MORGANTOWN — Last year, University High coach Joe Schmidle was taking his No. 1-seeded Hawks boys’ team to Charleston with the intent of claiming back-to-back state titles when the COVID-19 pandemic kept them from even making the trip. This year, he and his squad are returning to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, and although the ultimate goal remains, the field looks a little different.
The Hawks (11-1) sit in the same bracket as the No. 5 seed — Morgantown is the top seed this year — and rather than facing off against the lowest rung, UHS has a taller task ahead against a physical Huntington (11-3) squad.
“Huntington is very athletic,” Schmidle said. “They make a lot of things happen on both ends of the floor. We have to be very smart, take care of the basketball and be patient in our offensive sets whenever we don’t have a chance to score in transition. We have to make them work on defense. If we can do that we have a chance. If we go out and try to run up and down the floor with them, we could be in trouble.”
One bright spot in the days leading up to the tournament is that Schmidle has had his entire team at practices, something he didn’t always have during the first portion of the postseason.
“The energy in practice has been really good,” Schmidle said. “The enthusiasm and everything, I really started to notice Saturday – it’s been at a pretty high level. I’ve been fortunate the weather has been bad so I’ve had my baseball players at practice every day for the last five days. Today [Wednesday] will be the sixth day in a row, and that’s been killing us because I haven’t had enough kids to practice.”
Though playing a near-perfect season, University’s rebuilding year has seen some bumps. The most recent is the close win over Wheeling Park in the Region I co-final to punch its ticket to the tournament, where the Hawks rallied at the end to overtake and hold off the Patriots. Regardless, a win is a win, and Schmidle took time to reflect on his team’s success thus far.
“This group of kids finds ways to win,” he said. “They’re a scrappy bunch. They might not be the most-talented bunch of kids out there but they find ways to win whenever they buckle down.”
Still, University is without its outside shooting — something they’ve been able to tout the last two years with Kaden Metheny and K.J. McClurg. That could prove detrimental if the curse of the Civic Center fails to lay its veil over UHS’s opponents.
“We just have to see the ball go through the basket, we need to make shots,” Schmidle said. “That’s the thing about Charleston, a lot of teams don’t shoot real well down there and then you’ll have a kid here or there shoots the lights out. If we can see the ball go through the basket early, gain some confidence, win a game down there, that will go a long way. We’re a young team. I’m sure we’re going to make mistakes like everyone else. It’s just going to be limiting those that will be key.
“We never shoot well outside. As a team our field goal percentage is probably 55%, we shoot 60% or better inside the arc and we shoot about 25% from 3-point range. We don’t shoot a lot of 3’s, and it’s hard to win when people are making six-to-ten 3-pointers a game, and you’re making one or two.”
Sideline inbounds is scheduled for 9 p.m. Thursday.
If the stars align
Should University beat Huntington, they could be squaring off against rival Morgantown (17-1) for a spot in the state title game on Saturday. To Schmidle, though, it doesn’t matter whom the opponent is in the semifinals on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s going to matter, honestly,” he said. “You’re playing in a semifinal game, they’re going to be motivated. The rivalry, that may give us an advantage over some of the other teams down there because of our familiarity with Morgantown and the kids know each other so well, but if us and Morgantown get there it’ll show the state of West Virginia how good basketball is here in Morgantown.”
The last time the Hawks and Mohigans squared off, MHS came away with a nine-point victory on its home court. It was University’s only loss, and the only time the rivals faced each other this season after their game scheduled in April was canceled.
Just another state title
When asked how winning the first 4A title in state history would personally feel, Schmidle joked that it’s just another state title.
“The 4A thing, that makes no difference to me,” he said. “State title is a state title. I’m sure it would be great for the school. I think our coaching staff and these kids over the last seven years have changed the way people think about University High basketball. We’ve become a respectable program and a perennial state tournament team. It’s been a rebuilding year, we’re young, and if we won a state title in a year like that it would speak a lot about the amount of work the kids have put in.
“But we’re just waiting for our first game, and are going to go one game at a time and see what happens.”
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