Post by smiteedawgwv on Aug 13, 2008 9:14:15 GMT -5
Poca’s Cottrill transferring to MSU Academy
By Dave Morrison
Sports Editor
It’s official. One of the top high school basketball players in the country is coming to Beckley.
Noah Cottrill, a rising junior who was one of West Virginia’s leading scorers as a sophomore at Poca last season, announced Tuesday that he intends to transfer to Mountain State Academy.
“It was a family-based decision,” said Cottrill, who spent Tuesday afternoon golfing at The Brier Patch Golf Links. “The competition is a whole lot better. It’ll be good for me to not have to be the best player on the court every day. The competition will be better and the academic part, too.”
Cottrill admitted the decision was tough.
“It was hard telling my coach (Allen Osborne),” he said. “Especially knowing that he had coached my dad and my brother. And my friends, if they’re really my friends, will understand the decision and why I had to do it. I’ve talked to a few of the guys and they understood. I’m sure there will be people who don’t understand. There are always haters out there.”
MSA coach Rob Fulford was happy to get the player ranked No. 45 overall in the Class of 2010 and was also rated the 11th best point guard in the class by Rivals.com.
“Any time you add one of the best point guards in the country your program’s stock obviously rises,” Fulford said. “Noah adds a level of excitement to our program and legitimizes us as an elite high school basketball team. With the players we have coming back and have put around him, we are definitely going to be one of the top high school programs in the country.”
Cottrill said getting Mountain State Academy national recognition is one of his top goals for the upcoming season.
“Hopefully we can get Mountain State on the map as far as elite schools go,” Cottrill said. “With the talent I’ve seen, we’re going to be close. I’m looking forward to playing some of the top (high school teams) in the country.”
This winter, the Falcons play perennial prep power Oak Hill Academy (at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Nov. 11), St. Benedict’s (which rose as high as No. 2 in the nation last year), The Patterson School and six tournaments that have at least one Top 25 program from last year among its participants.
Cottrill made news after his freshman season when he announced that he had already decided to attend West Virginia University.
“If coach (Bob) Huggins hadn’t come I wouldn’t have done that,” Cottrill said. “I’m comfortable with coach Huggins and his staff. I mean, the first time you meet him, you’re a little nervous, but it’s not like that at all. He’s really a down-to-earth guy. I just love the staff there.”
Cottrill will wear No. 14, a tribute to his brother Ricky, an all-stater who played college basketball at Eastern Michigan.
“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” Cottrill said. “He can still shoot it. He’s a lot better shooter than I am.”
The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 30.7 points per game and was a Class AA first-team all-state selection last year.
“From a basketball standpoint, you’re talking about a kid who is one of the top 50 players in his class,” Fulford said of Cottrill. “With Jabs Newby, who has several Division I offers, coming back, he’s going to be practicing against another Division I point guard every day. And Noah realizes that nothing is going to be given to him. He’ll have to work to earn the starting job.”
It will be a step up, but one Cottrill and his new coach believe he can make.
“It’ll be good going up against guys who want to take my job away every day,” Cottrill said. “It’ll not only make me better, but it will make them better and it will make us a better team.”
“I think people in West Virginia realize what a good player Noah is,” Fulford said. “But unless you see him in AAU against other elite players, it’s hard to believe how good this kid really is. He stands out as the best player on the floor.”
And he’ll be doing that in Beckley this winter.
By Dave Morrison
Sports Editor
It’s official. One of the top high school basketball players in the country is coming to Beckley.
Noah Cottrill, a rising junior who was one of West Virginia’s leading scorers as a sophomore at Poca last season, announced Tuesday that he intends to transfer to Mountain State Academy.
“It was a family-based decision,” said Cottrill, who spent Tuesday afternoon golfing at The Brier Patch Golf Links. “The competition is a whole lot better. It’ll be good for me to not have to be the best player on the court every day. The competition will be better and the academic part, too.”
Cottrill admitted the decision was tough.
“It was hard telling my coach (Allen Osborne),” he said. “Especially knowing that he had coached my dad and my brother. And my friends, if they’re really my friends, will understand the decision and why I had to do it. I’ve talked to a few of the guys and they understood. I’m sure there will be people who don’t understand. There are always haters out there.”
MSA coach Rob Fulford was happy to get the player ranked No. 45 overall in the Class of 2010 and was also rated the 11th best point guard in the class by Rivals.com.
“Any time you add one of the best point guards in the country your program’s stock obviously rises,” Fulford said. “Noah adds a level of excitement to our program and legitimizes us as an elite high school basketball team. With the players we have coming back and have put around him, we are definitely going to be one of the top high school programs in the country.”
Cottrill said getting Mountain State Academy national recognition is one of his top goals for the upcoming season.
“Hopefully we can get Mountain State on the map as far as elite schools go,” Cottrill said. “With the talent I’ve seen, we’re going to be close. I’m looking forward to playing some of the top (high school teams) in the country.”
This winter, the Falcons play perennial prep power Oak Hill Academy (at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Nov. 11), St. Benedict’s (which rose as high as No. 2 in the nation last year), The Patterson School and six tournaments that have at least one Top 25 program from last year among its participants.
Cottrill made news after his freshman season when he announced that he had already decided to attend West Virginia University.
“If coach (Bob) Huggins hadn’t come I wouldn’t have done that,” Cottrill said. “I’m comfortable with coach Huggins and his staff. I mean, the first time you meet him, you’re a little nervous, but it’s not like that at all. He’s really a down-to-earth guy. I just love the staff there.”
Cottrill will wear No. 14, a tribute to his brother Ricky, an all-stater who played college basketball at Eastern Michigan.
“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” Cottrill said. “He can still shoot it. He’s a lot better shooter than I am.”
The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 30.7 points per game and was a Class AA first-team all-state selection last year.
“From a basketball standpoint, you’re talking about a kid who is one of the top 50 players in his class,” Fulford said of Cottrill. “With Jabs Newby, who has several Division I offers, coming back, he’s going to be practicing against another Division I point guard every day. And Noah realizes that nothing is going to be given to him. He’ll have to work to earn the starting job.”
It will be a step up, but one Cottrill and his new coach believe he can make.
“It’ll be good going up against guys who want to take my job away every day,” Cottrill said. “It’ll not only make me better, but it will make them better and it will make us a better team.”
“I think people in West Virginia realize what a good player Noah is,” Fulford said. “But unless you see him in AAU against other elite players, it’s hard to believe how good this kid really is. He stands out as the best player on the floor.”
And he’ll be doing that in Beckley this winter.
