50 States in 50 Days: West Virginia

The Mountain State peaks with Huntington Prep, but has a wide pool of talent

by Peter Robert Casey October 6, 2011 9:55am ET

Kelly Kline

Andrew Wiggins, a Canadian-product who hoops for Huntington Prep, is widely considered to be the No. 1 player in 2014

As the season draws closer, Five-Star is previewing the high school basketball scene in all 50 states. Each day, we will focus on one state, highlighting the top teams, players and games of the upcoming season. Today, we focus on West Virginia. So, West Virginians, did we pick the top teams or did we snub your alma matter? Did we find the best players, or is there someone flying under the radar, ready to make noise? Let us know in the comments below.

Five teams to watch:

Huntington Prep: A self-described "basketball academy," Huntington Prep's roster is loaded with nationally regarded talent at every position: Javontae Hawkins, Evan Payne, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Andrew Wiggins will each share time in the backcourt and on the perimeter. And Elijah Macon, Stefan Jankovic and 7-3 Tanveer Bhullar will provide size up front. Prep is slated to play a national schedule. It's only fair.

Wyoming East: Can the Warriors reach an unprecedented fifth straight Class AA title game? That remains to be seen. The perennial state power has to fill the voids left behind by Chase Morgan and Alex Webb, who'll both continue their hoops careers at Bluefield State. Look for two-sport star Marcus Schofield and potent scorer to quickly fill the burden of leading Wyoming East to the top of the AA standings.

Oak Hill: Fred Ferri Jr.'s Red Devils' team won its second consecutive and fourth-ever state title last season without the services of two-time all-state player Jack Flournoy, who moved out of the area. Sophomore guard and all-state tourney selection, Javonne Staunton-Bailey, is back in the fold for Oak Hill. They'll be young, but adversity hasn't stopped this team before.

George Washington: 2011 AAA state champions return 5-11 standout guard Santino DiTripano and ultra-efficient Thomas Francke, who's big on the boards for the Patriots. Prior to last year, George Washington hadn't won a title since 1971, but are early favorites to contend in 2011-12. Coach Greene has the team scheduled to play in the prestigious in-state Civic Center Classic in February.

Morgantown: With reigning Coach of the Year Tom Yester on the sidelines, anything's possible for the Mohigans. Morgantown finished with a 23-4 overall record and reached the state semifinals last season. This year, they'll rely heavily on 6-8 junior and WVU-commit, Nathan Adrian, to provide a scoring punch and will seek out leadership from a trio of returning seniors: Sam Lusk, Nick Fulmer and Connor Loudin.

Five players to watch:

Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep): A Five-Star "Super Soph," the 6-7 small forward led CIA Bounce's 17U squad to a Top-15 finish in our rankings this summer and copped MVP of the All-Tournament International Team at Nike Global Challenge. Wiggins is Rivals' No. 1 ranked player in 2014 and is being courted heavily by Duke, Florida State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse, among many others.

Nathan Adrian (Morgantown): Adrian wrapped up his recruiting process before his junior year began. The 6-9, 195-pound combo forward made the pledge to stay in his hometown to play for Coach Bob Huggins and the WVU Mountaineers. A rail-thin junior, Adrian is very agile for his size and can shoot from out to 20 feet.

Zach Grossenbacher (Parkersburg): Wofford, the March Madness giant killers, locked up a good one in this 6-7 small forward commit. Grossenbacher, a 2011 second team All-MSAC selection and honorable mention for All-State, led the Big Reds to a 21-5 overall ledger while averaging 12.8 points per game. Look for the swingman to take it up a few notches this season.

Jon Elmore (South Charleston): Listed as the No. 32 ranked shooting guard in the country for 2014, Elmore is a double-digit scorer with a deadly stroke and peerless basketball I.Q. He's 6-2 with room to grow and his H.S. coach Vic Hebert says his upside is tremendous: "I think Jon is the type of kid that is going to get better and better," Herbert told the WV Gazette in June. "He has good tutelage at home. His dad [Gay Elmore] was a Division I player who understands the game.

Stefan Jankovic (Huntington Prep): Jankovic hails from Serbia, but is a native of Canada who plays high school ball in the States. Confused? Don't be. The 6-9 senior power forward has a traditional European face-up game, and can knock down shots from anywhere on the court. Jankovic can play the 3-5 positions and has trimmed his recruiting list to five schools: Syracuse, Missouri, Purdue, Florida State and Wake Forest.