By GEORGE THWAITES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — As the returning senior point guard from a basketball team that won a state championship last season, you’d figure that Mercer Christian’s Daniel Boothe was already a pretty good player as a junior.
He was. And the kid still saw room for improvement.
All the off-season effort invested in becoming a stronger outside shooter is already paying off for the 6-foot-1 Boothe, who is this season’s first Pocahontas Coal Association/Bluefield Daily Telegraph boys basketball Player of the Week.
“He’s having a phenomenal season,” said Cavaliers coach Jeff Boothe, who is Daniel Boothe’s father. “He’s averaging right at 30 points a game and probably eight rebounds a game. He’s a tremendous leader. He’s a coach on the floor and understands the game better than any player I’ve ever coached.”
The younger Boothe understood he needed to provide Mercer Christian with a 3-point shooting threat other than returning perimeter bomber Chandler Scott. He and Scott are the only two veteran players from last year’s West Virginia Christian Education Association state championship team.
So far, everything appears to be working out nicely for the Cavs (6-2).
Boothe hit four 3-pointers on his way to 32 points in last Tuesday’s 63-24 win over Montcalm, also pulling down seven rebounds, collecting five steals and five assists. In Friday’s 73-58 victory over Hundred, he hit six trifectas en route to 38 points. He had six rebounds, four assists and three steals that game.
Boothe’s stepped-up game has been symbiotic with Scott’s. His teammate scored 19 at Montcalm and 14 against Hundred, which was good for honorable mention status this week.
Boothe’s dramatically-improved outside shooting is a result of much effort on his part, both conscious — and unconscious.
“I had to come into the gym all summer to work on it. Basically I had to get my confidence up because I didn’t take very many 3s last season,” Boothe said.
“I’ve noticed that when a guy is on me and I shoot it without even thinking about it versus having time to sit there and think about the shot ... sometimes it works better when you just clear your mind and shoot it,” he said. “Especially behind the arc.”
Boothe, who has led Mercer Christian in scoring, steals and assists for each of the last two seasons, achieved his 1,000th career point at home in the win against Hundred. In that game he also surpassed Chris East’s school-record for steals (230, 1993-96).
He didn’t begin playing at point guard until he came to Mercer Christian as a sophomore. He’s thrived at it. He loves the position.
“I like being the point guard because you can settle the game down if it’s getting out of hand or you can speed it up whenever you feel like you’ve got momentum,” Boothe said. “You can control the game and get the guys involved. If somebody on your team is on fire, you can keep setting them up.”
For Boothe, wrapping an interior pass around a defender to get to the post for an uncontested layup or driving inside only to kick the ball out for a wide-open three merely compounds the joy of doing his job.
“It’s really fun to see your teammates get on a roll. Just knowing that they’re going to make the shot ... that if you give them a great pass right on the money that they’re going to finish it. It really builds their confidence up more, which helps our team out more,” he said.
Being the team steals leader as well as the team’s leading scorer is a tricky balancing act for Boothe, given that opponents are eagerly seeking opportunities to get him in foul trouble on both ends of the court.
“I usually try to keep gambling at the start of the game and see what the refs are calling like. If they call a couple fouls on me I kind of back off and wait until the fourth quarter to really start going after it,” he said.
“And there’s always that one guy on the other team who knows how to set charges. So my dad has been preaching to me about not always just going to the rim, but sometimes pulling up and taking a 6-foot jump shot,” he said.
Mercer Christian plays its share of tough public school opponents. But Boothe also respects the private schools in the Cavaliers’ conference. He feels the weight of being a defending state champ.
“There is a lot of pressure, especially with the teams in our conference, the Christian Schools. Because we haven’t lost a conference game (at home) and we have an arrow on our back,” he said. “This year our conference is probably as evenly-balanced as its been. It’s going to be a battle come January and February.”
Injuries cost Boothe playing time in his 7th, 8th and 9th grade basketball seasons. Since coming to Mercer Christian, he’s only missed one game, which he sat out due to a mild concussion.
Understandably, Boothe wrapped up Wednesday’s interview with a heartfelt shout-out to The Almighty.
“I’d like to thank God for giving me the ability to be here and keeping me injury-free,” said Boothe. “I’d also like to thank my dad for pushing me. I wouldn’t be here without him.
“I feel honored to put Mercer Christian in the Player of the Week. I just feel honored to wear the jersey,” he said.

Player of Week Honorable Mention

Week 1, Dec. 7-13
Ballard Christian: Blake Bowles, 75 points in 0-2 week, 45 vs. Mountain State Christian, 30 vs. Oak Hill (Red); Wesley Hedrick, 26 points; Patrick Mullins, 23 points, 15 points, 15 rebounds vs. Mountain State.
Bland County: Jacob Cross, 17 points in loss to Northwood; Jacob Watters, 12 points, 4 steals; Patrick Christian, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists.
Bluefield: Jeremy Thompson, 33 points, 26 vs. Graham; Mookie Collier, 27 points; Jaray Williams, 18 points, 4 3s vs. Graham.
Council: David D. Boyd, 33 points in 1-1 week, 20 points, 13 rebounds vs. Hurley; Andrew Gobble, 17 points vs. Hurley.
Giles: Ryan Beidleman, 31 points vs. Graham.
Graham: Thomas Clarke, 22 points in wins over Giles, Bluefield; Roman Workman, 19 points vs. Bluefield; Emil Curto, 19 points vs. Giles.
Grundy: Christian Jackson, 20 points in 1-1 week, 15 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists vs. Council; Ethan Duty, 32 points; Dylan Wolford, 26 points, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals vs. Council.
Hurley: Brady Justice, 23 points in 0-2 week; Zach Lester, 12 points vs. River View.
James Monroe: Caleb Spencer, 26 points, 6 3s in win over Summers County; Landon Shires, 15 points; Dominic Lewis, 14 points.
Mercer Christian: Chandler Scott, 33 points in wins over Montcalm and Hundred.
Montcalm: Trent Jenkins, 23 points, 7 3s in loss to Hundred; Jared Janutolo and Cody Farmer, 12 points vs. Sherman, Craig Casto, 12 points vs. Hundred.
PikeView: Seth Meadows, 30 points in win over Oak Hill; Wayne Brookman, 14 points, 5 rebounds.
Pipestem Christian: Jacob Rutherford, 54 points in wins over Seneca Trail and Beth Haven, had 40 pts, 8 assists, 4 rebounds vs. ST; Jayson Steele, 32 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds; Levi Miller, 27 points, 16 rebounds.
Princeton: Cole Cochran, 38 points in wins over Shady Spring, East Fairmont; Colton Fix, 18 points; Jacob Whittington, 14 points vs. East Fairmont.
Richlands: Luke Phillips, 22 points, 4 3s in loss to Auburn; Cody Fuller, 12 points, 3 3s.
River View: Tyree Baker, 51 points in wins over Hurley and Tazewell; Todd Coeburn, 32 points; Brian Mitchell, 27 points.
Summers County: Dacota Thomas, 15 points vs. James Monroe.
Tazewell: Hunter Mullins, 12 points vs. River View, Pierce Vanhoozer, 11 points vs. Raiders.
• • •
2015-16 Winners
Week 1: Daniel Boothe, Mercer Christian