Best wv high school basketball team of all time

[-Olen-]

The 06-07 Huntington team had already won back to back state titles when Mayo returned and helped to lead them to a 3rd straight.....They beat South Charleston in the final by 40.

How about a discussion about the All-Time starting five in WV High Basketball.......Here's mine:

1st Team
Jason Williams - PG
OJ Mayo - SG
Randy Moss - F
Patrick Patterson - C
Jeff Schneider - F

2nd Team
Brett Nelson - PG
Bimbo Coles - SG
Jimmy Miller - F
Mark Cline - F
Earl Jones - C

If it is limited to the players I saw (or was alive too see) play, then I would go with this five:

Herbie Brooks (G - Mullens)
Tracy Shelton (G - Oak HIll)
Anthony Strother (F - Williamson)
Russell Todd (F - Northfork)
David Wade (C/F - Huntington)

You could make a pretty good bench from the following (I'm missing some names):

Mark Cline (F - Williamson)
Stewart Mitchell (G - Stonewall Jackson)
Chris Morrow (G/F - Huntington)
Sean Jackson (G - Vinson)
Kevin Staples (F - Logan)
Kenny Ross (G - Logan)
Andy Paul Williamson (G - Harts)
Ron Gaiter (C - Logan)
Steve Berger (G - Valley-Fayette)
PG Greene (F - Oak Hill)
Mark Dillon (G - Tolsia)
Andre Cunningham (F - Matewan)
Patrick Patterson (C/F - Huntington)
OJ Mayo (G - Huntington)
Jason Williams (G - Dupont)
Bimbo Coles (G - Greenbrier East)
Sidney Coles (G/F - Greenbrier East)
Corny Jackson (G - Beckley)
Tink Brown (G - Beckley)
Glen Staples (C/F - Beckley)
Gene Nabors (G - Beckley)

 

[-CarlHungus-]

I understand the nostalgia factor here, and of course I'd rather root for some coal miners sons team of years past, but come on...that Huntington High squad had talent for days. Mayo and Patterson are NBA veterans. The difference in talent between an NBA veteran and a D-1 contributor is VAST.

Olen, I'm assuming by "saw" you mean saw in person, otherwise I think it's crazy to omit Patterson, Mayo, or Williams on that starters list. Also, I think you're omitting Brett Nelson on the list at all (I"m assuming you were alive when he played, unless you found a worm hole). He was an NCAA all-american on a final four (runner up) Florida squad and scored 15 ppg with an astounding 45% from three in the 2000-2001 season.

For the nerdy - you're taking a Gaussian Distribution of players (WV high school), then pulling the far right superior tail to make college players. Most of these teams mentioned had at least a few guys on that far right curve. But that huntington team was so special/unique, that even on a curve made up of division 1 college talent, you've got TWO GUYS on that far right of it (Mayo/Patterson). That's just not something any other team can say. Plus, their surrounding cast had yet another D-1 talent and a couple other guys that played college ball. That resume is unmatched.

 

[i am herdman]

I went to the Rick Huckaby camp years ago and there was a kid(Olen has on his list) named Anthony Strother from Williamson. Well, he played with the MU players in pick up games and held his own and he was maybe a sophomore at Williamson. Marshall was recruiting him big time. This is when Skip was there and Curry. So, he was playing against good competition. He didn't even play with the regular campers he was so good.

Then, I can't remember what happened to him. He was a legit D1 player, maybe high D1.

 

[i am herdman]

Didn't Huntington High have David Wade and Larry Watson at the same time? Sean Jackson from Vinson was a long range shooter.

 

[-Olen-]

I went to the Rick Huckaby camp years ago and there was a kid(Olen has on his list) named Anthony Strother from Williamson. Well, he played with the MU players in pick up games and held his own and he was maybe a sophomore at Williamson. Marshall was recruiting him big time. This is when Skip was there and Curry. So, he was playing against good competition. He didn't even play with the regular campers he was so good.

Then, I can't remember what happened to him. He was a legit D1 player, maybe high D1.

If anyone remembers Harold Miner (USC - aka Baby Jordan), Strother was a better version of Miner, imo. Strother was an academic casualty, from what I understand (I have no first-hand knowledge - I was at a different school). The tale I have heard is that he was a high-major talent with high-major interest, and once he could not qualify, he tried the Kansas juco route and had similar academic problems. IMO, had Strother gained eligibility, he would have been a well-regarded collegiate player.

He dunked over a Chapmanville 9th grader in a game - as an 8th grader. And when I say dunked over, I mean he leaped over the Chapmanville defender (splitting his legs over the boy's head). Most talented 8th graders are not capable of that.

 

[-Olen-]

I understand the nostalgia factor here, and of course I'd rather root for some coal miners sons team of years past, but come on...that Huntington High squad had talent for days. Mayo and Patterson are NBA veterans. The difference in talent between an NBA veteran and a D-1 contributor is VAST.

Olen, I'm assuming by "saw" you mean saw in person, otherwise I think it's crazy to omit Patterson, Mayo, or Williams on that starters list. Also, I think you're omitting Brett Nelson on the list at all (I"m assuming you were alive when he played, unless you found a worm hole). He was an NCAA all-american on a final four (runner up) Florida squad and scored 15 ppg with an astounding 45% from three in the 2000-2001 season.

For the nerdy - you're taking a Gaussian Distribution of players (WV high school), then pulling the far right superior tail to make college players. Most of these teams mentioned had at least a few guys on that far right curve. But that huntington team was so special/unique, that even on a curve made up of division 1 college talent, you've got TWO GUYS on that far right of it (Mayo/Patterson). That's just not something any other team can say. Plus, their surrounding cast had yet another D-1 talent and a couple other guys that played college ball. That resume is unmatched.

Admittedly, I forgot about Nelson -- and I kept thinking there was someone from the Nitro / St. Albans area I was forgetting.

I wouldn't argue against Huntington High as one of the great teams. There are/were. As high school players, I didn't get to see them play (in person). Admittedly, with a few exceptions, most of the guys on my list, I only got to see a couple of times, so my selections are necessarily difficult because of sample size. In some instances, I was actively playing and couldn't get out to watch these guys.

However, as individual talents in high school, I would not replace my starting five with either one if push-came-to-shove. Strother and Lee were both more athletic than Patterson, Wade was right there with the athleticism of Strother and Lee, but was more physical than either, and much more physical than Patterson.

Mayo was not a better ball-handler or shooter than either Herbie Brooks or Tracy Shelton. Mayo was a better slasher and scorer.

To their credit, both Patterson and Mayo have worked hard to maximize their talents. No doubt, they go down as greats in WV basketball. And, surprisingly, they worked well as teammates (along with the other pieces) to form one of the more formidable programs in WV high school basketball history.

 

[-CarlHungus-]

My argument would be that Mayo had success in WV, in college, and then in the NBA. Patterson as well.

I saw Patterson and Mayo play in AAU against some of the top players in the country at a big tournament (they were on a team with Bill Walker as well). They dominated kids that were on AAU teams full of other D-1 players. They didn't have a meteoric improvement in college - they were always just above the rest from day one.

Brooks, Shelton et al had great college careers, but nothing close to Mayo and Patterson. Didn't sniff the league as I recall either. I don't know the stories of Strother and Lee, but Mayo and Patterson have unparalleled results both within and outside the confines of the mountain state from teenage years on. Either Brooks and Shelton failed to develop their games, or Mayo/Patterson were and have always been better than them.

Also, Patterson averaged ~10 boards a game his sophomore season at UK and make first team all american his freshman year on a top 10 team. If he's less athletic and less physical than Wade (and granted I don't know who Wade is, so maybe this is ture), then you're saying this guy Wade was more physical and more athletic than a double digit average all american forward from a top 10 UK team? Just to clarify.

Olen, this is serious business

 

[extragreen]

I think he's speaking about former HHS and MU player David Wade. If I remember correctly, he scored the winning bucket in back to back games during one of the Marshall Inv. Tournaments. Vs. Oklahoma State? and Maine? Vermont? Fun player to watch.

 

[-Olen-]

My argument would be that Mayo had success in WV, in college, and then in the NBA. Patterson as well.

I saw Patterson and Mayo play in AAU against some of the top players in the country at a big tournament (they were on a team with Bill Walker as well). They dominated kids that were on AAU teams full of other D-1 players. They didn't have a meteoric improvement in college - they were always just above the rest from day one.

Brooks, Shelton et al had great college careers, but nothing close to Mayo and Patterson. Didn't sniff the league as I recall either. I don't know the stories of Strother and Lee, but Mayo and Patterson have unparalleled results both within and outside the confines of the mountain state from teenage years on. Either Brooks and Shelton failed to develop their games, or Mayo/Patterson were and have always been better than them.

Also, Patterson averaged ~10 boards a game his sophomore season at UK and make first team all american his freshman year on a top 10 team. If he's less athletic and less physical than Wade (and granted I don't know who Wade is, so maybe this is ture), then you're saying this guy Wade was more physical and more athletic than a double digit average all american forward from a top 10 UK team? Just to clarify.

Olen, this is serious business

I think you and I are answering two different questions - I'm evaluating these guys as high school players only (as I thought that is where the poster wanted the conversation confined). If the conversation is expanded to list a starting five considering hs, college, and professional basketball, my list would be (and excluding the guys I didn't see play):

G Mayo
G Jason Williams
PF/C Patterson
F Tamar Slay
F Bill Walker

All-time - replace Mayo and Williams with Greer and West.

 

[trailherd]

But that huntington team was so special/unique, that even on a curve made up of division 1 college talent, you've got TWO GUYS on that far right of it (Mayo/Patterson). That's just not something any other team can say. Plus, their surrounding cast had yet another D-1 talent and a couple other guys that played college ball. That resume is unmatched.

CJ Crawford (former Marshall tight end) was also on that team. There was crazy talent on that team.

 

[-CarlHungus-]

I think you and I are answering two different questions - I'm evaluating these guys as high school players only (as I thought that is where the poster wanted the conversation confined). If the conversation is expanded to list a starting five considering hs, college, and professional basketball, my list would be (and excluding the guys I didn't see play):

G Mayo
G Jason Williams
PF/C Patterson
F Tamar Slay
F Bill Walker

All-time - replace Mayo and Williams with Greer and West.

No, I'm saying that Mayo and Patterson did not drastically improve their games during college. Therefore at all stages of their development/career, including HS, they were elite level players, further above their peers at a gap that is unparalleled as compared to any other prior WV players.

 

[-Olen-]

No, I'm saying that Mayo and Patterson did not drastically improve their games during college. Therefore at all stages of their development/career, including HS, they were elite level players, further above their peers at a gap that is unparalleled as compared to any other prior WV players.

That is a fairly bold statement given the reality of their development. If you want them in your starting five - go for it. From the hyperbole, it sounds as if the duo of Patterson/Mayo could beat any quintet anyone would suggest.

 

[-CarlHungus-]

That is a fairly bold statement given the reality of their development. If you want them in your starting five - go for it. From the hyperbole, it sounds as if the duo of Patterson/Mayo could beat any quintet anyone would suggest.

Excluding West and Hal Greer they're the best I think. Sorry, I'm typing on a phone (not making great arguments) and going off the rocker it seems trying to type quickly while not ignoring my job duties.

Anyway, I may be wrong about Mayo/Patterson...but I'm sticking by guns that the HHS team with them is far and away the best.

 

[-Olen-]

FWIW, I noticed an error on my part - after correctly identifying Russell Todd up-thread, later down-thread I reference (Anthony) Strother and (Russell) Lee, which was wrong -- Russell Lee played for the Herd in the 70s, but to my knowledge, did not play in WV and was not who I was referencing. Ugh.

 

[BT4373]

You going to leave out Jerrry West and Hal Greer off the all time team?

How about the real tall kid from Oak Hill? He went to DC for college.

 

[BT4373]

Leo Byrd!

 

[CockyHerd]

How about the real tall kid from Oak Hill? He went to DC for college.

You're thinking of Earl Jones from Mount Hope.......At the time he was considered the #1 HS Player in the country. Went to UDC and played a couple of years with the Lakers. Just never had the basketball IQ or work ethic to go with the talent.