Opening night basketball sights
We (and when we write, “We,“ we, of course, mean that editorial “we,“ you know, like “we” as in all of us. Ya’ dig?) should know better this season than to doubt anything Wilson Memorial girls basketball coach Jackie Bryan says.
Heck, Bryan can tell us the sun suddenly has begun setting in the east and the sky is going to turn green and, let’s be honest here, we’d start believing her. Case and point? How about Bryan, after watching her team fight back to score a 50-44 opening-night win over the senior-depleted Little Giants, telling us (again, the editorial “us”) that her team’s major scoring option does not come on offense.
What?!?
Silly us, we though offense is where you score all the points. But, when Bryan says it’s not the way her Green Hornets are going win games, it all makes sense.
“Offense is not our top way to score,“ she said Monday.
She’s right. The Green Hornets, who fell behind last season’s Group AA runners-up early 23-14, didn’t start putting a dent into the scoreboard until they started forcing turnovers. And boy, did they over force turnovers.
When the Hornets starting forcing turnovers, the Hornets started to chip away at the lead. When the Hornets starting forcing turnovers, they went on an 11-0 run to make Waynesboro’s lead disappear. Go. Poof.
When Wilson starting forcing turnovers, well, it looked like the Wilson Memorial team that woke up, smelled the roses and went ballistic all the way the Group A, Division 2 tournament last year.
See, stop doubting Bryan. We (OK, this is not the editorial “we”) stopped all that craziness last year. Now how about you?
And another thing: Here’s what we know about Wilson’s Dinah Jones — she’s around 6-feet tall, she’s a mean presence on the inside and she started her season off with 14 offensive rebounds. Yes, that’s 14 offense rebounds.
Dinah Jones, your table is ready.
Remember when Kiawna Berry came up a little limp in the Group AA semifinals for Waynesboro? Of course you do.
Remember when she couldn’t take her free throws because of the injury? Of course you do.
Remember who, in front of an almost packed Siegel Center, came off the bench and sank both of those free throws without even batting an eye? You should.
Her name is Jolie Dudley and all she did Monday night was hit three 3-pointers against Wilson.
Welcome to the big girls club, Dudley. Hope to see you around more often.
What’s in a name: Oh, I don’t know, how about 28 points for Waynesboro’s Joseph Lucas. Seriously, I (not the editorial “I”) asked it last spring and I’ll ask it again right here and right now — if your last name is Lucas and you live in Waynesboro, does that automatically make you a wonderful athlete?
Just asking. (Again.)
What’s in a name Part II: Oh, I don’t know, how about 23 points for Wilson Memorial’s Hunter Cullen. Seriously, I (not the editorial “I”) have to ask — if your last name is Cullen and you go to Wilson Memorial, does that automatically make you a wonderful athlete?
Just asking. (Again, again.)
As much as it’s the post-Devon Brown era for Waynesboro girls, let’s not forget it’s the post Nick Gore, Andy Sherrill, Jay Thompson, Blair deCourcy, Tim Brown, Joel Robinson-era for the Waynesboro boys. And that makes this season’s version of the Little Giants boys a young crew that everybody, and I mean everybody, had to know would experience some growing pains.
So, if you’re a Waynesboro fan, you got to love that coach C.Jay DeWitt already sees the main issue with his team after only one game — they have to play four full quarters of basketball.
“. . . [W]e are not good enough to play three good quarters and have one atrocious quarter,“ he said.
He’s right. Fix this, Little Giants. Fix this now.
Why Rodney Cullen is an excellent tell-it-like-it-is coach: “We didn’t do much at all well,“ he said after beating Waynesboro 49-47. “Our defense, it didn’t matter what we went to, we were in the wrong position.“
The first step is identifying the problem. The next step is to fix it. Wilson Memorial has too much talent to let defensive lapses cost it games.
No doubt, much like DeWitt, Cullen will fix this problem as well. (Or at least both Wilson and Waynesboro fans hope so.)
Hey look: I think Dinah Jones just pulled down another offensive rebound.
Posted by Jim Sacco at 12:30 PM. Filed under: Girls Hoops • Boys Hoops •
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