Hidden gems at this week’s New River CTC Invitational

<div dir="ltr">By Dave Morrison</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">There is no lack of star power for this week’s New River CTC Invitational at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">But make no mistake, there will be some hidden gems arriving from gyms all around the area for the premier event in southern West Virginia.</div> <div dir="ltr">Here is a look at some of those players.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Cyrus Goodson, Independence, 6-3, Soph.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">You are nearly inclined to feel for the youngster, who happens to be the brother of one of the best football-baseball players in the state.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Then you look at his basketball team, and Michael McKinney and Zach Bolen often garner many of the headlines and the attention of opposing teams.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">But make no mistake. Goodson is ultra-talented and he is getting better.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">This season he is averaging 17.7points per game and has shown the ability to excel inside despite giving away size.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He had a career-best 25 against Nicholas County before the pandemic shut down the Patriots for two weeks.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">What really makes Goodson special is he plays hard. Real hard. Few players leave the amount of skin on floors as Goodson. He spends more time on the floor than a dust mop.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">In the first game back he scored 14 points against Wyoming East and guarded Chase York, Wyoming East’s resident dust mop, and held him in check for the most part, allowing his counterpart an equal 14 points, though six of that late in the game when Independence was in foul mode.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Coach Mike Green said last year that Goodson was a player to watch in the future, McKinney said he was going to be a player that will surprise people when they see him play.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">With the CTC as a stage, Goodson is ready to bust out for all to see.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/ALLEN-400.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1151391 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/ALLEN-400-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="1051586" first="Eli" last="Allen"], James Monroe, 6-2, Soph.</p> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">This might be Allen’s only appearance on a hidden gem type list, because he is about to explode onto scene in a big way.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">The James Monroe guard has all the makings of a future Division I player, and he is already elite in several areas. The only drawback was that he missed the first half of his freshman year with an injury, but that was simply a speed bump en route to what has been a huge start for Allen and the 9-0 Mavericks.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Allen runs the point for a team averaging 73.9 points per game and his numbers reflect his role in that start.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He is averaging 14.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 3.5 steals. He is shooting 72 percent from the free throw line (21-29) and, as slasher at heart, he is hitting 52 percent of his shots inside the arc (41-79). He has scored in double figures in seven of eight games, the one he didn’t he was taken out early in a lopsided victory.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He has it all, including genes. At 6-2 Allen has already grown about three inches in the offseason.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Keynan Cook, Woodrow Wilson, 6-4, Jr.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Like Goodson, Cook grew in the offseason and it has served him well.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">The has made eight starts for the Flying Eagles and gives Ron Kidd some luxury because Cook has guard skills.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He has had four double figure games this season, a high of 17 against Huntington.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">The athletic Cook has quietly averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds. But don’t get taken in by those numbers. He is tied for first in steals (15), second in assists (24) and second in blocked shots (7).</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">While the Flying Eagles are awaiting the emergence of injured and then quarantined freshman point guard Elijah Redfern, Cook has of late played some at the point, starting there against Greenbrier East.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/MITCHELL-400.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1159049 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/MITCHELL-400-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Garrett Mitchell, Wyoming East , 6-1, Soph.</p> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">When Warriors coach Derek Brooks arrived at the school early on Friday morning, he found Mitchell already in the gym in shorts and a t-shirt, getting shots up before school started.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Later that evening, at Independence, Mitchell had his best game to date, with a career-best 21 points, including five 3s.</div> <div dir="ltr">The Warriors are looking for a third scorer to go with statistical leader Tanner Whitten (18.8 ppg) and inspirational leader Chase York (12.5 ppg).</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Mitchell fits that bill.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">As one of the freshmen called upon to play earlier than expected last season after the midseason departure of some veteran players, Mitchell is above the curve in his development.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Now he has added the ability to score to the other roles he has filled as a versatile guard.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He is averaging 9.8 points per game for Wyoming East and leads the team with 14 3s.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Chase McClung, Greenbrier West, 6-0, Jr.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">With a certified scorer like [player_tooltip player_id="977544" first="Kaiden" last="Pack"] on the squad, it is sometimes easy to lose the play of a player like McClung in the mix.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">But he is an integral part of the Cavaliers team, averaging 8.0 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">In the last three games he has two double figure games and has scored 33 points.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Jaden Holstein, Shady Spring, 6-6, Soph.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Shady Spring has scorers, from [player_tooltip player_id="977630" first="Braden" last="Chapman"], to [player_tooltip player_id="977639" first="Cole" last="Chapman"], to Todd Duncan and even Cam Manns, who has had three double figure games.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">So the Tigers don’t need to score. They need him to do other things.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He is a shot blocker extraordinaire, with six in a season-opening win against Woodrow Wilson. He will get you a half dozen rebounds on a slow night.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">And at 6-foot-6, he is only starting to enter his prime. With classmates like the Chapman twins and Manns. the sky is the limit.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Adam Seams, Greenbrier East,</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Seams missed some time recently but returned with a double-figure game against PikeView Monday.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">On a team that has seen its share of injury woes over the last two weeks, Seams’ return is a welcome site for coach Bimbo Coles.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He is the type of player that all coaches want, guys who do whatever job needs to be done. He can score, but as he showed in a scrimmage against</div> <div dir="ltr">Capital last month, he is a guy who does a little of everything.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He is a disruptive defender. He had six steals but he also harassed Capital players into turnovers in an 85-45 East win.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. That’s called stuffing the stats. And he does that well.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Sharron Young, Morgantown, Fr.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">Young is well known in AAU circles but he burst onto the high school scene in a big way, scoring 17 points in the No. 1 Mohigans season-opening win over then No. 1 Martinsburg.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">He showed good court awareness, and looked comfortable working inside against older players or stepping out an hitting the 3.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">All those traits he has displayed through the first half of the season, despite the ebbs and flows of a season.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">It’s easy to see why he is already seen by some as a can’t-miss Division I prospect.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">One a team of outstanding talent, he is already starting to become a known commodity on the high school level.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr"> </div>