— By Michael Minnich, The Exponent Telegram
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The move to four classes for high school basketball had a major impact on Class AAA, as evidenced in the state tournament by a mix of teams that ‘stayed’ in the classification (Hampshire) or moved up from Class AA (Robert C. Byrd, Fairmont Senior, Shady Spring, Nitro, Herbert Hoover, Winfield) or made the leap all the way from Class A (Wheeling Central).
Certainly, there is plenty of quality on the classification’s all-state teams, as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
The first team features three players who were in the top four in voting for the Bill Evans Award as the top player in the state: First-team captain Bryson Lucas of Robert C. Byrd, Jaelin Johnson of Fairmont Senior and Jaidyn West of Notre Dame.
Lucas averaged 17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game for the Flying Eagles, who were ranked No. 1 throughout the season and were the top seed in the state tournament before losing to Hampshire.
“Over his career, he just got better and better,” RCB coach Bill Bennett said of Lucas. “I’ve known from the time that kid was in the fifth grade that he was going to be special if he continued to work, and he did.”
Lucas was also a first-team selection in Class AA last year.
“Last year as a junior, we noticed that he just affected games in so many ways and mostly it was defense with his reach and length, not just to block shots, but to get hands on passes that people thought they could get through,” Bennett said. “He would get a dunk or something that would get us going and get everybody motivated. He just worked at different things. He became a better shooter. He was a good shooter all along but he even improved that.”
Johnson and West were also first-team selections in Classes AA and A, respectively, last year.
Johnson averaged 23.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game for the Polar Bears, who lost to only RCB in the regular season on the final possession and to Winfield in the state tournament.
Johnson completes his career with 1,261 points, fifth in the Polar Bears’ storied history.
“Jaelin’s just a great kid, man. He’s as good a kid as he is a player. He’s another kid that is just a really hard worker and competitive. He and Bryson both are just going to find a way to beat you because they are so skilled,” Bennett said. “Jaelin can shoot the ball from 3. He was strong enough to get it to the basket and just did a lot of things for his team. He was unselfish.”
State champion Shady Spring landed Braden Chapman and Cole Chapman on the first team, while state runner-up Wheeling Central is represented by J.C. Maxwell (a first-team pick in Class A last year) and Ryan Reasbeck (second team in Class A last year).
Herbert Hoover’s Devin Hatfield rounds out the squad, which was voted on by sportswriters and coaches around the state.
Shady Spring’s Todd Duncan is the second team captain and is joined by Point Pleasant’s Hunter Bush, Fairmont Senior’s Zycheus Dobbs, Logan’s Jarron Glick, Hampshire’s Drew Keckley, RCB’s Gavin Kennedy, Grafton’s Ryan Maier and Nitro’s Kolton Painter.
CLASS AAA ALL-STATE TEAM
First team
Player School Ht. Cl.
Braden Chapman Shady Spring 6-1 Soph.
Cole Chapman Shady Spring 6-0 Soph.
Devin Hatfield Herbert Hoover 6-1 Jr.
Jaelin Johnson Fairmont Senior 6-4 Sr.
Bryson Lucas (Capt) Robert C. Byrd 6-5 Sr.
J.C. Maxwell Wheeling Central 6-3 Sr.
Ryan Reasbeck Wheeling Central 6-3 Jr.
Jaidyn West Notre Dame 5-11 Jr.
Second team
Hunter Bush Point Pleasant 6-2 Sr.
Zycheus Dobbs Fairmont Senior 6-3 Fr.
Todd Duncan (Capt) Shady Spring 6-1 Sr.
Jarron Glick Logan 6-0 Jr.
Drew Keckley Hampshire 6-2 Sr.
Gavin Kennedy Robert C. Byrd 6-0 Sr.
Ryan Maier Grafton 5-9 Jr
Kolton Painter Nitro 6-1 Jr.
Honorable mention
Ethan Blackburn, Westside; Dylan Blake, PikeView; John Blankenship, Lincoln County; Zack Bolen, Independence; Reece Carden, Scott; Praise Chukwudozie, North Marion; Anthony Cross, Weir; Indy Eades, Midland Trail; Jed Hawkins, Philip Barbour; Jaedan Holstein, Shady Spring; Gavin Jackson, Trinity Christian; Jordan James, Liberrty-Harrison; Luke Johnson, Ripley; Tyler Kelly, Weir; Ethan Kincaid, Winfield; Cam Manns, Shady Spring; Michael McKinney, Independence; Tariq Miller, North Marion; Rylee Nicholas, Nicholas County; Gage Patterson, Oak Glen; Mitchell Price, Elkins; Daniel Reed, Westside; Eli Robertson, Herbert Hoover; Zack Snyder, Lincoln; Kobey Taylor-Williams, PikeView; Michael Toepfer, Wheeling Central; Joseph Udoh, Nitro;Cavin White, Scott; Garrett Williamson, Logan; Trevor Sardo, Hampshire; Gavin Barkley, Berkeley Springs