BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — Tug Valley has a young roster for the 2022-23 basketball season but experience is still there for the Panthers.

Tug Valley Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson expects improvement for his squad as he prepares for the tough grind of the upcoming campaign.

Several sophomores return who played a lot of minutes last year. They include Brady Brewer, Joey Gollihue, Ashton Davis, and Kaden Hale. Juniors Buddy Marcum and Paul Preece also return for TVHS. A pair of seniors, Parker Davis and Johnathan Wagoner, will be vying for playing time.

Thompson is excited about three freshmen who have been working hard in practice and could see varsity action. They include Carson Newsome, Bryson Elia and Braydun Ferris.

Ferris moves back to TV after playing at Martin County last season.

“We’ve looked good in practice,” Thompson said. “We have not settled on a starting five.

“They keep getting better, but we still have a way to go. Some of them worked hard in the offseason and you can tell,” added Thompson.

“We want to play uptempo again.”

The Panthers will press once again and play a lot of man-to-man defense. Offensively Thompson likes his teams to run the basketball on the fast break when they can. They will also run a host of half-court sets.

“I have really liked the way practice has gone so far and we’re looking forward to the season,” he stressed.

Coach Thompson has put together a tough schedule, including games with AAA Logan, Spring Valley and Belfry. They will play AA teams Westside and Mingo Central, as well as some top Class A teams like Man, Sherman, Van, Tolsia and St. Joe.

Tug Valley will host its own holiday tourney, the Kaydence Maynard Memorial, and the Panthers are scheduled to play Williamstown, Cameron and Gilmer County.

Thompson led Tug Valley to back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013.

Coach Thompson will be assisted once again by Tyler Hodge, David Ledger, Curt Fletcher, Ronnie Blankenship and Jerry Mounts.