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The lefty Iverson comes to Bristol
Jan 24, 2008A left-handed version of Allen Iverson. The best point guard in Oak Hill Academy history.
Both tags have been heaped on senior Brandon Jennings, who will appear in Bristol Friday night as the Warriors meet The Miller School of Charlottesville in an 8 p.m. game at Virginia High.
While this edition of Oak Hill basketball won’t win a national championship, Jennings isn’t the reason why.
The 6-foot-2 Jennings, who will play at Arizona next year, is averaging a staggering 35.3 points and 7.1 assists per game for the 20-3 Warriors, who have needed all his production.
Coach Steve Smith tossed senior wings Malik Story and Willie Warren off the team just before the season started, leaving Jennings to carry most of the load.
Although losses to former No. 1 St. Benedict’s (N.J.), Richmond Benedictine and Houston Yates dropped Oak Hill from No. 1 to No. 19 in USA Today’s prep top 25, Jennings has played as well as any player in the school’s history.
That’s saying a lot, considering the program can boast of alums the caliber of Carmelo Anthony, Rod Strickland, Calvin Duncan, Jeff McInnis and Josh Smith—just to name five. Oak Hill has won seven national championships since 1992 for coach Steve Smith.
Yet Smith, who just this decade can claim to have coached point guards like Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina), has no qualms about Jennings’ talent.
“For us, the two years he’s been here, he’s been as good as anybody,” Smith told the Roanoke Times on Jan. 12. “Maybe better.”
Jennings and the Warriors usually put on shows at VHS, where they have never lost, dating back to 1992. The Miller School owns an 11-2 record, meaning Oak Hill will have to play well.
If recent history is any guide, Bristol fans can count on the Warriors’ No. 3 playing like the No. 3 he’s said to emulate.
Flack and Indians ride past Blue Devils
Dec 28, 2007Four Dobyns-Bennett players hit double-figures in victory
BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Bristol, Tenn. – Indians senior center Bronson Flack stood tall and proud.
Flack’s 13 points, three rebounds and strong defensive play had just helped push Dobyns-Bennett to a convincing 77-50 victory over Gate City on Friday morning in an Arby’s Classic second round loser’s bracket game at Viking Hall.
And considering that the Indians had been dealt a 24-point defeat by Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) on Wednesday – a loss that knocked Dobyns-Bennett out of the winner’s bracket – Flack was ready to enjoy a nice, relaxing win.
“We were able to come out and play our game how we wanted,” Flack said. “It’s nice to do this in a big tournament where there are so many good teams playing. It builds confidence, and it should help give us a lift as we head into conference play.”
Jamel Williams (game-high 19 points), Justin Sylvester (13 points) and Jordan Edwards (12 points) backed Flack, as four Indians (11-2) hit double-figures.
Tihlee Anderson led Gate City (4-3) with 13 points, five assists and seven steals, while Cody Salyer added 12 points and Jamie Hackney had 11.
The Blue Devils shot well – they hit 43.2 percent (16 of 37) of their field goal attempts and 92.8 percent (13 of 14) of their free throws. Yet D-B took 18 more field goal attempts than Gate City and outrebounded the Blue Devils 26-17.
“They really exposed some our weaknesses out there,” said Gate City coach Scott Vermillion. “A lot of it is possessions. We turned the ball over a lot. And a lot of it is rebounding. We are not rebounding the ball well right now, and that’s my fault for not communicating it.”
Up 14-12 after the first quarter, the Indians held a 34-23 lead at halftime and then outscored the Blue Devils 43-27 in the final two quarters. D-B controlled momentum and the paint, had six more assists than Gate City and forced the Blue Devils into 27 turnovers. And strong outside shooting from Williams and Dustin McConnell – both hit two 3-pointers, with McConnell’s coming during a 12-0 second-quarter run – prevented Gate City from fully focusing on D-B’s inside game.
“I thought how we started out was really good. The intensity was there,” said Indians coach Charlie Morgan. “We made some shots. And I think our penetration by our guards, finding the open person … they switched a lot and pressured us a lot, and we made shots.”
D-B moves on to face Northview at 9 a.m. today.
DOBYNS-BENNETT (77)
Jamel Williams 6-7 5-8 19, Justin Sylvester 5-10 3-5 13, Bronson Flack 6-9 1-1 13, Jordan Edwards 5-8 2-4 12, McConnell 3-7 0-1 8, Hardy 2-5 0-0 4, Riggs 2-5 0-0 4, Halvorsen 2-3 0-0 4, McGue 0-0 0-0 0, King 0-1 0-0 0, Lyttle 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Long 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-55 11-19 77.
GATE CITY (50)
Tihlee Anderson 4-7 5-6 13, Cody Salyer 4-9 0-0 12, Josh Hackney 4-12 2-2 11, Johnson 2-2 4-4 8, Smith 0-0 2-2 2, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Potts 1-3 0-0 2, Parks 0-1 0-0 0, Bays 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Arwood 0-0 0-0 0, Herron 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-37 13-14 50.
Dobyns-Bennett 14 20 21 22—77
Gate City 12 11 14 13—50
3-point goals—GC 5-12 (Salyer 4, Hackney), D-B 4-7 (Williams 2, McConnell 2). Rebounds—GC 17, D-B 26. Assists—GC 9, D-B 15. Steals—GC 14, D-B 11. Blocks—GC 0, D-B 2. Turnovers—GC 27, D-B 18. Technical Fouls—GC (Hackney).
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Posted by Brian T. Smith Sampson III returns, burns bright
Dec 28, 2007Future Gopher helps Northview shut down Tennessee High
BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Bristol, Tenn. – The 25th annual Arby’s Classic was not kind to Tennessee High.
After dropping their first round game to Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.), the Vikings endured a nine-minute scoreless drought, committed 17 turnovers and scored just six second-half points before falling to Northview (Duluth, Ga.) 42-29 on Friday morning in a second round loser’s bracket game at Viking Hall.
Adding to Tennessee High’s woes, the Vikings shot 19.4 percent (8 of 42) from the field and connected on 18.8 percent (3 of 16) of their 3-point attempts.
Tennessee High coach Roby Witcher kept the Vikings’ locker room door closed for nearly 25 minutes following the loss. But when Witcher emerged, he didn’t paint a dark picture of frustration and defeat. Instead, Witcher saw Tennessee High’s losses as a lesson learned.
“We told them, ‘Hey, we could’ve gone somewhere else and played in a tournament, or not even played in a Christmas tournament and tried to get a few wins,’ ” Witcher said. “But we didn’t do that. We tried to play against good teams. [Dobyns-Bennett] got blown out. [Sullivan] East got blown out. It’s the same scenario. So we talked about let’s take a couple days off here, not think about this tournament, come in on Monday, and get ready for [David] Crockett on Friday night.”
The main factor in the Vikings’ (7-8) loss wasn’t their poor overall shooting or lack of scoring in the second half. It was the return of Titans (9-2) senior center Ralph Sampson III.
Sampson, 6-foot-11 and heading to the University of Minnesota, emerged with 19 points (7-of-9 shooting), eight rebounds, seven blocks and one steal after sitting out of Northview’s first-round loss to Science Hill on Wednesday due to bronchitis.
“Coming off the sickness, I had to adjust to how the game went and how it flowed,” Sampson said. “In the first half, I came out and tested the waters to see how the defense played. In the second half, I played a little more aggressively and was able to attack more.”
What didn’t show up in Sampson’s impressive stats, though, was his ability to completely shut down the Vikings’ game plan of penetrating the paint and then dishing out to open shooters on the perimeter. Sampson was a one-man show in the lane, and he prevented any traffic from moving through freely.
For Tennessee High, Sampson was poison.
“We couldn’t get anything to go in,” said Vikings senior forward Thomas Turnbull, who scored four points and grabbed five rebounds. “And with their big guy, he was just blocking shots everywhere and making it so our guards really couldn’t get good looks at the basket. It was just frustrating.”
Senior forward Dan Stryzinski added eight points (4-of-5 shooting), five rebounds and two steals for the Titans.
Tre Webb scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds and two steals for the Vikings.
The Vikings found early success by exploiting the Titans’ lack of height on the perimeter, and Tennessee High took an early 8-6 lead when Jeff Baker followed up a 3-pointer from teammate Taylor Harmon with one of his own.
The Vikings then jumped ahead 13-10 when Webb knocked down a 3 with 46.4 seconds left in the first quarter.
Yet Northview pulled within 23-21 just before halftime, thanks to a late second-quarter rally that was punctuated by a hard dunk from Stryzinski with 47 seconds remaining in the half.
A slow third quarter then came to life when Sampson converted on a reverse layup, and consecutive Tennessee High turnovers resulted in close, easy baskets for Northview senior guard Najja Nicholson and sophomore forward Robert Sampson.
The Titans closed out the quarter with a 9-0 run and outscored the Vikings 21-6 in the second half.
Tennessee High shot a combined 28.4 percent (27 of 95) from the field in their two recent losses, and hit just 15.4 percent (6 of 39) of their 3-point attempts.
When Witcher was asked after the game if he and his team were still on the same page, he smiled and replied, “Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They understand this is a good team. They’re frustrated, but they also understand that there were some pretty good players out there. And when you go against them, sometimes you come up on the short end of the stick.”
Northview moves on to face Dobyns-Bennett at 9 a.m. today.
NORTHVIEW (42)
Ralph Sampson III 7-9 5-7 19, Stryzinski 4-5 0-0 8, Nicholson 2-6 2-2 6, Davidson 2-4 0-1 5, Robert Sampson 1-4 0-0 2, Rainford 1-5 0-0 2, Joseph 0-0 0-0 0, Patterson 0-1 0-0 0, Kubandi 0-0 0-0 0, Kim 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-38 7-10 42.
TENNESSEE HIGH (29)
Harmon 3-9 2-4 9, Webb 3-8 0-0 7, Turnbull 0-1 4-4 4, Baker 1-7 0-0 3, Cook 0-0 2-2 2, Canty 0-1 2-2 2, Young 1-12 0-0 2, Gilmore 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 8-42 10-12 29.
Northview 12 9 11 10—42
Tennessee High 15 8 4 2—29
3-point goals—N 1-12 (Davidson), TH 3-16 (Harmon, Webb, Baker). Rebounds—N 24, TH 26. Assists—N 6, TH 3. Steals—N 12, TH 11. Turnovers—N 14, TH 17.
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Extra quotes from Northview-Tennessee High
Dec 28, 2007Here are the full transcripts from post-game interviews following the Vikings’ 42-29 loss on Friday morning in a second round loser’s-bracket game in the 25th annual Arby’s Classic at Viking Hall.
Vikings senior forward Thomas Turnbull:
“We couldn’t get anything to go in. And with their big guy, he was just blocking shots everywhere and making it so our guards really couldn’t get good looks at the basket. It was just frustrating.”
“We’ve got to look forward to helping build our game up during conference play. Playing against good teams like Archbishop, Northview, we’ve got to use that experience to help us build.”
Vikings coach Roby Witcher:
“They played us hard on the perimeter. And they’ve got the big guys inside, so they don’t have to worry about you driving. We’re working hard on our perimeter game, but with the quickness that they have we just weren’t able to get off a shot without duress. We weren’t able to make any passes without duress. And when you do get back out one-on-one, you come up against a 6-11 guy standing there in the paint.”
“I told them we played two very good teams this week and I felt like we had an opportunity to win both games. This was a different team than Science Hill played the other day, because of Sampson—he made a huge difference.”
“Their guards were able to get up on us. And the same kind of thing happened to us on the first day of the tournament, when we were 3 for 23 on 3-pointers. If we shoot our normal percentage, we’ve got a really good shot of winning that first basketball game, and then we’re playing Science Hill at 5 o’clock.”
“We told them, hey, we could’ve gone somewhere else and played in a tournament, or not even played in a Christmas tournament and tried to get a few wins. But we didn’t do that. We tried to play against good teams. D-B got blown out. East got blown out. It’s the same scenario. So we talked about let’s take a couple days off here, not think about this tournament, come in on Monday, and get ready for [David] Crockett on Friday night.”
“Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They understand this is a good team. They’re frustrated, but they also understand that there were some pretty good players out there. And when you go against them, sometimes you come up on the short end of the stick.”
Titans coach Steve Bombard:
“You probably heard my halftime speech. And as you can tell, I’m hoarse right now just talking. I was yelling so loud it hurt. We weren’t playing with any pride. I mean, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing in a varsity basketball game or you’re playing at the YMCA, playing one-on-one. If you’re guarding somebody, you have to have pride that he’s not going to score on you. And we were getting beat off the dribble. So we said that anybody who gets beat off the dribble in the second half is coming out of the game.”
“These kids have a lot heart. We got a rude awakening against Science Hill. But we had practice yesterday and got it together.”
Titans senior guard Najja Nicholson:
“We said in the locker room that we had to step up, play defense and play as a team. This team’s all about defense. And when we play defense, that helps our offense score more points.”
Titans senior center Ralph Sampson III:
“Coach said a lot at halftime. But overall, he challenged us as a team and got everybody focused. We bonded and went out with a fire. We played like we were supposed to and we set the tempo of the game.”
“Coming off the sickness, I had to adjust to how the game went and how it flowed. In the first half, I came out and tested the waters to see how the defense played. In the second half, I played a little more aggressively and was able to attack more.”
Friday’s scores
Nov 02, 2007Scores from Friday night’s games.
Northeast Tenn.
Mountain Lakes Conf.
Tennessee High 21, Sullivan South 28
Unicoi Co. 6, Elizabethton 17
Johnson Co. 40, Sullivan North 20
Sullivan Central 7, Sullivan East 23
Big East Conference
Science Hill 14, Dobyns-Bennett 38
Southwest Va.
Black Diamond Dist.
Hurley 12, Twin Valley 8
Clinch Mountain Dist.
Virginia High 0, Lee 40
Cumberland District
Castlewood 27, Coeburn 20
Rye Cove 28, Twin Springs 14
St. Paul 40, Thomas Walker 6
Hogoheegee District
Chilhowie 7, George Wythe 14
Patrick Henry 13, Rural Retreat 39
Lonesome Pine District
Appalachia 6, Powell Valley 41
Pound 0, Clintwood 48
Southwest District
Abingdon 20, Marion 28
Carroll Co. 21, Graham 29
Grundy 14, Richlands 47
Non-District
Honaker 36, Tazewell 17
J.J. Kelly 0, Haysi 42
Ervinton 6, Jenkins, Ky. 52
J.I. Burton 7, Gate City 33
John Battle 43, Northwood 18
