Sports in The Dominion Post

This article appeared in the Dominion Post Newspaper on April 4, 2004.
St. Albans star leads Class AAA All-Staters

NMHS's Sell first team; MHS's Law, Carey on squad

By RICK RYAN

The Charleston Gazette (AP)

CHARLESTON -- Adam Williams won't exactly enjoy a summer vacation this year.

The St. Albans basketball standout will continue working on his game until he leaves for Lexington in June to start his career at the University of Kentucky.

Williams has already improved his skills a good bit, as evidenced by his recently completed senior season. He led the Red Dragons to the state tournament for the first time since 1998, captured the Bill Evans Award as the top prep player in West Virginia and is now selected as first-team captain of the Class AAA all-state squad.

A 6-foot-5 wing, Williams averaged 22.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists as St. Albans went 17-8 and earned a No. 9 ranking in the final state poll. He also received the Gatorade state player of the year honor.

Other first-team all-state honorees chosen by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association include Ricky Sell, of North Marion, The Dominion Post player of the year; Shane Maynard, of state champion Woodrow Wilson; Josh ''Cookie'' Miller, of Capital; Matt Estep, of Greenbrier East; Duncan Williams, of state runner-up Hedgesville; Ronnie Means, of South Charleston; and Migel Lockett, of Robert C. B yrd.

Morgantown High, undefeated and ranked No. 1 for much of the season, has four players on the team: 6-7 senior Kameron Law (second team), 6-4 junior Chris Carey (third team), and Tyler Benson and Ben Torsney (honorable mention).

University's Charles Cyphert and Preston's Cameron Walls also are honorable mention.

Adam Williams capped his career with a decent effort in St. Albans' 61-50 quarterfinal loss to Capital at the state tournament -- turning in 19 points, six rebounds and three steals. He wasn't the only one waving goodbye that day, as father Tex Williams r eached the end of his 26-year coaching career with the Red Dragons.

With 1,319 career points, Adam Williams ended third all-time at St. Albans behind Brett Nelson (2,199), who also won an Evans Award, and former WVU standout Dave Reaser (1,431).

Adam Williams, Maynard, Miller and Estep were all repeat first-team selections.

Maynard, a 6-6 senior forward, led the Flying Eagles in scoring as they captured the school's 15th state championship, the most for any West Virginia team. He averaged 15 points and nine rebounds. In a 49-41 title game win, against Hedgesville, he held team highs of 16 points and nine rebounds.

''There's a lot of upside to him as a college player because of what he can do," said Maynard's coach, Ron Kidd. "He's 6-6, he can handle the ball, he can shoot, he can pass, he can dribble. He's got a lot of skill for that size."

Miller, a 5-8 junior point guard, wowed crowds at the state tournament with his exceptional ball-handling and play-making talents. He averaged 20 points, eight assists and five steals on the season, but his scoring output jumped to 27 points in four postseason games. In two state tourney games, he produced 55 points, 10 steals, eight rebounds and four assists. He's already scored 1,145 career points.

Estep, a 6-3 senior wing, led all state Class AAA scorers with his 22.6 average. He also had a state-high 95 3-point goals and shot 45 percent from long range. For his career, he made 243 of 607 shots from 3-point range (40 percent) and finished with 1,384 points, third-best in school history behind Warren Baker and Bimbo Coles.

Sell, a 6-2 senior guard, averaged 19 points as North Marion reached the state tourney. Sell stands second in school history in scoring with more than 1,000 points and first in assists.

Duncan Williams, a 6-0 senior guard, flashed his all-around skills on the state's biggest stage as the Eagles reached the championship game for the first time since 1970. In Hedgesville's three-game run to the finals, he had 44 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. For the season, he averaged 15.5 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Means, a 6-0 senior point guard, averaged 11.2 points and 10-plus assists and provided airtight defense for the Black Eagles (19-4), who were ranked No. 3 in the regular season.

Lockett, a 5-9 junior guard, averaged 20.6 points, six assists and 4.5 steals and went over the 1,000-point career mark while leading Robert C. Byrd into the state tournament. Lockett's 77 3-pointers tied him for third-most in the state.

The all-state second team is headed by Parkersburg South junior Ryan Dawson, who was selected captain. The third team is captained by Hedgesville senior Dustin Gregory.

Class AAA all-state


With player, school, height, grade and points average (x-denotes captain):

FIRST TEAM

x-Adam Williams, St. Albans, 6-5, sr, 22.4 ppg

Josh Miller, Capital, 5-6, jr, 20.0

Shane Maynard, Woodrow Wilson, 6-6, sr, 15.0

Matt Estep, Greenbrier East, 6-3, sr, 22.6

Duncan Williams, Hedgesville, 6-0, sr, 15.5

Migel Lockett, Robert C. Byrd, 5-9, jr, 20.6

Rick Sell, North Marion, 6-2, sr, 19.0

Ronnie Means, South Charleston, 6-0, sr, 11.2

SECOND TEAM

x-Ryan Dawson, Parkersburg South, 6-4, jr, 15.0

Kameron Law, Morgantown, 6-7, sr, 11.2

Klint Frazier, South Charleston, 5-11, jr, 19.1

Adam Fletcher, St. Albans, 6-9, jr, 21.0

Sean Michael, Parkersburg, 6-4, jr, 16.7

Durrell Johnson, Martinsburg, 6-3, sr, 17.0

Rico Thompson, Woodrow Wilson, 6-1, jr, 12.0

Mario Thompson, Woodrow Wilson, 5-11, soph, 12.0

THIRD TEAM

x-Dustin Gregory, Hedgesville, 6-5, sr, 13.0

Ben Adkins, George Washington, 6-5, jr, 13.9

Connor Louden, Parkersburg, 6-4, jr, 18.4

Josh Sowards, Hurricane, 6-6, sr, 20.8

Mario Walton, Woodrow Wilson, 6-4, soph, 10.0

Brandon Barrett, Martinsburg, 6-1, sr, 12.0

Chris Carey, Morgantown, 6-4, jr, 12.9

Patrick Patterson, Huntington, 6-6, fr, 12.3

Justin Jarman, North Marion, 6-8, sr, 18.0

HONORABLE MENTION

Dominic Daniels, Greenbrier East; Matt Deaner, Hedgesville; Josh Brown, Jefferson; Sean Corbett, Musselman; Brad Kouski, Wheeling Park; Adam Ferro, John Marshall; Chris Baldauf, Rick Sandreth, Brooke; Chris Long, Tawon Wallace, George Washington; Jeraude Lowe, South Charleston; Steve Stout, Nitro; Derek Terry, Ben Merchant, Riverside; J.J. Jones, Hurricane; Jon Melhorn, Ripley; Tyler Benson, Ben Torsney, Morgantown; Charles Cyphert, University; Chris Strcula, Parkersburg; Ade Baruwa, Trent McCallister, Parkersburg South; Johnathan Repass, Princeton; Nate Wilds, Spring Valley; Parks Ward, Adam Yeager, Huntington; Aaron Mills, Capital; Drew Pingley, Elkins; Josh Wray, East Fairmont; Alex Lee, Ha mpshire; Jeff Horst, Martinsburg; Andrew McCue, Nicholas County; Matt Bealto, Robert C. Byrd; Cameron Walls, Preston.