Prep boys basketball: Carden, Scott adjusting to life as the hunted

But having made a Cinderella run to the Class AAA state semifinals last season, complete with a buzzer-beating floater to knock off rival Logan in a quarterfinal upset, Carden and Scott’s returners now know what it takes to reach the top. And now, the rest of the state knows that Scott is capable of getting there.

And that makes this summer’s work perhaps more important than any in seasons past for Carden.

“We’re preparing,” he said after a 52-50 win over St. Albans on Thursday. “It’s getting us well prepared because this summer, a lot of teams are full-court, face-guarding me and double-teaming. I’m just learning for next season, trying to get better, really.”

To those in the coalfields, Carden’s postseason exploits weren’t surprising. He averaged 21.5 points and five rebounds per game and Scott was a respectable 14-8 in the regular season. But the Wildcats overshadowed the Skyhawks among the coalfield contingent, with three wins over the Skyhawks in as many games and entering the state tournament as a No. 2 seed.

Yet, as Carden’s midrange jump shot fell through the net with a second left, accounting for his 25th and 26th points in a 65-63 opening-round win, he and the Skyhawks stepped out of that shadow and into the spotlight. Carden said both he and his team aim to stay there.

“It was an awesome thing for the whole community and everybody,” said Carden, who has garnered offers from Rio Grande and Washington & Jefferson College this summer. “It definitely put us on the map, and we have high expectations coming into next season. I hope to fulfill them and bring home a state championship to Boone County and Madison.”

That certainly won’t be easy. Scott lost seven seniors to graduation, including its second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers (Jaren Gaiter, 8 points per game; Landon Stone, 7.4; and Braxton Dolin, 7.2).

But there are key pieces back as well, primarily senior Isaac Setser, who led the team in rebounds (5.7) and assists (3.6) last year and Jayden Sharps, who contributed seven points and 2.2 helpers per contest and hit four big 3s in the win over Logan.

And there have been some bright spots this summer as well. Junior Owen Adkins hit seven 3-pointers in one game in a shootout in Morgantown and both Carden and coach Shawn Ballard believe that Kadin Clemmons, a 6-foot-5 senior post player who missed the last two seasons due to injuries, has the potential to be a difference maker inside.

Talent and skill are nice, but Ballard knows the shots his team will likely take on a game-in, game-out basis in the winter. But he said the mentality required to stay near the top isn’t all that different from the one it takes to get there.

“Last year, we felt like we had to earn that respect — we had to bring it every day, every time you step on the court if you want to get recognized and build that reputation,” Ballard said. “Now, the same is true. Now, others are trying to take it away from you. If you’re not ready to go, guys are going to be hyped to beat a team that went to the state tournament. If you’re not ready to play, maybe some lesser teams that you should beat, if you’re not ready to go out and play against them, they’re going to be ready to get after you.”

Ballard added that his team is learning that lesson already this summer, which should pay dividends in the winter.

“That’s happened to us this summer — some lesser teams that we’ve played that maybe we thought we could just go out there and go through the motions and win — and I think that’s been good for them,” Ballard said. “When we think we’re good, we’re not very good, but whenever we play with a chip on our shoulder, we can be tough to beat.

“We have to go out and earn it, and we’ve got a little bit of that reputation this summer going to some things. We go to shootouts and we’re matched up against some of the better teams and it’s been a good experience for us. We’ve got a lot of key pieces coming back and we feel like we have a good program in place.”