Published: March 28, 2008 12:04 am         

Area well represented on AA all-state

RAVENSWOOD — His team trailing 18-5 late in the first quarter of the state championship game didn’t rattle Ravenswood High senior Dusty Mullins.

Playing in his last high school game before moving on to the program at Glenville State College next year, Mullins collected himself, his teammates and his team’s fans to lead a comeback against Wyoming East that nearly gave the Red Devils their second Class AA boys basketball title in three years on March 15.

Ultimately that comeback fell short and Wyoming East escaped with a 50-48 win, giving that school its second straight championship.

But it was Mullins’ resolve and positive force that remained one of the 95th annual State Tournament’s lasting images.

He didn’t get frustrated. He didn’t complain and he didn’t quit. Instead, Mullins did everything expected of the Class AA All-State captain as chosen by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

“Dusty has always been a young man who has cared very much for the people that surround him,” said veteran Ravenswood Coach Mick Price. “He’s been a real coach’s dream. He’s worked hard and is passionate about the game but at the same time he has a sense of the big picture of life.

“I want him to be able to show that to other kids,” Price said. “It’s just as important to lose with dignity and honor as it is to win.”

Mullins didn’t lose too often during his time at Ravenswood. The 6-foot senior finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,902 points while also claiming the school’s career 3-point field goal record with 331.

Mullins averaged 19.8 points as a senior and is the lone repeat selection on the All-State team. Ravenswood finished the season with a 25-2 record.

The remainder of the first team is composed of Wyoming East’s one-two punch of senior Cory Willard and junior Gentry Shrewsbury, Poca sophomore Noah Cottrill, Bluefield senior Ansel Ponder, Logan junior Jonathan Bevins, Summers County senior Andrew Gunnoe and Winfield senior Caleb Ashley.

Price said the stacked field of talented Class AA teams and players was well-represented in the list.

“I thought double-A was a tough field at the State Tournament and it was a great field for the fans,” Price said. “There were a lot of great double-A teams this year. We beat a really good one in the regional final, Winfield. Our region was very tough.”

Of the eight first-team selections, five played in the state tournament. Cottrill and Ashley played for teams in Ravenswood’s Region 5 bracket.

Willard and Shrewsbury formed an inseparable commodity for the Warriors in Wyoming East’s run to a second-straight Class AA championship. The team’s repeat title marked the first time a Class AA had won back-to-back championships since Bluefield in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

Willard, Wyoming East’s sharp-shooting 6-0 guard, averaged 20 points and led all players in the state with 110 3-point field goals. His 11 3-pointers in the team’s second game of the year were also a state high.

Shrewsbury, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, led the Warriors with a 20.7-point scoring average and averaged 11 rebounds.

“Willard started in the Hoops Classic (in December) against Poca and just never quit all year,” Price said of Willard’s 11 3-point goal performance in December. “Willard and Shrewsbury led that team back to where they needed to get. Once you’re there anything can happen.”

Cottrill had a phenomenal year just months after giving a verbal commitment to play college basketball at West Virginia University. Rated as the No. 34 sophomore prospect in the nation by Hoop Scoop in the monthly publication “Basketball Times,” the 6-foot-2 Cottrill averaged 30.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.5 steals. He was the state’s second-leading scorer in 2008.

Ponder led the Beavers with an 18.2-point scoring average after earning All-State honors during Bluefield’s state championship football season. The 6-foot-3 Ponder and Bluefield reached the Class AA semifinals before falling to Ravenswood.

Gunnoe had the highest-scoring single game of any player in the state last season when he scored 50 for Summers County against Liberty Raleigh in a 113-47 win on Dec. 18. The 6-foot-5 senior averaged 23.4 points and 11.3 rebounds.

Bevins, a 6-foot-7 pivot who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game, also led his team to the semifinals. The Wildcats were eliminated by Wyoming East.

Winfield’s Ashley was the state’s seventh-leading scorer as a senior. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 20.8 points in the Generals’ final year among Class AA competition.

Winfield and Logan move to Class AAA at the start of the 2008-09 school year.

Weir senior guard Pete Brogdon was named captain of the second team after averaging 18.5 points. Junior forward Preston Hartman of Keyser was the third team captain. Hartman also averaged 18.5 points.



CHARLESTON (AP) — The Class AA boys all-state basketball team released by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association:

FIRST TEAM

Dusty Mullins, Ravenswood, 5-10, senior, 19.8 ppg. (capt.)

Noah Cottrill, Poca, 6-1, sophomore, 30.7 ppg.

Caleb Ashley, Winfield, 6-3, senior, 20.8 ppg.

Andrew Gunnoe, Summers County, 6-5, senior, 23.4 ppg.

Jonathan Bevins, Logan, 6-7, junior, 16 ppg.

Cory Willard, Wyoming East, 6-0, senior, 20 ppg.

Gentry Shrewsbury, Wyoming East, 6-3, junior, 20.7 ppg.

Ansel Ponder, Bluefield, 6-3, senior, 18.2 ppg.

SECOND TEAM

Pete Brogdon, Weir, 6-0, senior, 18.5 ppg. (capt.)

Ben Wise, Ravenswood, 6-0, senior, 11.8 ppg.

Ryan Summers, Tyler Consolidated, 6-1, senior, 23 ppg.

Zach Fox, Magnolia, 5-10, senior, 11 ppg.

Chris Lawson, Oak Hill, 6-0, junior, 16.1 ppg.

Eric Bailey, Westside, 6-3, junior, 24 ppg.

Paul Williamson, Logan, 6-2, freshman, 11.8 ppg.

Trey Chapman, Braxton County, 6-4, sophomore, 21 ppg.

THIRD TEAM

Preston Hartman, Keyser, 6-2, junior, 18.5 ppg. (capt.)

Steven McComas, Scott, 5-8, junior, 11.2 ppg.

Damon Waters, Grafton, 5-8, junior, 16 ppg.

R.J. Johnson, Philip Barbour, 5-9, sophomore, 16.7 ppg.

Adam Kline, Winfield, 6-4, sophomore, 14.5 ppg.

Bruce Patterson, Ravenswood, 6-4, junior, 15 ppg.

Evan Muscari, Wyoming East, 5-10, sophomore, 8.1 ppg.

Kyle Snyder, Sissonville, 6-1, junior, 15 ppg. HONORABLE MENTION

Ben Bridgeman, Magnolia; Colt Street, Magnolia; Nick Currey, Lincoln; Jared Blatt, Magnolia; Shea Davis, Liberty-Harrison; Cord Metz, Braxton County; Torin Samples, Herbert Hoover; Lamar Clark, Winfield; Jay Kelly, PikeView; Zac Miser, Weir; Clay Owings, Oak Glen; L.J. Wright, Berkeley Springs; Cody MacPherson, Weir; Nathan Gillespie, Frankfort; Cody Mayle, Grafton; Jordan Manning, Grafton; Travis Cunningham, Herbert Hoover; D.J. Lester, Iaeger; J.L. Reed, Iaeger; John Snuffer, Independence; Colton Ratcliff, Independence; Eli Bookout, James Monroe; Ernie Tincher, James Monroe; Travis Losh, Liberty-Harrison; Brett Sorrell, Logan; Brantz O’Briant, Logan; Derek Miller, Petersburg; Jordan Simon, Philip Barbour.

Jordan Weitzel, PikeView; Matt Orcutt, Poca; Blake Smith, Poca; Ryan Richards, Ritchie County; Derek Davis, Roane County; Greg Parkins, Scott; Jarred Jarrell, Scott; Scott Prince, Shady Spring; Caleb Keller, Sissonville; Mark Stiltner, Summers County; Cameron Mann, Summers County; Neil Dillon, Wayne; Chance McCoy, Webster County; Tim Miller, Webster County; Travis Smith, Wyoming East; David Wamsley, Liberty-Harrison; Dale Martin, Lincoln; Cameron Sulsona, Lincoln; Shawn Burns, Weir; Zach Perkey, Tyler Consolidated; Kenny Muncy, Tolsia; Austin Richardson, Tolsia.