Though slowed by the flu, point guard Noah Cottrill participated in the 2010 Prime Time Shootout last weekend, and netting 17 points against Baltimore City College inside the WVU Coliseum -- his future home court -- Saturday night. Even though Cottrill and Logan High School lost the game, 70-49, and despite fighting off illness, it was business as usual for the future WVU guard.
“We came out and played hard against a scrappy inner-city team,” said Cottrill. “I’m battling the flu right now. I had an IV in me last night at about 2 a.m. and some this morning.”
Cottrill is 6-foot-1, 180-pound Poca, W.Va. native and is already well-recognized by WVU fans. He signed a National Letter of Intent back in November and will join the WVU basketball team next fall.
“Everybody here is all welcoming. It’s home,” Cottrill said. “I love being here and I love playing here.”
ESPN Scouts, Inc. rates Cottrill, who chose WVU over Florida, Marshall, and others, as the No. 14 overall point guard, in the 2010 recruiting class. He averages 29 points a game for Logan, who is off to a 9-2 start this season.
Cottrill had played on the Coliseum floor before, but not officially in an organized game. “It would have been a whole lot better if I wasn’t ill, but it was fun,” he said. “I’ll bounce back. It’s all you can do.”
Against City College, Cottrill played small forward on defense and point guard on offense simply because Logan needs the biggest bodies it can put out on the floor, defending down low. But Cottrill and his Logan teammates were no match for City College (12-1) power forward Jordan Latham, who scored a game-high 21 points. Latham, 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, signed a National Letter of Intent with Xavier.
Of the defensive switch, Cottrill said, “It doesn’t really take me out of my game. It’s different because I’m coming from a team where I had to do all guard aspects and we had one of the best big men in the country.”
The big man Cottrill referred to is 7-foot-1 Sudanese center David Nyarsuk, who also signed with WVU in November. The two played together as juniors at Mountain State Academy, in Beckley, W.Va.
“Hopefully he can speak a little better English, but he’s a big boy,” Cottrill joked.
But in the meantime at Logan, Cottrill is content with shifting role on the offensive and defensive ends. At WVU, however, he will fit in as a point guard.
“We don’t have that [center] now and we had to adjust,” he said. “Whatever it takes for my team to win, I’m willing to do.”
Cottrill took in the Mountaineers 71-65 win over Ohio State, Saturday afternoon. “It was a tough win. Ohio State is a good team,” said Cottrill. “Thad Matta is a wonderful coach. It’s a big win.”
As his season at Logan wears on and heading into the offseason, Cottrill’s main goal to best prepare him for the transition to college basketball is increasing his strength. “I got to get stronger and I got to learn to move more without the ball, but that will come. I’m just ready for college,” he said.