last year, in two-possession games or less, we were 0-6. This year, we are 3-0. I think putting them in those situations and getting them used to it they are now comfortable in those situations, although I am not,” says Caldwell.
Caldwell has seven freshmen on this year’s roster. All seven of those players are from West Virginia. George Washington’s Gus Eddy and Shady Spring’s Luke LeRose and Tommy Williams are three of the newcomers that have received significant playing time early on. Caldwell has been amazed at being able to overcome the early obstacles.
“Those guys come every day and compete. That was the biggest part. The challenging part, especially with the freshmen and those three, was that their first game was against West Virginia State, who is a very talented team. They have athletes across the board and are very physical. They [his guys] did not get the two scrimmages we usually get. They did not get the exhibition we normally get. It was sort of just throwing them in on the fly and saying ‘Hey go play’,” says Caldwell.
If you look down GSC’s roster, Caldwell does not have anyone taller than 6-foot-4. Caldwell says that he and his team are taking the term “small ball” to a whole new level.
“We believe that is the best way to work. I would much rather have guards catching on the perimeter that can dribble, pass, and shoot it as to a 6-8 guy down in there taking up space. The analytics say that the post-up is still the worst shot in basketball. It is challenging on the defensive end at times because teams in the league have big guys, but we are adjusting,” says Caldwell.
The Pioneers will head over to Buckhannon to take on the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats Saturday afternoon.