Upon Further Review

To those not in the know, it is easy to look at Nelson County’s 30-1 2007-08 campaign that led to the school’s first state championship as a convergence of all the right things falling into place the right time.

Of course, there’s nothing easy when it comes to high school basketball and while it is true that the Governors lost plenty from last season’s team — namely Thomas Brown and T.J. Martin — the truth is Govs coach Brandon Garrett might have a few more tricks up his sleeve before this season is done. And that’s surprising.

No, not surprising because nobody expected Nelson to look half as good as they have two games into this season. But surprising because, and let’s be honest here, at 215 pounds, a guy like Trevor Martin would be hard pressed to fit up anybody’s sleeve.

But Martin is there, in uniform for the Govs after a MCL strain, and against Wilson Memorial on Friday night, this kid looked as golden as his team’s uniforms.

All Martin did was open his scoring night with 3 from the elbow, toss in two more in the opening stanza and finish with five for a team-high 23 points.

All Martin did was prove that, even as just a sophomore, the 6-foot-2 forward is going to be a presence for Nelson.

So what does Garrett say of Martin after watching his performance against Wilson Memorial? “He shoots the ball really well outside,“ he said.

Well, no kidding coach.

And another thing: “But he’s big enough to go inside,“ Garrett added. “He’s a strong kid.“

Again: No kidding, coach.

But there are some helter-skelter tendencies from this team. Namely the Governors’ undisciplined-at-times offense and lackluster free-throw shooting.

“We haven’t spent as much time in practice on [free throws],“ Garrett said. “We’ll get there.“

Nelson will need to do that a quick. The Govs’ 7-for-18 performance from the charity stripe Friday left a lot to be desired and almost single-handedly kept the game closer than it should have been. Of course, the Govs hit them (for the most part) when they counted — going 4 for 8 from the line in the final 2:30 as the Hornets started sending Nelson to the line.

“We made them when they counted,“ Garrett said.

Again: No kidding, coach.

Also on Friday, not only did the Fort Defiance girls basketball team pick up its first win of the season, the Indians ended a 24-game skid with a 41-37 win over Riverheads in the Augusta County Tip-Off Classic.

“I think that the monkey is now off their back,“ said first-year Indians coach Patrick Hartley. “It’s a brand new year, a brand new team, it’s a big win for these guys.“

Monkey off their backs? Shoot, I gotta disagree coach. This isn’t just a monkey getting off, this is the whole darned zoo taking up residence elsewhere. This team needed to win this game. Any game, really. But this one is nice for a few reasons:

1) It was against an Augusta County rival.

2) It came this early in the season.

3) Now the girls can worry about winning as many games as possible, not their first game in 24 tries.

When Stuarts Draft met Wilson Memorial on Friday in the first game of the Tip-Off Classic, did anybody else expect it to be a battle of teams trying to find themselves?

“A lot of people have to still find their way,“ said Wilson coach Jackie Bryan. “They’re still adjusting.“

“I don’t know what to expect from this team,“ said Draft coach Marc Sweigart. “I’m still trying to figure them out.“

Wilson is a team that will live and die by defense and the play of Dee Deacon. Stuarts Draft is a team that, and let’s just be honest here, has to keep playing like it’s been playing. You know, spreading the love (and the ball) around.

If anybody knows anything about passing it’s fans of the Green Hornet boys team. Against Nelson on Friday night, Wilson entered the fourth quarter down by three after a 10-2 run to close the third. During that third-quarter run the Hornets looked unstoppable against a good Nelson defense.

The Hornets were passing the ball around until someone got an open look. They were hitting those open looks. They were playing a good tight defense. Heck, there was little the Hornets were doing wrong during that run. Enter the fourth quarter and the Hornets reverted back to what has ailed them so far this season — forgetting basketball is a team sport.

There, I said it. Sorry. But if you watch them play you know it’s true.

“We would be doing good and the next thing you know we’re just firing up the first 3-point shot that looked halfway open,“ said Wilson coach Rodney Cullen. “And the next thing we know, [the Governors] got the lead again.“

Stay patient. Find the open man. Rinse. Repeat. It’s pretty simple, Green Hornets. Now, please, fix this.

Heck, the Hornets could use their own coach as the litmus strip. When the Hornets were doing everything right, Cullen was on his feet, pumping his fist and looked almost as excited as the players. When they reverted back to selfish mode, Cullen was sullen. Looked upset and sat in a pin-drop silent coach’s office after the game trying to figure out what he had to do.

I think Trevor Martin just hit another 3.

Back to Nelson: You bet there’s some pressure on this Governors’ squad. Sorry, but winning a state title will do that to your fan base. While most think it will satisfy everyone from Lovingston to Faber, the truth is state titles usually just leave you hungry for more. Garrett, however, thinks the fans of Nelson County will understand if his guys don’t run the table again this year.

“I think the people in Nelson understand this is this year’s team,“ he said. “Those guys like the Jones kids, Thomas [Brown] and T.J. [Martin] are gone and we have to find our own identity.“

So far, Garrett likes what he sees.

“We’re doing, well, better than I expected,“ he said. “I thought we’d take our lumps early. But we’re doing better than what I thought we’d be doing.“

Thanks to Trevor Martin who, by the way, I think just hit another 3.

A future Bam Magera in the making at Stuarts Draft? Nah, how about a girl that just likes to wrestle and who’s father got caught in her determined cross fire.

Good on Savannah Fitzgerald and good on her dad.

While looking at the R.E. Lee wrestling roster, did anybody else notice there seems to a few former Fort Defiance wrestlers on that team? Hmm.

Wonder why? (Yes, feel free to swim through that sarcasm.)

And really, good on those guys that did that. If a school doesn’t want to treat you like a young adult and tell you why the coach you loved was cast to the curb, then they don’t deserve to have the blood, sweat and tears for you’ll give up for school pride. Seriously, they don’t deserve it. What? Just because they’re “high school kids” they don’t have any rights to know what is going on that the school? Just because their parents pay taxes for their education, these kids should be kept in the dark?

What? Just because they’re kids, suddenly you, as an “adult” can control what kind of information and misinformation they are given or not given?

What gives you that right? Age? Yeah, whatever. We’ll tell you what you can do with that “age.“

OK, so, to summarize: Good on you former Fort wrestlers. Good on you for taking your future into your own hands when a school system hides behind the fear of lawsuits and won’t tell you why a father figure was fired.

I think Trevor Martin just hit another 3 to celebrate. Not sure, though.