So there's this basketball team from Morgantown.
It's highly ranked.
Sometimes it doesn't shoot very well. Sometimes it has to rely on defense.
Oh, and the last name of one of its starters is Adrian.
Sound familiar?
Well, this team is in Charleston. It isn't WVU, but rather the Morgantown High girls squad. And the Adrian in this case isn't Nate, but his sister Lydia.
Certainly you've heard of the Mohigans' girls tradition by now. Morgantown won a Class AAA title in 1977. And 1990. And 1992. And 1993. And 2005. And 2007. And 2014. And 2015.
The twist now, though, is head coach Jason White has been in his position but two years. He's already won two titles and has the Mohigans at 23-1 and in Friday's 5:30 p.m. semifinal.
Easy peasy this coaching stuff, right?
"Uh no, it's definitely not easy," White said with a smile. "I was with Mick Price at Ravenswood for a long time. I played for him. Then I was with Tom Yester at Morgantown High coaching the boys ... I was with Mick when he won his first. So I don't take it for granted. The success and run we're on is a credit to our kids and how hard they work. I'm just the benefactor that's at the end of the bench."
Actually, that's not true. On Wednesday, for example, White moved away from his team's predominant man-to-man style defense to a zone. The result was a 55-30 victory over Spring Valley. In the first half, MHS shot just 25 percent.
"I've always been taught your defense can be there any night," White said. "Your shooting comes and goes, but you can defend every night. We've always had the mindset that if we defend we'll always be in games. If we're fortunate enough to be hitting some shots that night, the score might widen."
Sound familiar? Maybe Bob Huggins-ish?
"That's our main thing," said Lydia Adrian, who scored 18 on Wednesday. "We try to lock into our defense. Even when we're not shooting well, we can still rely on our defense to stop teams - and that's where we'll get our offense."
Hmm. Wonder if she ever heard such a mantra from her brother?
"Anytime someone meets me and sees the last name and my resemblance to Nate, that's the first thing I'm asked - especially if they know me from basketball," she said.
There are resemblances in both appearance and game.
"My shot," Lydia said. "It's developed over the past couple years and I get that from him. His defense has really stepped up too and I really try to match the same things."
Lydia entered the Spring Valley game averaging 11.3 points.
"Nate has helped me a lot," she said. "He's shown me how hard it is. It's like a job. If you're going to do it, you have to commit to it 100 percent. That's what he taught me."
"I think Lydia's really good," White said. "She's improved greatly from her sophomore to junior year. As a sophomore we played her in spots as a 'four' that could stretch other teams out a little. Then this year we transitioned her a little to a guard position. She's playing a 2-guard for us at 5-11 - and she's not done growing. She's greatly improved her ball-handling skills and her ability to shoot the outside shots."
If you're wondering about scholarships and offers and such, Adrian is a bit different from her brother.
"I'm not really sure if I want to play in college yet," she said. "I want to pursue a degree in chemistry or biology and go to med school."
Adrian's background, you see, is steeped in excellence - including basketball. The eight championships are the most ever among Class AAA schools.
"We're aware of it," Adrian said. "It's a tradition. All the girls I know have been going to the MHS girls basketball camps since we were in the second grade. It's just something we've learned to expect: high quality basketball."
White is providing the leadership. He's starting four players who are 5-10 or over: Adrian, Shelby Boyle, Rachel Laskody and team leading scorer Sydney Holloway. As a result opponents rarely hit 40 points.
Along press row some have wondered if Morgantown can indeed three-peat. White, however, does not.
"I don't question this team for a second," said the coach. "Last year the first thing we were asked after winning the state championship was, 'You're losing five seniors; what do you make of these girls coming back?' I said, 'I like this team. I like the makeup of this team. I like their grittiness. They want to be pushed.
"They want to win a state championship."
He continued.
"They just have something in them. They have a desire to be good. They're a little careless with the ball from time to time, but it's because of good intentions. It's because of aggressive mistakes."
There just must be something in that Morgantown water, eh?