Coming off a season in which it won 18 of 23 games, expectations were reasonably high around the Greenbrier West boys basketball program ahead of the 2021 campaign.
The Cavaliers returned six of their seven top contributors from the 18-5 team. Add in the fact that GWHS was a state tournament qualifier that finished 21-5 two years ago, and it’s easy to see why the Cavaliers expect to be in the mix at the end of this season.
GWHS is off to a 1-1 start, having suffered a 75-73 loss to Tug Valley in last Friday’s season opener, before notching its first win Tuesday at Clay-Battelle, 74-58.
Coach Jared Robertson will continue to learn much more about his team in the coming weeks, with the Cavaliers scheduled to face Williamstown next Wednesday, prior to a rematch with the Panthers and contests against James Monroe and East Hardy.
“The giants just keep coming at us and our kids have to get better every day and we know that,” Robertson said. “I like that we are challenging our kids with our schedule, because we want to get ready for the tournament and these are the kinds of teams you’re going to have to beat in the tournament.”
After playing Tug Valley in a tightly contested opener that neither team led by more than six in, the Cavaliers were able to broke open their victory over the Cee-Bees with a 21-10 spurt over the final 5:10 of action. That turned what had been a close contest into a lopsided win and gave Robertson confidence that his team’s preferred uptempo pace can wear down the opposition.
“The style we play, fullcourt pressing and really trying to push the ball, I really thought our conditioning in the fourth quarter was better than theirs,” Robertson said. “That’s a great ball club that’s going to win a heck of a lot of basketball games.”
Senior guard Kaiden Pack, who captained the Class A third-team all-state team last season, is the Cavaliers’ unquestioned offensive leader. After scoring 38 points against Tug Valley, Pack followed it up by scoring 28 against Clay-Battelle, including 22 in the second half.
But Pack is far from the only scoring threat on GWHS. Fellow senior Chase Boggs and Lawson Vaughan averaged double figure scoring last season and contributed 18 and 13 points, respectively against the Cee-Bees. Brandon Oscar added 10 points in the win.
“Kaiden’s a great offensive player, but our kids are built to where we have guys that can score at every position and you have to defend us,” Robertson said. “So it makes it harder on people to double him and triple him, because all our kids can make shots. When he gets to the rim, he does a great job of finishing plays and getting contact — and that’s what he has to do for us.”
With Pack at the controls, the Cavaliers are looking to push the pace, spread the defense and exploit a matchup.
Following a 57-51 setback to Mount View in a sectional semifinal last season, the Cavaliers hope to always play fast and free in their quest to get back to the state tournament.
“We have changed our style a little bit,” Robertson said. “A little bit more free-flowing, more attacking and it’s going to take us a few games to get it down, but I think that’s going to help us. My kids are preaching that we can do it against good competition.”