2010-11 Basketball: Dogs must find roles and mature quickly to be successful

“The first thing we wanted to address, being a younger team, was our maturity,” said coach Jeremy Slaughter. “We have to grow up quickly because the speed and physical nature of varsity basketball will be new to a lot of our players,” he added.

Sophomore Derrick Lin is the lone returning starter. He topped the team in free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and was second in scoring while averaging nine points per game.

“He is a smart kid and understands that a lot of teams are going to focus on him early on,” said Slaughter. “The key for him is not to get frustrated when we struggle and continue to trust his teammates to do their jobs,” he added.
Another concern, Coach Slaughter says, is that his young, inexperienced players will have to face adversity without veering away from the team’s strategy and style of play.

“Coach Gannan and I have really made an effort to narrow the players’ focus to controlling what we can control and understanding what causes us to both win and lose games,” Slaughter stated. “We have a lot of potential on this team, but until we go out and prove something then it is just potential,” he added. “Understanding that we are in this together and that everyone has a job to do will be critical to our success.”

Coach Slaughter’s pre-season view was that 11 players were battling for starting spots, but coaches had some idea of who had the inside track. “We have a variety of different types of players and ultimately our starters will come down to who we think will make up the best lineup to start each game,” he said.

In addition to Lin, Bulldogs who received varsity time last season include senior Logan Henderson, junior Brandon Hunt, sophomore Isaac Mattis, junior Donovan Stout and junior Preston Turley.

“Logan is a good shooter and our best screener,” Coach Slaughter commented. “He is solid defensively.”
Coach Slaughter calls Hunt a wide body with good feet. “He is strong posting up and a pretty good shooter from the perimeter. He is strong on the boards.”

“Mattis is a small, but quick guard and very good defender. He is a true point guard with a pass first mentality,” said his coach.

Stout is labeled as a quick, undersized post player with a defensive mentality. “Turley is an explosive player who could have a big impact as he becomes a more consistent player,” said Slaughter.

Sophomore transfer from Lexington Dexter Daniel is stronger facing the basket than posting up, said his coach. “He is a good passer and ball handler for his size. I think he will have a strong impact on the defensive end,” Coach Slaughter said. Four others in the mix for varsity playing time are sophomores Wes Cole, Devin Hall and Blake Brockmeyer, and freshman Chris Cameron.

“Cole is another quick guard who is already a good defensive player. If he continues to improve his ball handling then he will have a big impact this year,” said Slaughter.

Hall is an explosive offensive player that can go inside/outside. He has been working hard to become a consistent player, his coach said.

According to Coach Slaughter, Brockmeyer is a long, athletic defensive player who is continuing to improve offensively. Cameron is a very skilled player who only needs to prove that he can handle the speed and physical play that comes with varsity basketball.

To be successful, the Bulldogs will have to rebound, take care of the basketball and limit turnovers.

“In terms of our strengths and weaknesses, I would say our strengths include our ability to score inside and outside,” Slaughter stated. “Our biggest weakness is our consistency on both ends, which goes back to becoming a mature team and learning from our failures so we can get better each day,” he added.

As the season progresses, the Bulldogs will be looking for improvement in many areas.

“Early on, we are focused on making sure that we at the very least get a shot up rather than turning the ball over,” Coach Slaughter advised. “As the season goes on, we will need to continue improving the types of shots that we are getting,” he added. “Defensively, we have to show we can start and finish. We want our defense to begin as soon as the other team gets the ball and end with one shot and a defensive rebound.”