<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1MMvk1_0rqPBEzW00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1MMvk1_0rqPBEzW00" width="615" height="840" ></figure>RAVENSWOOD — For the 17th time in his career, Ravenswood head coach Mick Price’s program will be competing in the state basketball tournament.When the 19-5 Red Devils square off at 9:30 a.m. Thursday inside the Charleston Coliseum against Chapmanville head coach Brad Napier’s 18-6 Tigers, it’s going to be a little like deja vu.En route to the Class AA state title a year ago, CHS knocked off the Red Devils in the early morning state tournament quarterfinal, 49-43. Once again, the Tigers are the No. 3 seed and the Red Devils are the No. 6 seed.“Two years ago we got beat by Poca and they won it. Last year we got beat by Chapmanville and they won it,” said Price, whose squad has been in the big dance seven of the last 10 years. “I’m starting to get paranoid thinking, crap, people are probably wanting to match up with us. They think they can win the state championship.”Chapmanville, which qualified for the final week of the season for the seventh time in the past nine seasons, is led by Zion Blevins.“It’s an honor and a privilege to go play in the state tournament and we’re playing against a really good program,” admitted Price, whose team has been to state for three straight years but had to figure things out this winter after graduating fourth-place all-time leading scorer Matthew Carte. “They’ve done a nice job over the last several years. He’s been down there 12 years and he’s won three state championships. That’s pretty impressive itself. Brad does a good job. He really does a good job. His kids play well. They are disciplined.“They’ve got some kids who can play. They got some players. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but when don’t you? I mean it’s the eight best teams in Class AA up for grabs. I mean you can go from Bluefield to Williamstown to Charleston Catholic to Wheeling Central to Chapmanville, to wherever. It doesn’t matter who you are going to play. You are going to play someone that’s good. You’d better be ready to play when you play and you better give it everything you got if you want to go play on semifinal Friday because that’s one of the greatest days in all of the basketball world.”The 6-foot-7 Blevins is far from Price’s lone concern.“He can play inside and outside. He averages about 19 a game and then they got the Cameron Blevins kid who came in this year,” said Price, whose team has used a balanced scoring attack all year with Beau Bennett (13.5), Evan Swain (13.1), Logan Alfred (11.1), Noah Dawson (10.6) and Greyson Keen (9.4). “You have the kid that came from Tug Valley, (Joey) Gollihue. He can play and he can shoot with NBA range. I mean he’s got NBA range. Drew Berry is 6-3, 215, and I think the (Benji) Adkins kid may be one of the keys to their team. “He is really a good athlete and he just knows how to play. I think he’s drawn eight charges in these last seven games. He just does all the things that’s tough and he’s good at it. He’s good and he’s a tough matchup. We’ve got a couple 6-7 kids (Swain and Keen), but they are not small. They are 6-7, 6-5, 6-5, 6-4, 6-3. They are not small whatsoever. It’s going to be a formidable foe, but I think our kids have been working hard and we are going to give it our best shot.”Ravenswood, which has Swain and Keen averaging 8.5 rebounds each with Alfred (2.7) leading the team in steals, Dawson (3.9) in assists and Bennett with 55 made 3s, lost to Doddridge County in the Little Kanawha Conference consolation game.“It’s not been easy trying to create the chemistry between what we are trying to do in the post and what we are trying to do as a team,” coach Price admitted. “We’ve been trying to find our way throughout the year and sometimes it hasn’t been pretty and we lost some games we probably shouldn’t have lost. A lot of it has to do with we just lacked the chemistry of what we were doing, but I think that we are finally kind of getting around to where everybody kind of knows their role.“The roles on our team are kind of different in itself because we’ve got five guys averaging double figures and every one of them has scored 20 or more points in one game or more throughout the season. I think that kind of helps us when we go about matching up with other teams because they can’t just leave one guy go. We’ve had guys proven that they can score the ball and they are going to have to Thursday morning. We’re really going to have to do a good job defensively, limit them to one shot and we’ve got to be able to execute and score the ball on offense.”Price said this season has been both fun and challenging.As the grind of another year draws to a close, the veteran boss is just pleased to have the opportunity at making a run to the title.“We haven’t had a kid over 6-1 for the last four years and now all of a sudden you got two kids 6-7,” Price said. “I mean Evan Swain grew about four inches from last year to this year. Now we got two 6-7 kids we’re trying to work in with three kids who have played at the state tournament.“Dawson, Alfred and Bennett, those kids have the experience and know what it takes to get back there. That’s what’s been the leadership on our team in getting us there.”Price also said the Red Devils haven’t changed anything up practice-wise because they have an early morning tip.“I don’t think it matters when you play,” admitted Price, whose teams have played for five state titles, won crowns in 2006 and 2009 and needs another victory for an 11th all-time 20-win campaign. “I really don’t. I think it’s more of a headcase thing than it is anything. When you play, you play, and by gosh you strap it on.“It isn’t any different if you play at noon Saturday on the outside court here across the street from me or we are playing in the Convo at OU. It doesn’t matter. If you’re a competitor you don’t care when you play. You just want to compete and play at the highest level you can. I don’t get all into that. It’s time to play, let’s go, strap it up. You better be a dog when you cross those lines.”Although the Red Devils will be in the role of the underdog, Price noted their practices have been solid.“Our kids have been really attentive,”added the coach. “They’ve done a pretty good job in their prep. When you got six days to prep for a team, I’m sure Chapmanville will know everything that we do and we’re pretty good on a lot of stuff that they do.“It comes right down to your Billys and Joes. They got to play. They got to make shots and you got to defend. You can know everything about everybody, but you got to be able to play. We are looking forward to it.”Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com</div></body>

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Ravenswood seeks better fate at state tourney

RAVENSWOOD — For the 17th time in his career, Ravenswood head coach Mick Price’s program will be competing in the state basketball tournament. When the 19-5 Red Devils square off at 9:30 a.m. Thursday inside the Charleston Coliseum against Chapmanville head coach Brad Napier’s 18-6 Tigers, it’s going to be a little like deja vu.

Ravenswood seeks better fate at state tourney

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