This year doesn’t seem any different as the Wildcats and the Generals are expected the battle for not only the league title but also the state title.
The two could get a strong push from Poca, led by all-state guard Noah Cottrill, a 6-2 sophomore who made headlines by making a verbal commitment so early to West Virginia and was pictured a few months ago in Time magazine. Cottrill was just a freshman last year, but proved himself on hardwoods all around the state.
Cottrill has a floor game beyond his years. That’s probably why a number of high majors have already lined up at his door to offer him scholarships.
Wayne, known more for its football and baseball, could also be much improved.
Chapmanville Regional High School, enters the Cardinal for the first time this season.
Herbert Hoover, Sissonville and Point Pleasant round out the league.
Logan went 10-2 last year to win the Cardinal Conference championship. The only slip-ups were a road loss to Winfield (86-79) and a home defeat at the hands of the Herbert Hoover Huskies (87-76).
Logan coach Mark Hatcher said the Cardinal Conference should be strong again this season.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Hatcher said. “Poca’s awfully good, too. They’ve got everybody back and they’ve got Noah Cottrill. It’s going to be a battle. I’m not looking forward to going to Poca and we never look forward to going to Winfield.”
This will be the last season for Logan and Winfield in the Cardinal Conference. Both have been moved up to Class AAA beginning next fall.
Around the region and state, Hatcher also looks for Wyoming East, Tolsia, Scott, Bluefield and Ravenswood to field strong hoops teams during the 2007-08 season.
“I think Wyoming East still has a pretty good team back,” Hatcher said. “Tolsia is going to be strong, Scott will be strong and the Man and Chapmanville games will be tough because those are rivalry types of games. Wayne will be better this year I think than they have been in the last few years. It’s going to be an interesting season. I think Ravenswood is one of the top (Class AA) teams in the state. They’ve got everybody back. Even though they didn’t get past Winfield last year they’ve got everybody back, plus a 6-foot-7 guy from Germany, who transferred in. They are going to be 6-7, 6-5 and 6-3. They are going to be as big as we are.”
Logan scrimmaged Ravenswood and Scott last Saturday at home in its final preseason test before the 2007-08 tipoff on Dec. 11.
The Wildcats expect another tough challenge fromcWayne and Tolsia in the Class AA sectionals this year.
Logan, the three-time defending champions in the current sectional, play Wayne in a home-and-home Cardinal Conference series during the regular season but do not meet Tolsia.
The Rebels are led by forward/center Kenny Muncy and a host of other returnees. Logan beat Tolsia 38-32 in last year’s Class AA sectional championship game at Huntington High School but were upset 69-66 by the Rebels in a regular season game at Willie Akers Arena.
“Tolsia is going to be a lot better than what most people think,” Hatcher said. “They’ve got a new coach and a lot of veterans, including Kenny Muncy and Channing Preece. Those two guys are their main cogs but they also have some other players, too. They are going to be pretty scary.”
The site for this year’s sectional tourney has yet to be determined but it will most likely be at Spring Valley or Huntington High School. This year, Wayne has the choice and the Pioneers always seem to like to play closer to home than opposed to Williamson or elsewhere.
“We haven’t had our sectional meeting yet this year. Wayne’s in charge of that,” Hatcher said. “I would assume that we are going to be playing at either Spring Valley, Huntington High or Cabell-Midland. It will be the last weekend of February into the first week of March. Of course, we don’t know who we are going to be playing. This is the fourth year. We don’t know who is going to be getting the bye this year. We’ll have to determine that and go from there.”
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