WVU football commit Chandler Starks has Anderson in hunt for ECC title in 1st year back
After spending his first three years in high school at Covington Catholic, Chandler Starks found a new home for his senior year and a new school to graduate from.
Except it wasn’t a new home as Starks transferred to Anderson High School for his senior year. Starks grew up in Anderson Township and has enjoyed reuniting with friends and former teammates in the halls.
After a successful football season for the Raptors, Starks is leading the boys basketball team to one of its best seasons in the past 20 years.
“It wasn't that hard because I grew up with all these kids, so I've known them since I was little,” Starks said. “I think it's a great thing. I know everyone and know what our tendencies are.”
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Anderson is 16-2 heading into a rivalry grudge match at Turpin Friday night. Anderson is second in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference at 11-2, and needs to beat Turpin (14-5, 11-3) to have a good chance at its first league championship since 2003. Kings is 12-2 in the ECC and 15-4 overall.
After playing at Turpin Friday, the Raptors will host Little Miami Tuesday and Lebanon Feb. 10 in league play. In between, Anderson will play at Elder, one of Cincinnati’s top teams, at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Little Miami game is rescheduled after their original meeting Tuesday was cut short by a major power outage while the teams were in pregame warmups.
“One of the better years since I've been here,” longtime Anderson head coach Frank Brandy said. “It's one of the better years we've ever had so far, so hopefully we can finish it out. That's what we're trying to focus on.”
Anderson’s previous league title in boys basketball was in 1982 when Brandy was the star player.
“We can definitely do that if we want to,” Starks said. “If we put our minds to it and play like we've been playing and do what we do, we can definitely do that. We just need to stick together."
Starks is leading the team in scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounding (11.1) and assists (5.5). His rebounding leads the ECC and his assists are second.
Starks, 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, is an imposing physical presence. He averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game last season in leading CovCath to the state semifinals in Kentucky.
“He has really helped,” Brandy said. “It wasn't like he just came back and nobody knew him. I've known him since he was little and all the boys played with him all the way through eighth grade, so it wasn't that big of a deal. All the boys like him. They just seemed to get along right away again. I'm sure they kept in touch so that’s been really good.
All five of Anderson’s starters are seniors. Senior guard Nick Engel averages 13 points and 3 assists per game. Junior forward Cassius Black and senior guard Ethan Hensley average 9 points a game. Senior Charlie Thon, a 6-foot-6 senior center, averages over 7 points and 7 rebounds a game. Sophomore Caden Piening, a 6-foot-5 football recruit and a sophomore, averages 5 points, as does junior guard Andrew Patterson.
“I think our main strength is inside because we have three kids over 6 foot and also we have really good guards,” Starks said. “We have two really good shooters, so I think if our inside game stays hot and our shooting gets hot, we're unstoppable.”
Said Brandy: “We give a lot of effort. We play really hard. Defensively, for the most part, we’ve been really good. We can rebound the ball pretty well and then offensively we just kind of figured it out. We’re not a dominant offensive team, but we find ways to score enough points.”
Starks’ main sport is football. Playing for the Raptors, who finished 8-6 and advanced to the Division II regional final, he was third on the team in tackles from his linebacker position. He had 2.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.
Starks has committed to play football for West Virginia University in the Big 12. He will likely play defensive end there, he said.
“Oh, it's crazy. It's great, I can't wait to go,” Starks said. “The people there have been amazing. I already got my workouts planned. I got my dorm room. Games are going to be crazy. I love Morgantown.”
He is grateful for the opportunity to play at a school like WVU, which will host the University of Cincinnati this fall in a Big 12 game. He did not play football at CovCath during his first three years.
“It’s definitely been a process,” Starks said. “My first visit there I was in the middle of football season. I remember I like the family part of it. They have the big wall of all the coaches and their families. And I just love that about West Virginia: They’re family-oriented.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Two-sport star Chandler Starks leads Anderson in hunt for ECC title
