Jimmy Chitwood and head coach Norman Dale won’t grace the sideline contained in the Beckley-Raleigh County Conference Heart Wednesday afternoon.
Hickory and Milan won’t adorn the jerseys that hit the ground.
Nonetheless, Mt. Hope Christian will star in its personal model of the Academy Award profitable film “Hoosiers” once they battle Class AAAA Princeton within the Little Normal Battle for the Armory.
“(Princeton) is tremendous athletic. The place we’re a West Virginia Christian Athletic Match (WVCAT) college, we might even see a staff with a number of athletic children. It’s uncommon for us to see a staff with 10 or extra athletic children. That’s what Princeton brings to the desk,” Mt. Hope Christian head coach Quinton Runyon mentioned. “It’s a big problem for us to go up towards a public college the dimensions of Princeton and the variety of high quality gamers that they’ve. Our youngsters will not be the kind of children that again down although. We are going to exit and play arduous and let the chips fall the place they could.”
The Warriors are coming off of a 14-8 report in Runyon’s first 12 months on the helm and up to now this 12 months, they’ve compiled a 7-1 report.
“Final 12 months was a reasonably large studying course of for many of them. I’ve a few children which might be actually gifted in Josiah McKoy and Nolan Carney. They’ve actually realized methods to play basketball, not simply placing the ball within the basket,” Runyon mentioned. “Elijah Williams and Branson Miller got here off the bench final 12 months and they’re now starters for us.”
Runyon additionally has no delusions of grandeur in relation to the problem that his children will face Wednesday.
“The Princeton children play arduous and I anticipate them to actually push the tempo simply in the truth that they rating about 100 factors per recreation,” Runyon mentioned. “They’ve children which have the inexperienced mild to shoot, can shoot and clearly prefer to shoot.”
Princeton enters the competition with the Warriors sporting a 5-1 report and has scored 95 or extra factors in 4 of the wins.
Seniors Chase Hancock and Kris Joyce lead the excessive octane Tigers and they’re joined by juniors Nic Fleming and Koen Sartin as double-figure threats.
The boys from Mercer County may even present a formidable problem within the paint and can maintain an edge in depth over Mt. Hope Christian.
“We’re not large and we don’t actually have any measurement in any respect,”Runyon mentioned. “We do have some children that wish to work actually arduous to get higher. It has taken just a little bit, however we’re beginning to see the fruits of that work,”
“I’ve 5 children which have had some varsity expertise earlier than this 12 months,” Runyon went on to say. “I’ve a freshman that comes off the bench and a few different youthful children. Then, due to the character of who we’re, I’ve some children which have by no means performed earlier than this 12 months. They’re simply studying and it might be tough to be out in this sort of recreation.”
Win or lose, Runyon sees enjoying within the Little Normal occasion as a constructive expertise for his staff.
“Our youngsters actually don’t get a ton of publicity. I feel we’ve got children that may actually play, however as a result of we aren’t a WVSSAC college, we simply don’t get a ton of publicity,” Runyon mentioned. “It is a chance for a few of our children to point out they’ll play and compete at a excessive degree.”
Taking part in contained in the famed Armory may even assist put together the Warriors for the WVCAT championship in late February.
“It’s a nice alternative to play in an even bigger venue. Many of the gyms we play in are little,” Runyon mentioned. “Final 12 months once we performed within the WVCAT at W.Va. State, there was some shiny appears within the children eyes. This offers them an opportunity to play in an analogous venue.”
Princeton and Mt. Hope Christian play the opening recreation of the Pepsi Division at 2 p.m. The second recreation within the Pepsi Division will characteristic Charleston Catholic (2-2) battling Wyoming East (3-0) instantly following.
The 2 profitable groups will meet within the championship recreation Thursday at 4 p.m. The comfort recreation within the Pepsi Division will tip at 2 p.m. Thursday.