Waynesboro girls coach Secrett Stubblefield could have waved her finger in the faces of her doubters and those who laughed at her claims that the long-suffering Little Giants girls program was the best Group AA team in the state. (Knowing her, she may do so eventually.)
That would have been too easy.
So, instead, Stubblefield walked up to the media members who thought Turner Ashby was the better team and let loose a sly smile.
“I remember,” she said. “I remember what you wrote when I said we were the best team in the state.”
So do I. I blogged that Turner Ashby was still the team to beat and the Little Giants, though good, were probably somewhere behind the Knights in the small jumble near the top.
But when a coach throws that kind of bravado around like ticker tape at a parade, you want to know how (and why) she could have thought all along her Little Giants were tops. Not even those two regular-season losses to TA (not close losses either, mind you) could make Stubblefield back down on her claim.
Another easy question for Stubblefield to answer.
“It’s scientific,” he said, smiling.
“Think about the top players in the state,” she said. “When you look at their stats, they’re averaging 15, 16 points a game. Kiawna Berry and Shawnte Woodson are doing that.”
Actually, the pair of Little Giants are somewhere on the lower end of double-digits, but they average double-digits with Berry tossing in around 13 a game and Woodson a hair over 10. That’s still 23 a night from two players who aren’t even considered your team’s superstar.
But Stubblefield, who still plans of upholding her part of beating Turner Ashby by wearing a dress on the bench for Saturday’s Group AA quarterfinal against Bassett, was getting to her Liberty-bound star.
“But in addition to that,” she said, not yet wagging her finger in any faces, “we have Devon Brown.”
“These teams have a bunch of Kiawna Berrys and Shawnte Woodsons in the stat books,” she said. “They don’t have someone getting 30 points a game like we do.”
The first time she walked into practice and met the girls she would eventually lead to the state quarterfinals, Stubblefield said she asked them a few questions. Questions she herself couldn’t believe when she saw the talent and their superstar play.
“I asked ‘You guys haven’t won districts?’ ” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “ ‘You guys haven’t won regionals?’ ”
Of course, the Giants could only shake their heads. They hadn’t won anything like that since 1991.
Stubblefield smiled.
“It’s just science to me,” she said. “And we had to make it work.”
And another thing: Don’t forget, if you can’t make it to the games Saturday at JMU’s Convocation Center, just bookmark Augusta County’s only all-local, daily sports blog (no talk of the NBA trades or college sports here folks, just preps) and follow the game here. I’ll be blogging from courtside at the Convo for both games. Expect my first post sometime around 3 p.m.
Twice as nice? You bet. Wilson Memorial girls’ twins sisters — Julie and Marla Young — are part trio of terror that has gotten the Green Hornets to this point in the season. Though the team will be playing with a heavy heart Saturday in King William, something in your gut tells you this won’t be the last game for Wilson.
Expecting some grand story on why Nick Gore has sported the chin-beard all season long? Sure you were. So were we. Instead, he tells The News Virginian that he’s just too lazy to shave it off. We still have no clue what the fuzz is all about.
Finally: Depending on how many teams head down to Richmond (I’m guessing four, which ones I have no clue) I’ll be blogging from all the semifinal games starting Wednesday. That’s right, three full days of nothing but high school basketball on the state’s largest stage. Who’s excited!?
More From Marks
Waynesboro junior and aspiring columnist Lindsey Marks felt all professional today at the Daily Pooch Punt home office. Why? We gave her her own desk and computer where she wrote the following. Yep, she’ll be at JMU Saturday.
The first baseball scrimmage was Thursday. It was a little chilly, but the sun was shining. Not too crowded, mostly just the parents of all the boys and a few “baseball girlfriends.” I take my seat, and notice Larry Thompson, Jay Thompson’s dad. Even though Jay was at basketball practice, his dad still attended the scrimmage. Which was a very good thing, as a woman from a few rows back shouted, “Hey Larry, who do the boys play Saturday?” It’s a quick turn around from Larry and the people near him that shout “Blacksburg! You coming?” The woman laughs and says “Uh, of course!” Larry turned back around to face the field, with a little smile on his face. Now is he smiling just because it’s a lovely day? No, I doubt it. He’s smiling because he knows that all the people sitting on those bleachers with him will be surrounding him again Saturday. Now the question is, will you?
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/07 at 11:51 AM
Thursday, March 06, 2008
STATE EXTRA: The Daily Pooch Punt 3/6/08
The funny thing is, coach Paul Hatcher, a lot of people are surprised about your young Leemen. Isn’t that the best way to head into the Group AA tourney?
The funny thing is, long suffering fans of Waynesboro girls basketball, that this team has confidence, swagger and a we’re-not-going-to-lose attitude.
The funny thing is, for those of you who thought the Little Giant boys would not be good this year (guilty), they seem more confident than last year’s team. “We know the road back to Richmond,” said senior center Blair deCourcy.
The funny thing is, he’s right. They do.
The funny thing is, Wilson Memorial’s Dee Deacon, you’ve got to know how much you’ve meant to this team during the district and regional tournaments. Even if you won’t say it yourself.
The funny thing is, Nelson County’s Thomas Brown, this is your time to shine.
You know, much like he did all season long. And last season too.
The funny thing is, Little Giant LaToya Diggs, your coach tabbed you as the key to this team even before the season started. She said, even back then, that you wouldn’t score a lot of points, but you’d lock down some of the best scorers in the area (and out of the area).
The funny thing is, Buffalo Gap girls, you’re a team nobody is talking about. So why not go out and win the whole darn thing to prove them all wrong.
Yep, it’s a funny time of the year. Isn’t it?
And another thing: It can be a special Saturday for Waynesboro if Will Freeman (you know, the face of Waynesboro wrestling) and Javier Martinez (you call him “Zorro,” we just call him a heck of an athlete) can win their respective weight classes at the Group AA wrestling championships down in Salem.
That sigh you could hear late Saturday will be the long suffering fans of Giantdom after years of waiting to exhale. They’ve been waiting to do so for years.
Word on the street is: Stuarts Draft’s Kerby Hatter (pick a nickname, any nickname. We’re too tired to type them all in.) plans on being at James Madison University on Saturday to watch her pal (you know, Devon Brown) play in the Group AA quarterfinals. She’ll have a shorter than normal haircut (her words, not mine) and wearing some Little Giant gear her pal (yep, Devon Brown) gave her.
Gotta like it when two girls from different schools who played basketball the same way support each other. Really, they did play alike. Brown is bigger, Hatter plays like she wishes she were bigger. Got a problem with that? Then go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting or sell and ad or two. OK?
Hey, guess which Wilson Memorial twins are going to play ball at Eastern Mennonite University? (OK, did you take your guess? Now click here to see if you’re right.)
Sight seen: Wilson Memorial boys basketball workhorse Tucker Kirby sitting in the school’s training room with his baseball bag. “Yep,” he said with a smile. “That time of year.”
Betcha miss watching him on the basketball court. Don’t worry, you will.
Some final things: Sunday at Wilson Memorial High School a certain slack-jawed sports columnist and blogger will be playing on the Valley All-Stars team against the Harlem Wizards. Game time is 6 p.m. and the money goes to a great cause — the school’s after-prom and after-graduation funds. They provide a safe alternative to the students after prom and graduation.
So let’s provide some odds. We’re setting the over-under that the slack-jawed blogger (and columnist) will vomit on the court at least six times. Place your bets. Place your bets.
And finally, if you can’t make it to the JMU Convocation Center on Saturday for the Waynesboro girls game (4 p.m.) or the boys game (6 p.m.), don’t worry. The Daily Pooch Punt will be blogging from both games. Get your refresh-button fingers ready.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/06 at 02:26 PM
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Waynesboro junior Lindsey Marks blogs
Ladies and gentlemen, allow the Daily Pooch Punt home office to present to you Waynesboro junior, and aspiring columnist, Lindsey Marks.
The card-carrying member of the Waynesboro Wild Ones checks in from the school.
Today, a teacher of mine said, “Anyone who is going anywhere will be at JMU on Saturday.” Well, we can only hope she’s right. With both our boys and girls making it to states, the energy and size of our crowd needs to be huge.
And no more complaints about the boys and girls being on the same night and at different locations! The girls are scheduled to play at 4 on Saturday at the Convocation Center, while the boys will follow up at 6.
Hearing everyone talk at the school, I’m thinking there will be a great crowd. Being able to watch the Brown Sisters and Nick “Chin-Beard” Gore in the same night? Now who in their right mind would give away that opportunity? So, I guess if you’re anyone who’s going anywhere, I’ll see you Saturday at 4...(and again at 6, of course.)
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/05 at 06:37 PM
STATE EXTRA: Daily Pooch Punt 3/5/08
When there was drama, complaining parents and a bunch of other things slapped on top of a season on the brink, the Wilson Memorial girls basketball team – led by its captains – decided it was time to do something.
“We called a players’-only meeting,” said point guard Dee Deacon.
The last thing any team, let alone one filled with 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids, needs is off-the-court issues to bleed into a season that started with so much hope. Calling the team meeting was the best thing the players could have done.
Yeah, the heart stickers coach Jackie Bryan gave the girls were all fine and dandy and stuff, but it was the player-only heart-to-heart session at the high school that really got things rolling for the Group A, Division 2 tourney-bound Green Hornets.
Deacon, Marla Young and the other captains called the other girls on cell phones and let them know that, sure, there wasn’t going to be practice that day. But they had to show up anyway. They were going to clear the air.
“We just had to get our feelings out there,” Marla Young said.
Since that day, the Hornets have been red hot (OK, with the exception of their Region B, Division 2 title loss to George Mason) and Bryan couldn’t be happier that the girls, amid the strife, took care of business on their own.
“It made all the difference,” she said.
OK, so let me ask:A coach lets girls take care of the problem. She’s happy to see it happen. She coached her alma mater to an always-tough Shenandoah District championship and a berth in the Group A, Division 2 tournament. What do you think of Bryan now? Just asking.
Did we mention: That the 1994 Wilson girls team that won a state title beat the same team to win to the title that they lost to in the regional final. That team? George Mason. Hmmm ... interesting.
And another thing: With one shot Waynesboro’s La’Shanda Brown said, “What shadow?”
Oh, and big sister, Liberty-bound Devon Brown, agrees.
Speaking of the Little Giant girls: OK, let me get this straight. It’s, excuse my Yiddish, kosher for fans and parents to scream horrific things at the officials and the coaches when they don’t play their son or daugther or make bad calls. (And you know some of you do. We hear you. There’s no press box in high school sports, we sit in the stands.) But the second a coach, let’s say Waynesboro’s first-year girls coach Secrett Stubblefield, celebrates big wins with the players it’s considered tasteless? Sure, Stubblefield pranced around the Lord Botetourt gym after the Giants beat Turner Ashby, but she was holding a Waynesboro jersey over her head. That’s called school pride. There’s nothing wrong with that. Now go back to your Chamber of Commerce meeting, sell some ads or whatever it is you do when you’re not creating controversy out of nothing. Just, please, stop trying to play a sports writer when you get bored.
On February 6, Buffalo Gap girls went to Riverheads and beat the Gladiators. On Saturday, they’ll head to back to Riverheads, this time facing Appomattox Regional Governors School (whew, that’s a lot to type) in the quarterfinals of the Group A, Division 1 tourney. Yep, Riverheads will be the Bison’s home court for a day. That’s gotta be tough for the Gladiators to watch.
Remember the Waynesboro boys? Sure you do. Remember how once Todd Phillips, James Lucas and Ander Ross graduated this team wasn’t supposed to win its way out of being wrapped in wet toilet paper? Sure you do.
Now they’re back in the Group AA tournament. Nick Gore has a chin-beard, Joel Robison, Tim Brown and Andy Sherrill are major players. Blair deCourcey has been a beast on defense and, uh-oh, don’t look now, but the Little Giants like their chances.
Some other things: When Fort Defiance coach Terry Waters asks for something, chances are you give it to this bear of a man. So, when Waters asked (and by ask we mean threatened to wrap his bear paws around our neck and squeeze) why wrestling was getting no props on the blog, we couldn’t give him an answer. Until now that is.
So, yeah, so much for Fort Defiance being down this year. Or maybe they meant the Indians would be sending six grapplers down to Salem. Whichever.
Here they are:
103 pounds: Tyler Desper (47-1). Oh, he’s just a freshman.
119: Michael Rankin (28-9), He’s just a sophomore.
130: Anthony Delawder (41-7). Three-time district champ. Sorry, he’s a senior.
135: Kevin Delawder (44-4). Another senior who’s been district champ twice.
145: Arron McMillian (44-3). He’s a sophomore, talk about Waters’ baby Indians!
171: Stuart Roes (45-1). This junior has won every wrestling tournament he’s been in. (He’s got one left.)
112: Dwayne Roes (34-7). The freshman (yep, another youngun) is heading to Salem as an alter-nate.
So there you go. Now please release that stranglehold, coach.
One last thing: We’ll get to the other wrestlers later this week.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/05 at 03:00 PM
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
The Sports Desk I: 3/4/08
Jim and Corine talk Waynesboro girls
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/04 at 03:06 PM
The Sport Desk II: 3/4/08
Jim and Rob talk Waynesboro boys basketball.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/04 at 03:05 PM
The Daily Pooch Punt: 3/4/08
We would love to regale you with stories from Monday’s Waynesboro girls basketball practice.
We would love to tell you how the practice was loose, with the girls shooting around, doing crazy shots and joking around.
We would love to sit back and spin yarns about first-year coach Secrett Stubblefield’s theory behind why she believes her Little Giants are the best team in the state.
Man, trust us, we would love to be doing that right now.
But, in typical Daily Pooch Punt Home Office fashion, in our rush to leave the homestead we forgot most of our notes from Monday’s practice. And, let’s be honest here, once you get to work you don’t want to head back home where your bed is since, and you’re with me on this, all we want to do is crawl back in the bed and fall asleep.
So those stories will have to wait another day. Instead, we’ll hook you up with observations from the practice and the confidence the Little Giants girls basketball team (yes, I wrote “confidence” and “Little Giants girls basketball” in the same sentence) is exuding. Anyway, here are some things we saw at practice:
Shawnte “How-The-Heck-Was-I-Left-Off-Both-All-District-Teams” Woodson picking up her tennis racket and knocking a tennis ball around the gym. “It’s beautiful out,” the Little Giants No. 1 tennis player said. “Looks like I’ll have to wait.”
LaToya Diggs: The Giants “best point guard in the state,” according to Stubblefield, smiling the whole practice. “This has been so much fun,” she said of Waynesboro’s run to the Group AA tourney.
Kiawna Berry: The Little Giant senior, who fouled out during the Region III semifinal win over Turner Ashby, was trying to remember what she did after La’Shanda Brown hit the game-winner trey.
La’Shanda Brown: Shaking off any credit for hitting that big 3-pointer over the Knights. Opting instead to thank everybody else on the court (and the on-the-bench Berry) for hitting the biggest shot of her life. If Berry hadn’t fouled out, after all, Brown wouldn’t have been in the game at that point.
Devon Brown: The Little Giants’ long-suffering Liberty-bound standout flashing that I’m-Finally-Going-To-States smile.
Stubblefield: Trying to figure out what kind of dress she’s going to wear in the Group AA quarterfinals Saturday. “I was thinking something wild to take the pressure off the girls.”
And another thing: Glad to see the Southern Valley District scheduling clowns didn’t manage to screw up Saturday’s schedule. After a week of the boys and girls playing on the same nights and different sites, Waynesboro fans will finally get to see both of their teams play Saturday.
Everything is at James Madison University on Saturday and here’s the lineup. (Plan accordingly folks, because, and let’s not kid each other on this, you know you’re going to want to sit there all freaking’ day to watch some great hoops): Waynesboro girls vs. Bassett, 4 p.m. ; Waynesboro boys vs. Blacksburg at 6 p.m.
If you’re feeling saucy (and, when it comes to basketball, you know you will be) you can stick around for the nightcap and watch Millbrook play Courtland.
Say What?
I want to send good luck wishes out to all the local teams, especially the Shenandoah District teams. What a tough district. It has aged me prematurely. Anyone that thought [Wilson Memorial girls coach] Jackie [Bryan] couldn’t coach doesn’t know anything, anyhow. Jeff Burner, Stonewall Jackson girls coach.
He’s right about Bryan. Just wondering, did the Wilson Memorial “fans” that doubted her send her candy yet? Hey, I’m just asking.
Burner goes on to disagree with me regarding the expanded regional play, saying “we have certainly watered down getting to region and state.”
I’ll agree with him on the regional part, not so much on the state part. How can this be fixed? Simple. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, get rid of the Group A divisions in hoops, then get rid of the district and regional tournaments. Send every team to the state tournament, seed the teams based on how they finish in their district and break the state up into Sectionals and Super Sectionals.
Now that’s what I call February and March Madness!
Posted by Jim Sacco on 03/04 at 11:00 AM
Monday, March 03, 2008
Daily Pooch Punt: 3/3/08
What more can be said about this weekend in local basketball that hasn’t been said by the players and the coaches of the five teams heading to the state tournaments already?
The team’s energy shouldn’t be too much of a concern if Bryan shares all the “we’re sorry” candies she should be getting from fans that doubted her to start the season. Heck, even Tim Byars, the coach she replaced, expressed his happiness with the way his old team is playing. That should be enough to shame even the most headstrong parent into walking up to Bryan, put his or her tail between their legs and just saying, “I’m sorry,” to the first-year coach.
What prompted Stubblefield, who’s about as subtle as a frying pan to the face, to bark out this quote? Despite the critics, naysayers, haters and glorified ad salesmen turned sports writers, the Giants’ supporting cast did more than just support against the Bees, they won the game (they also won the semifinal game over Turner Ashby – don’t last Shanda Brown’s last name fool you).
How, you ask? Kiawna Berry scored 18 points against Brookville. (Yeah, that supporting cast is horrible.) All Shawnte Woodson did (nobody has told me yet how she was left off the all-district teams and two girls from a winless squad made it) was score 16 points in the win.
“I would like to thank all the doubters and all naysayers out there. All the people that did not believe in us, they gave us the inspiration tonight. Hey, my hat goes out to all of them.”—Stubblefield after the Little Giants beat Turner Ashby.
Shhh. Can you still hear the crickets? (And I’m not just talking in Waynesboro, I’m talking in Fishersville too.)
Another question, if I may: How crazy is it out at Buffalo Gap today? The football team goes undefeated and wins a state football title (at least, that’s what I hear), now the girls basketball team beats Luray (56-49), wins the regional title (Region B, Division 1) and is on its way to a Group A date with Appomattox.
Dust off the Bison outfit, please.
Did anybody else notice how the Little Giant boys looked Saturday when they came out for warm-ups? They looked loose and borderline cocky. And, even after they beat R.E. Lee for the second straight game, this time in overtime at Spotswood High School for the Region III championship, coach C. Jay DeWitt said all they needed to do was grab some rebounds and they could have won the game in regulation.
Cocky? Confident? The coach saying all they had to do was grab rebounds and they could have won in regulation? Is it just me, or are the Little Giants sounding and looking more and more like one of “those” R.E. Lee teams?
One last thing: You can continue to whine and moan about the expanded regional formats all you want now. The teams without winning records are gone and it’s state tourney time, so let’s just enjoy some good basketball, OK? Deal? Correction: Northwood and Bland have losing records. Stonewall Jackson coach Jeff Burner pointed that out to me.