×

Shadyside boys look to continue winning ways

Photo Provided PICTURED IS the 2020-21 Shadyside basketball team. Front row, from left, are Colton Wetzel, Ben Wach, Luke Bell, Carson Makris, Dylan Booth, Tyler Stottlemyer and Nathan Booth. Middle row, from left, are Jackson Pena-Scott, Holden Salgat, Jayden Carmichael, Alex Olack, Caiden McCutcheon, Jacob James and Karl Tsoras. Back row, from left are Korey Beckett, Colton Gorby, Elijah Brock, Jacob Visnic, Jordan Joseph, Chevy Minney and Mason Vannest.

SHADYSIDE – Ed Andes begins his 24th year at the Shadyside hoop helm fresh off another successful campaign.

The former Tiger hoop great guided his alma mater to a sparkling 18-7 mark last winter. Along the way, Shadyside finished as OVAC Class 2A runnerup to Wheeling Central while advancing to the district tournament, dropping a heart-breaking overtime nod to a strong Malvern outfit.

“It was a good year for us. We won 18 games and played for an OVAC title. We also played well in our district game against Malvern,” Andes noted.

If those successful ways are to continue this season, Andes, the winningest coach in Tiger hoop annals with more than 300 victories on his resume, must find capable replacements for some key departees.

The biggest loss is a huge one – Kelly Hendershot. The two-time all-Ohioan graduated after becoming the boys’ all-time scoring leader, surpassing Andes. Hendershot, an inside-outside force, was one of the premier players in the OVAC. He will be sorely missed.

“Kelly had a great senior season and career, leaving as our all-time leading scorer,” Andes said. “He obviously meant a great deal to this program. Kelly was a great player for us and a super young man.”

Hendershot was not the only graduation casualty. Also picking up their diplomas were Tyler Parr, Nick Murphy and Doug Renshaw.

Compounding matters was the decision of starting center Bryce Amos not to play this winter. The 6-5 athletic junior has already verbally committed to continue his pitching career at Tulane University.

Moreover, this is a team extremely wet behind the ears. The Tigers’ 21-player roster is stocked with 16 sophomores and freshmen.

But not all is gloom and doom in Tigerland.

Shadyside will feature one of the premier performers in the OVAC.

Korey Beckett put up some huge numbers as a sophomore. The 6-1 sharpshooting guard averaged 15 points a game with 61 treys. He had a single-game-high of 31 points. Beckett also came up big in the tough district loss to Malvern, netting 21 points including six treys.

“Korey had a really nice sophomore year for us. He is a hard-worker and very committed to the game,” Andes said. “Korey is our best outside shooter and has good basketball savvy. I am expecting big things out of him this season.”

The Tiger backcourt will be a definite strength as Beckett will be joined by classmate and fellow returning starter Mason Vannest (6-1), who brings athleticism, size and toughness to the position. He is also a lockdown defender.

“Mason plays the game hard and is a quality defender,” Andes said. “He led us in assists (4.3 per game) and has good court vision.”

A pair of senior letter-winners will bring experience and leadership to the team.

Jacob Visnic produced quality minutes off the bench last season. The powerful 5-11 forward should be a force inside while also delivering a deft outside shot.

“Jacob has a nice outside shot and brings nice physicality to the floor for us,” Andes offered.

Jordan Joseph brings boundless energy to the floor. The 5-11 guard also saw quality time last winter and is an in-your-face defender while also featuring an ability to get to the hoop.

“Jordan plays with great tenacity. He is a good defender who we also are counting on to give us added scoring punch.”

Beckett and Vannest will be joined by one other junior mate.

Jacob James will likely see varsity minutes. He is a 6-1 forward.

The sophomore class totals six performers.

Elijah Brock heads the bunch and is expected to be a varsity contributor and may land a starting position. He is an athletic 6-4 jumping jack.

Brock is joined in the sophomore class by 5-8 forward Jayden Carmichael, 5-9 guard Caiden McCutcheon, 5-5 guard Holden Salgat and 5-4 guard Colton Wetzel.

The freshmen class is strong in numbers with 11 hoopsters in the fold.

Providing hope for the future are Ben Wach, Luke Bell, twin brothers Dylan and Nathan Booth, Colton Gorby, Carson Makris, Chevy Minney, Alex Olack, Jackson Pena-Scott, Tyler Stottlemyer and Karl Tsoras.

“The pandemic situation really hurt us. We have so many young players not being able to be in the gym this spring and summer really slowed their development,” Andes said. “We just need to get into the gym so our younger kids get quality practice time.

“We need a lot of work on our offense because we do not have a lot of returning scoring. We also need to learn to play without Kelly,” he added. Andes has an excellent staff in place, featuring his sons Jared and Justin, Mike Schlanz and Jay Thomas.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today