THE VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEER

 

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Thursday, December 14,  2006

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Members of the Council Cobra basketball team for the 2006-07 season are (from left), seated: Coty Breeding, Travis Viers, Dan Presley, Alex Compton and Shannon Breeding; standing: Justin Boyd, Adam Hess, Justin Fuller, Shane Presley, Logan Howard and Matt Boyd. Not pictured is John Breeding.  (Staff photo/Mike Stiltner.) 
Five New Fulltime Starters Set To Begin Rebuilding at Council

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
  Last year it was a new coach.
  This year it’s pretty much a new team.
  The turnover is almost complete at Council. Just three seasons removed from its last state tournament team and six seasons since winning a Group A title, Neil Rasnake, in just his second year as head coach, has five new fulltime starters and a mostly-new bench.
  The Cobras lost seven seniors and 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding from last year’s squad, a team that started 7-2 and finished 11-12 overall.
  Only one returning lettermen, 6-3 senior post Justin Fuller (3.5 ppg), got any significant varsity experience last year. Only two other players, senior post Logan Howard (6-2) and junior guard Dan Presley (6-0) have any prior varsity experience.
  Fuller provides offense in the post, while first-year senior Justin Boyd is an excellent ball handler and scorer who can play inside or out. The two seniors have helped ease the transition at Council, where three freshmen have been part of a seven-man, early-season rotation.
  In the long run, Rasnake says, it will take a strong collective effort in every aspect of the game for such an inexperienced squad to win.
  “Defense and rebounding will be our two keys all year ,” Rasnake said.   “We have to rebound as a team and play solid team defense. We’re young and inexperienced, but I’ve seen improvement every game so far. Hopefully, we’ll see that every game.”
  Freshman Travis Viers (5-11) is at the point, while freshman Matt Boyd (6-0) is a wing. Another freshman, 6-3 Shane Presley backs up Fuller in the post.
  “(Boyd) and Fuller have been doing a good job so far,” Rasnake said. “But the young guys have to contribute.
  The three freshmen have (to play) a lot of minutes and they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. It’s a learning process for them, but they’ve done well so far.”

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.  

Lady Rebels Looking to Return to Contender Status
Wayne Hall Replaces Longtime and Respected Coach Harold Horne at Hurley Helm

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
   Hurley had one girls basketball coach for 30 years.  
   Wayne Hall now becomes the Lady Rebels’ third coach in four years.
  Hall hopes to build his team around fundamentals and to return the Lady Rebs to contender status, both of which were hallmarks during much of longtime coach Harold Horne’s 30-year tenure.
  Hall takes over a team that has decent size and athletic ability, but needs, he says, a stronger grasp of the basics. All seven returnees now have a year together under their belts, but each is in just their second year on the varsity.
  “We’re still inexperienced,” Hall said. “We’ve just got to believe in what we’re doing. We need a better understanding of what’s going on.
  “We’ve got to learn to protect the basketball. There’s a lot of things, hustling back, getting in the right position on defense. We’re young and we just need to keep working on the fundamentals.”
  Hurley returns three players who can run the floor and handle multiple roles in senior guard Sarah Justus (5-9) and sophomores Tara Hall (5-7) and Celisha Allen (5-9).
  “Most of the time I have to leave Tara and Celisha and Sarah on the floor,” Hall added. “We have some girls who will give us some help down the road. Some of them have a lot of things they need to work on, some just a couple of things.”
  Juniors Brandy Lester (6-2) and Patricia Citarelli (5-9) senior Shannon Bandy (5-8), sophomore Ashley Stacy and freshman Candie Justus will fill various roles for the Lady Rebels.  
  “We’ve got some size inside and we’ve got some shooters,” Hall said.
  “We’ve had to work on things like spacing on the floor and the triple threat position, but the girls are picking things up pretty quickly.
  “Once they realize what we’re doing, what my philosophy is, I think we’ll be all right.”
  The Rebels have some depth with junior Andrea Bandy (5-5) and sophomores Allison Vance and Chelsea Ramey.

Grundy Turns Back Council; Drops Opener to Abingdon

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
 Grundy started with a strong defensive charge and managed to withstand a late 3-point barrage at the end.
  The Golden Wave scored the game’s first 16 points and held on for its first win of the season with a 53-45 victory over Buchanan County rival Council Monday night at GHS.
  Monday’s effort marked a rapid turnaround for Grundy, which got drilled by a veteran Abingdon squad, 68-43, in the Wave’s season opener Friday.
  The Golden Wave led from start to finish Monday, thanks, in large part to a stifling first quarter defensive effort. Jimmy Ashby blocked three shots and D.J. Gelenster got three steals in the opening period.
  “We came out playing good defense,” Grundy coach Greg Rife said. “We got a little lax on defense though in the second half. We weren’t as tight on screens and we didn’t play as well out on the perimeter as we should have.
  “And they made some big plays in the second half, especially Justin Boyd. He is definitely tough to defend when he gets on track.”
  The Golden Wave led 16-1 after one quarter and extended that margin to 18-1 early in the second quarter before Boyd and Dan Presley started Council (2-2) on the comeback trail.
  Boyd scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the second quarter and Presley hit the first of his three 3-pointers as the Cobras got within 22-13 late in the first half.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

Lady Cobras Facing Rebuilding Task With One of Youngest Team in the BDD

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
   A lot of teams say they’re young.
  This team is really young.
  Council has the youngest basketball team in the BDD.
  It’s probably the same in Region D and it may be the youngest girls squad in the state.
  The Lady Cobras have four freshmen and three sophomores and not a single junior or senior. Council is young, and thin with just seven players, but it should eventually match up well, talent-wise, with any team in the area.
  All seven players have some skill, if not much varsity experience. The three sophomores are the sole returnees from last year’s 10-13 club, and they’re all critical to the Lady Cobras’ success, especially while the freshmen learn the varsity ropes.  
  Haley Arrington (5-2) and Stephanie Cornett (5-7) are two of the better all-around players in the Black Diamond District, while 5-10 Allison Presley continues to improve in the post.
  Each saw significant action last year and all three, especially the guards, have been thrust into leadership roles this season.
  “We have to have somebody be a leader,” Council coach Dave Rasnake says. “We really need more than one to step up. They’re still young, but the sophomores have got some experience. Someone’s got to take over and show leadership.”
  A critical area where leadership can help, Rasnake says, is patience on offense. It’s not usually a strength for a young team, but it’s one area, he says, where the Lady Cobras need to improve in fairly short order.
  “We need that, especially against a zone,” Rasnake said. “Against a team that plays zone you have to show a lot of patience and that’s something we need.
  “Those three sophomores, at least they’ve been with me one year. I think they’ll step up. There are a lot of little things you need to do to possibly to win games against equally talented or slightly better teams. That’s where leadership comes in.”
  All four freshmen must contribute, says Rasnake, and each of them has already, to one degree or another.
  They got a sink-or-swim introduction to varsity play with four games in the first four days of the season.
  Kelsey Geary (5-10) joins Presley in the post, while Dakota Bostic (5-7), Katie Thomas (5-6) and Kylee Austin (5-3) can all play multiple positions, a necessity on a seven-player team.
  The talent is there, if not the depth. That doesn’t mean the Lady Cobras can’t play for this year as much as the next two or three. This club should one of the favorites in the Black Diamond District the next couple of season, if not this one.
  “We want to play for right now,” Rasnake said. “But, in the back of their minds and others you have to be looking to the future, even as we get that experience we need. Young talent can win, but it’ll be a challenge for us to stay healthy without a lot of depth.
  “All these girls played AAU, which is a great experience. I feel like we can compete with anybody in the district. There will be nights we won’t play well because we’re so young, but we can match up with everybody.”




 

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