J.J. Kelly Page 4
St. Paul Page 20
Supplement to The Coalfield Progress, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 1989
Clay Neal
Jeff Miller
depended on for help around the
basket. Neal and Compton arc both
6-foot-7 and Wilburn plays bigger
than his 6-foot-3 size. Wilburn will
have to relieve Compton or Short in
certain situations, which Hall noted
is a lot to ask of a freshman. Short
WISE — The Clinch Valley
College men’s team enters its fifth
season under the guidance of Coach
Bernard Hall with some pleasing
depth and scoring ability. Hall and
the Cavaliers arc working to over-
come the defensive deficiencies
Dee Anna Blevins.
•Scott Compton, 6-foot-7
senior center, Honaker —
Averaged 5.7 rebounds and 10.2
points per game in six games last
year. Can have an immediate
impact if he helps control the in-
land; Cavaliers
Matt Dysart
Robbie Blevins
that bothered the Cavaliers last
year. And the team is hoping its
experience will help it win the close
games. Last year, CVC couldn’t
win the close ones and finished at 9-
16.
“One thing I thought would be a
very good factor for us teamwise
would be the experienced players,”
said Hall. But, he added, “we still
haven’t put all the pieces together
that I think should be there at this
time. The chemistry is not exactly
right.”
“Right now, I think we have
some depth, which we haven’t had
before,” Hall said. “The way I look
at it, it would be more or less who
could spell who and for how long.”
“We can have certain combina-
tions that give us a lot of size.. .and
combinations that can fill it up
offensively...or have less offen-
sive strength and have a team with
more of a defensive nature. Thai’s
an advantage we haven’t had in the
past”
“I think we can go eight deep
without there being a significant
loss on either end,” Hall said.
“I was cautiously optimistic last
year and we went 9-16,” he said.
“We lost a lot of close games and it
was more because of defense than
offense.” CVC had the fourth-lead-
ing offense in the 12-team district.
Keith Ingram
Coach Bernard Hall
Scott Compton
Kevin Short
“Offensively it appears we’re in the
upper echelon of the conference,
but we’re next to the bottom defen-
sively,” Hall said, noting that how
well the team plays on the defensive
end of the floor will determine how
successful the team will be.
Jeff Miller was the leading
scorer in District 32 last year and
Kevin Short was the leading re-
bounder. As Hall said, “that’s the
beginning of a good
nucleus...we’vc got to be able to
shut (down) the oilier team. A lot of
it had to do with our quickness and
another part had to do with our size.
We were mismatched inside,” with
a 6-foot-l or 6-foot-2 guard against
a 6-foot-6.
Scott Compton, Clay Neal and
newcomer Trey Wilburn will be
also plays bigger than his 6-foot-4
size. The Cavaliers have the luxury
of four players who can work in the
paint. Hall is looking for more in-
tensity on defense.
“If we can play intelligent de-
fense along with playing with in-
tensity, the offense will take care of
itself,” he said. Miller an excellent
shooter; Keith Ingram improved
his shot selection from about the
middle of the year; Short is capable
offensively; Steve McKenzie can
also put it in, but has to be set and
have someone kick it to him rather
than trying to create himself; Matt
Dysart can generate things some-
times in traffic.
They want to win. That's not
the issue... they want to win badly, ”
Hall said. “I think we need to
focus.. .on the things we need to do
in order to win.”
Asked whether CVC can im-
prove on its 9-16 record, Hall said
that “experience should be a
factor...but other teams have got
experience too.”
The 1989-90 Clinch Valley
College Highland Cavaliers are:
•Jeff Miller, 6-foot-l senior
guard, Harlan, Ky. — Leading
scorer in District 32 in 1988 with
26.1 points per game. Broke CVC’s
single-season scoring record with
662 points. His 84.5 percent free-
throw percentage in 1988 led Dis-
trict 32. Was the ninth lead scorer in
NAIA. Elementary education ma-
jor. Son of Larry and Linda Miller.
•Matthew C. Dysart, 6-foot-0
senior guard, Appalachia —
1988 District 32 academic all-dis-
trict. Played in 18 games last year
and shot 33.3 percent from the field.
Majoring in elementary education/
special education. Son of Mrs.
Beatrice Dysart.
•Robert A. Blevins, 6-foot-l
senior forward, Morehead, Ky.
— Shot 46.6 percent from the field
last year and averaged 5.7 points
per game. Was District 32 aca-
demic all-district and NAIA aca-
demic all-American in 1988. Ma-
joring in accounting/financial
management. Son of Bobby and
side defensively. Biology major.
Son of Sherman and Shirley
Compton.
•Kevin Short, 6-foot-4 senior
forward, St. Paul — Leading re-
bounder in District 32 in 1988
with 10.48 per game. Broke
CVC’s single-game rebounding
mark with 25 against Tusculum.
Sixth in field-goal percentage in
District 32 with 56.6 percent.
Majoring in political science. Son
of James and Marjorie Short.
•Jerry Hall, 5-foot-9 senior
guard, Wise —Played in six
games last year. Majoring in ele-
mentary education. Son of Ber-
nard and Gleda Hall.
•Steve McKenzie, 5-foot-9
senior guard, Richmond, Ky.—
Average of 4.3 assists per game
was m the top ten of District 32
year. Majoring in elementary edu-
cation. Son of Terry and Rose-
mary McKenzie.
•Keith Ingram, 6-foot-4 sen-
ior forward, West Chester,
Ohio —Eighth in District 32 in
three-point field goal percentage
with 40.2 percent. Majoring in
financial management. Son of
Bradley and Betty Ingram.
•Clay Neal, 6-foot-7 junior
center, Rocky Gap — Played in
17 games last year. Majoring in
mathematics/education. Son of
Louise R. Neal.
•Mark Cooper, 5-foot-10
junior guard, Hurley — Played
i n 25 games last year and averaged
3.9 points per game. Majoring in
elementary education. Son of
Matt and Patricia Cooper.
•Sam Schwerdtfeger, 6-foot-
1 junior guard, Buhler, Kan. —
Transfer from Garden City Junior
College. Majoring in history. Son
of Sam and Nina Schwerdtfeger.
•Graig Short, 5-foot-ll so-
phomore guard, St. Paul — at-
tended Twin Springs High
School. Majoring in biology and
business administration. Son of
James and Marjorie Short.
•Keith Harmon, 5-foot-10
See CVC, Page 22
Greg Powers
Todd Simmons
Jason Turner
Bill Collie
Coach Dave Bentley
Indians set to enter post-Danis era
WISE — Last season the J J.
Kelly Indians won the LPD tourna-
ment title, the Region D title and a
bid to the stale playoffs. But of
course last year was the senior year
of possibly the best player to ever
don the red and white, Danis Sim-
mons.
Now Simmons is playing first
base for the Virginia Tech Hokies
and won’t be there to pick up the
basket in the tough situation.
So, the Indians are going to have
to find another Danis — they only
come around about once every 20
years or so — or spread the offen-
sive pressure around more this year.
Indian head coach Dave Bentley
says that he hopes to spread the
points a little more evenly this sea-
son.
“We looked to Danis quite a bit
last year. This year we’ll spread it
out a bit more, hopefully. Bill Bev-
ins, Todd Simmons and Jared
Bentley all showed signs of being
scorers last year,” said Bentley.
Filling the void on the inside left
by Simmons may be the most diffi-
cult ask facing the Indians. Bentley
said dial he wi 11 look to three or four
players to fill dial spot inside. Sen-
iors Jason Powers and Bill Collie
are prospects along with junior
Greg Powers and freshman Scott
Dotson.
Not only did the Indians lose
their big scorer, they also lost a
great passer and team player al the
second guard spot with the gradu-
ation of Travis Hall. Bentley also
has a host of players that could fill
that spot. Senior Shawn Boggs, the
first guard off the bench, is possibly
the lop candidate, followed by Ja-
son Turner, Donald Jennings and
Brian Mills, who came up from last
year’s JV team.
The other three positions are
pretty solid with junior and return-
ing all-district player Bevins back
inside, senior Bentley at a forward
spot and sophomore Simmons at
the point.
Bcndey’s primary concern this
season is his team’s ability to re-
bound. “In order to play good de-
fense, you not only have to defend
die goal and make the shot as diffi-
cult as possible, but also make sure
that’s the only shot they gel,” said
Bcndey of rebounding importance.
Bendey does see his team as
having three strong points: experi-
ence, good shooting and good
ballhandling. Bentley pointed out
that this season, for the first time
since he’s been there, the Indians
are a junior/senior dominated
squad. He also added that he thinks
his guards are as good as anybody
around.
The “pleasant suprise” for the
Indians thus far has been the play of
junior Greg Powers. Powers played
JV last year, his only organized
basketball experience, and has
looked good. “I think Greg Powers
has been the most pleasent suprise
so far. I’ve been really pleased with
him. He has good quickness and a
good work ethic,” said Bentley.
Bentley kind of summed things
up by saying, “I feel our guards are
as good as anybody, but Bill (Bev-
ins) is the only guy back that’s
played a lot inside.”
The following are the members
of the 1989-90 JJ. Kelly Indians
basketball team:
•Jared Bentley, 6-2-1/2 senior
wing — Good shooter; good
ballhandlcr; very good jumper and
one-on-one player; excellent
understanding of the game. Return-
ing starter, averaged 10 points and
five rebounds per game. One of our
team captains. Son of Sue and Dave
Bentley.
•Shawn Boggs, 5-10 senior
guard — Good shooter; good
ballhandler; good quickness; good
defensive player, has improved
greatly but needs game experience.
Top reserve at guard last year.
Averaged three points per game
and had 23 assists. Son of June
Boggs.
•Bill Collie, 6-0 senior wing/
p0St — Good defensive player;
strong; great work habits; needs to
improve offensive skills. Level of
game has improved tremendously.
Averaged 1.1 points per game last
year. Son of Sherry and Jim Collie.
•Marc Michaelis, 6-1 senior
wing — Good ballhandler; good
defensive player. Very inexperi-
enced. Exchange student from
West Germany. Host parents are
Laura and Ed Bice.
•Jason Powers, 6-4 senior post
— Strong, good rebounder; good
shooter in post area, must improve
defensively. Could provide much-
needed help on boards. Son of
Phyllis and Gary Powers.
•Bill Bevins, 6-3 junior wing/
post — Good shooter; good re-
bounder; good ballhandler; very
good knowledge of the game; re-
luming starter, was all-LPD last
year; must be more assertive;
averaged 16 points and eight re-
bounds last year. Son of Frances
and Bill Bevins.
•Donald Jennings, 6-1 junior
wing — Good shooter; good
ballhandler; has improved his game
tremendously, needs to be stronger,
more aggressive; averaged 1.1
points a game last year. Son of
Palsy and Jerry Jennings.
•Brian Mills, 6-0 junior wing
— Good shooter; excellent quick-
SeeJJ. KELLY, Page 23
Page 8/Basketball 1989-90
Coeburn
Kirk Harris
Bryan Neel
Eric Salyer
Sambo Bird
Tracy Linkous
Coeburn changing
game plan under
new head coach
COEBURN — The Coeburn
Blue Knights return four starters
from a team that went 3-17 and won
oneLPD game. Coeburn also has a
new coach and a different game
plan.
Jeff Adkins, who takes over for
Larry Harris, is installing a motion
offense. “Last year we ran a flex
and everybody was waiting for us,”
Adkins said. This year, if you want
toplay for Adkins you’ll have to be
able to keep your feet moving and
be able to set a pick.
Other trademarks of this Coe-
burn team should be a pressure
defense and a penchant for running
with the ball. Adkins lists good
shooting and “a little bit of team
speed” as strengths.
The most obvious weakness is
that the team has yet to develop a
“big man,” making inside play
questionable. “The main thing that
scares me is all this heighth we’re
not going to have,” Adkins said. Of
the four returning starters, Tracy
Linkous and Wesley Greear are 6-
to the fact that Coeburn, although 3-
17 a year ago, made many of the
contests more competitive than that
record would indicate. “We didn’t
really get blown out last year,”
Adkins said, adding that the team
was in games in the fourth quarter.
“This year we ’re going to try to pull
it out.”
In other words, the Blue Knights
will be trying towin the games they
have a chance of winning instead of
just coming close.
Part of Adkins’ optimism comes
from the success Coeburn had in
football, where an underrated team
went 8-3. The basketball Blue
Knights are “trying to gel over a
losing altitude,” Adkins said.
“With the football team going 8-3,
1 hope it can carry over.”
Following are profiles of the
1989-90 Coeburn Blue Knights:
•Sambo Bird, 6-1 sophomore
—Up from theJV. Handles the ball
well; shoots the ball well; needs to
work on speed.
•Eric Salyer, 6-0 senior —
David Carico
Wesley Greear
Brian Lund
foot-1. Linkous wi 11 be expected to
Excellent shooter; good ballhan-
Inside man. Strong. Has a good
touch on medium-range jump shot
Good rebounder. Averaged 10.5
points per game last year.
•Scott Lawson, 5-10 junior —
Up from the J V. Needs to work on
his defense. Good shooter. Needs to
see the floor better.
•David Carico, 6-1 senior —
Good shooter. Just need to relax
and play basketball; afraid to make
mistakes. Has only been playing for
two years.
•Reggie Banks, 5-10 junior —
Transfer. Plays street ball; handles
the ball well for a big man. Should
get a lot of boards and run the floor.
•Wesley Greear, 6-1 junior —
Good shooter, good board man;
Melvin Gambrell
Coach Jeff Adkins
do a lot of the work in the paint and
has the strength to do it. Eric Salyer
dler; smart defensive player.
Averaged 9.0 points per game last
finds the open man. Could work on
speed. Averaged 6.8 points per
game last year.
is 6-0 and Kirk Harris is 5-10. The
center “development projects” in-
clude 6-3 Melvin Gambrell, 6-4
Kevin McCoy and 6-4 Brian Lund.
Bryan Neel and David Carico
both played some last year and fig-
ure in the picture as the fi fth starter.
“I plan on playing 10 kids a bail-
game because we’re almost the
same all down through there,” said
Adkins, referring to his 14-man
roster.
Adkins feels the team can im-
prove on last year’s record. Part of
his optimism is due to the experi-
enced players returning. Part is due
year. Will have to be an offensive
leader.
•Robby Hayes, 5-10 senior —
Transfer. Excellent defensive ball-
player. Good shooter and excellent
floor leader.
•Kirk Harris, 5-10 sophomore
— Excellent shooter; good defen-
sive ballplayer; has good speed.
Averaged 8.3 points per game last
year.
•Bryan Neel, 6-0 junior —
Good leaper; good shot inside.
Needs to work on channeling his
aggressiveness: is foul prone.
•Tracy Linkous, 6-1 senior —
•Brian Lund, 6-4 junior — Up
from the J V. Needs to get stronger.
Has soft touch but needs to be more
aggressive.
•Melvin Gambrell, 6-3 senior
— Hard worker. Has improved his
shot. Gets lots of rebounds.
•Kevin McCoy, 6-4 junior —
Needs to work on his aggressive-
ness and shooting. Has the tools;
needs to learn to run and shoot.
•Chris Eakin, 6-1 sophomore
— Needs to work on ballhandling
and shooting and to be more aggres-
sive.
'We didn rt really get blown out last
year This year we rre going to try to
pull it out?
—JeffAdkins
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Page 10/Basketball 1989-90
Ervinton
Kevin Rose Shane Mullins Paul Yates Stephen Dixon Coach Ed Whitaker
Ervinton loaded with veteran starters
NORA — The Ervinton Rebels
will try to scale the heights of
Cumberland District glory with a
veteran team that has all five start-
ers returning as well as the sixth and
seventh men.
The Rebels finished al 13-11 last
year, but made a splash in the dis-
trict tournament by advancing all
the way to the championship game
before losing to Rye Cove.
While that tournament run was
encouraging, it also threw a spot-
light on Ervinton’s major problem:
the Rebels were a one-dimensional
team, depending on Trazel Silvers
for almost all of their offense. Sil-
vers scored 41 of Ervinton’s 59
points in the tournament title game.
Including the tournament, he
averaged 31 points a game last year
and was at around 25 points per
game during the regular season.
Silvers will do as well or better
this season. Whitaker is looking for
the rest of the pieces to fall into
place.
With its seniors, size and Sil-
vers, Ervinton certainly is in good
position to challenge for the Cum-
berland District title. Consistenty
from all five players on the floor
will be the key.
“As far as the season went, we
were up and down,” said Coach Ed
Whitaker. “We never played steady
basketball. Trazel did; he played
pretty steady all year long. In the
tournament everybody played hard
and it paid off.”
“I’ve laid it on the kids. We have
eight seniors. I’ve put it on their
shoulders and told them they have
to do some scoring,” Whitaker said.
“I can make them play defense,
but we have to have offense out of
Chris Mitchell, Steve Dixon and
Travis Hale,” Whitaker said.
Tony Mullins was the only
Rebel besides Silvers to average in
double figures, hitting for 10.5
points per game. Keith Counts
averaged 8.9. “I think both of these
kids will do a pretty good job,”
Whitaker said. “It’s the other kids
who will have to pick up the slack.”
Following arc profiles of the
1989-90 Ervinton Rebels:
•T razel Silvers, 6-foot-5 senior
point — A lot better this year be-
cause he’s a lol more mature.
Should provide more leadership;
had a tendency to play too emotion-
ally last year. Expect him to do it all.
Could average more than 30 points
a game and should average about 12
rebounds a game.
•Travis Hale, 6-foot-0 senior
T razel Sil-
vers, here
during last
year’s Cum-
berland
District
tournament,
will lead the
Rebels once
again this
season. Sil-
vers is the key
to the Rebels’
success in
1989-90, but
Ervinton has
several expe-
rienced
players to
help out.
post — Started at the beginning of
the year. Inside player. Good
jumper: can dunk with his size.
Needs to give steady performance;
has had a tendency not to show up
but has been doing a belter job
lately. Averaged 4.1 points a game
last year.
•Chris Mitchell, 6-foot-2 sen-
ior wing — If the team is going to
be a lol betier, he’s the key. Could
score a lot of points in some games.
Needs to be consistent. Averaged
6.3 points a game last year.
•Tony Mullins, 5-foot-10 sen-
ior wing — Starting for the third
year. A steady performer; a
scrappy, hustling, p\ay er. Does little
things well and scores on put-backs
and breakaways.
•Keith Counts, 6-foot-4 senior
post —Expect more of him be-
cause he is in belter condition this
year. Injured an ankle last year and
never gol into the season. Has lost
25 pounds and is shooting well.
Big, strong kid that lakes up space
and rebounds. Averaged 8.9 points
a game last year.
•Kevin Rose, 5-foot-6 senior
wing — Second year on varsity.
Still improving. Has good athletic
abilities and is a vital part of the
team.
•Shane Mullins, 5-foot-9 sen-
ior wing — Seventh man. Not big,
but will play some inside to give the
big people a rest. Will not hurt the
team coming off the bench because
he makes the right passes and does
the little things well.
•Paul Yates, 5-foot-10 senior
wing — First year out. Inexperi-
enced.
•Stephen Dixon, 5-foot-10
junior point — Will run the point
when other team is in a zone. Could
shine this year. Only an eleventh-
grader, so inexperience may still
play a part in his game.
Tommy Shrader
Vincent Price
Jon Bright
Chuck Bevins
Reecie Gravely
Coach Stan Wilson
Mike McCall
Joseph Allen
Vidal Ellis
Tommy Muncy
j.l. Burton
Page'12/BasketbaU 1989-90
J.L Burton's juniors and seniors to be
shooting for another district crown
NORTON — The J.l. Burton
Raiders are looking pretty good
going into the 1989-90 basketball
season. Two all-distnct players,
senior guard Tommy Shrader and
senior forward Reecie Gravely,
return. Also, the squad is made up
entirely of experienced players.
That’s right, of the 15 players on
this year’s team, everybody is ei-
ther a junior or a senior.
With a team like that, what’s
their strength? “Our experience,”
said J.l. Burton head coach Stan
Wilson. “We’ve got seven seniors
this year. Thai’s always impor-
tant.”
What’s surprising is to think that
the Raiders lost two very important
players off of last year’s state tour-
nament team. Both Maurice
Hairston and Huck Forney are gone
and Wilson is going to have to plug
others into the equation.
Without Fomcy, the unstop-
pable force inside for the Raiders
last year, the Raiders will be strug-
gling, won’t they? No, according to
f We're going to have to have better shot selection, but we
still want to move the ball down the floor and put it up.'
—Stan Wilson
Wilson.
“We’ve got two boys that can
get up higher than Huck ever got
up,” said Wilson with a smile,
pointing to Joseph Allen and Vidal
Ellis.
Wilson admits that his team may
loose something without Hairston.
“I’m sure we’ll lose some quick-
ness (without Hairston). I’m not
sure we’ve got anybody that
quick,” said Wilson.
They may lose quickness with-
out Hairston, but Jon Bright, the
likely starter at second guard, will
bring yet another shooting touch to
a team that can already shoot.
What could be a weakness for
this team? According to Wilson,
there shouldn’t be one. “We
shouldn’t have one. We’re going to
have to have belter shot selection,
but we still want to move the ball
down the floor and put it up.”
Wilson also mentioned that he
plans to keep the pressure on. “We
hope to press. We’ll come running
out of the locker rooms,” said
Wilson with a giggle.
Things look positive for back-
to-back LPD titles for J.l. Burton.
The following are the members
of the 1989-90 J.L Burton basket-
ball team:
•Reecie Gravely, 6-3-1/2 sen-
ior forward — Good basketball
actions, good quickness, scored
1,000th point last year. Team’s goal
for him is to make him a better all-
around player.
•Tommy Shrader, 6-1 senior
guard — Excellent ballhandler,
runs break well, excellent finisher
on the break. Excellent passer.
•Chuck Bevins, 6-1-1/2 senior
post — Uses body well, excellent
basketball instincts. Hopefully will
be in double figures in both re-
bounds and points this year.
•Jon Bright, 6-1 senior for-
ward/guard — Model of consis-
tency in everything but shooting.
Good team player. Does what needs
to be done.
•Vidal Ellis, 6-3-1/2 senior for-
ward — Excellent jumper, good
shooter. Needs to improve defen-
sively.
•Joseph Allen, 6-0 senior for-
ward — Jumps as high as anyone
on the team. Hard worker. Will see
a lol of playing time.
•Mike McCall, 5-10 senior
guard — Good heady player,
smart. He’ll be a swing man, can
play guard or forward.
•Jamie Ellis, 5-7 senior guard
— Good, hard worker. Good team
man. Lacks skills but makes up for
it with hustle.
•David Horne, 6-2 senior for-
ward — The brains of the team,
very dedicated. Lacks in skills but
gives 100 percent every game.
•Vincent Price, 6-3 senior for-
ward — Hard worker, good team
player. Will see lots of action.
Rebounding should be his strength.
•Doug Cochrane, 6-1 junior
forward — Can be helpful under
the boards. Shows consistency on
defense. Up from JV.
See RAIDERS, Page 28
Wildcats working to be competitive
POUND — Alan Cantrell takes
over a program that went 5-18 last
year, including a 1-11 LPD mark.
Cantrell, previously a coach at
Tazewell, will try to reinvigorate a
team that has only one proven
scorer, Brad Branham. Branham
averaged 18.4 points per game last
year. As usual, Pound will depend
more on quickness and defense
than on inside strength. But the
squad does have the potential to
have some depth.
For the time being, Cantrell is
trying to get everyone pointed in the
same direction. “Learning a new
system and getting used to a new
coach takes a little while,” he said.
“Especially for the seniors, who
have been familiar with doing some
things differently.”
Don’t look for Wildcat basket-
ball to change its character that
much, though. “I know they have
played an aggressive style of bas-
ketball here,” Cantrell said. “That’s
the way I try to coach and try to
Play.”
Cantrell will try to adjust to the
LPD himself. “I know it’s a very,
very competitive district,” he said.
Oui goal is co have a winning sea-
sori'iliis year and rank as'highas'WC
can by the end of the season. The
guys have been real positive about
it. We’ll just try to be as competitive
as we can in the district every
night”
The Wildcats will be depending
on their quickness, a deep bench
and the ability to use a lot of people
who are more or less equal in talent.
“Everybody we play will be a
little bit bigger,” Cantrell said.
“With the style of game we play, we
will take advantage of our quick-
ness and shooting ability. I’d rather
have the combination we have than
have bigger people and nobody
who can run the floor.”
Branham, of course, will be one
starter. Cantrell also expects Jimmy
Steinwandel, a 5-foot-9 senior, to
run the offense as point guard. “He
could be one of the top points
guards in the district,” said Can-
trell. Early Hughes, a 5-11 senior, is
also working with the first unit.
“From there, the other two spots
will be between four or five kids,”
Cantrell said.
Significant losses include An-
thony Roberts (10 points and 5.4
rebounds per game), Jeff Smith (8.2
points) and Tracey Mullins.
Pound Will- try*'to improve in
several areas. Last year’s Wildcats
were ou tshol 47 to 41 percent, made
only 54 percent of their free throws
and were outrebounded 33-27 per
game.
Following are profiles of the
1989-90 Pound Wildcats:
•Greg MuIIins, 5-9 senior wing
— Didn’tplay last year. Good, hard
worker and has a positive attitude.
Good to have on the team.
•Early Hughes, 5-11 senior
wing-post — Very hard worker.
Can be an offensive threat Shoots
well; can go inside and out. Good
leaper.
•Bobby Strouth, 6-1 senior
post — Leaper; will play inside.
Has good timing with his jumping.
Can be a post defensive-type
player. Just getting used to the sys-
tem.
•Brad Branham, 6-0 senior
wing — Shoots well and runs the
floor real well; gets open. Works
hard in practice. Other teams will
be keying on him, which will be
fine if the other kids come through.
Averaged 18.4 points and 6.4 re-
bounds per game last year.
•Jerramy Mullins, 5-9 senior
wing — a lcam leader. Very emo-
tionalv aritf/ekeitabidj the type of
player who keeps everybody doing
what they’re supposed to be doing.
•Tim Strange, 5-9 senior wing
— Guard. Works hard in practice.
Hopefully will contribute off the
bench.
•Jimmy Steinwandel, 5-9 sen-
ior point—Will be quarterback on
the floor. A pretty good offensive
threat: can shoot the pull-up
jumper. Has good quickness and is
good enough defensively to guard
anybody.
•Ashley Beverly, 5-10 junior
wing-post — Improving every day
in practice. Needs to have a lot of
confidence in himself. Look for
him to come in off the bench.
•Jamie Hubbard, 5-11 junior
wing-post — Strong in the post and
a good leaper; moves well on the
inside. Was hampered early by an
ankle injury. Fighting for a starting
position.
•Greg Slemp, 5-10 junior post
— Very strong; good defensive
player. Will have to play the other
team’s strongest post player.
Works well around the boards.
•Jason “J.R.” Roberts, 5-8
junior point-wing — Offensively,
a very good threat from the outside.
Shoots real well
•Brad Jett, 6-3 freshman post
— Fundamentally very sound. Can
shoot the 15-footer. Needs experi-
ence and needs to increase his
weight, but that will come.
•Brian Sturgill, 5-8 freshman
point — Will have to come in off
the bench at point guard or wing.
Shoots well and handles the ball
well. A lot of the time will back up
the point guard, but as freshman has
looked real good in practice.
•Anthony Hubbard, 5-9 fresh-
man wing — Has a lot of athletic
ability. Learning in practice what
he can do with his ability. Has a lot
of quickness and jumps real well.
Attacks the basket well.
Page 16/Basketball 1989-90
Powell Valley eyes
balanced game with
departure of Spears
BIG STONE GAP — The Pow-
ell Valley Vikings lost the core of
their team when Robert Spears
graduated. The 6-foot-9 center was
good for 25 points, 13 rebounds and
five blocked shots a game as the
Vikings tied for second in the dis-
trict.
B ut li fe goes on, and the Vikings
arc approaching the 1989-90 sea-
son as a challenge. Coach David
Lee noted that he’ll now have a
better chance to find out about the
skills of the people who played
alongside Spears.
“We won’t have anybody
averaging 25 points a game,” Lee
said. “It’ll be more balanced.”
Providing that balance in the
Vikings’ new era will be four re-
turning starters from last year’s 16-
8 squad. Ricky Webb, Andy Rob-
bins, Pat Honeycutt and Keith Hall
give the Viking coach plenty of
experience to work with. Throw in
the seasoning of top reserves Brent
Gibson and John Clark and the
coach has the added luxury of expe-
rience on the bench.
Even though the Vikings return
half a dozen veterans, the offense
will take some time to come
around. No Viking player on this
year’s club is a proven scorer.
One of the questions Lee is fac-
ing is “who do we go to when we
really need a bucket?” Last year,
the answer was easy. The other four
guys worked the ball into Spears.
Not so in 1989. The team’s scoring
ability is in doubt.
Honeycutt returns the most
scoring power with his 8.5 points
per game. Webb adds an 8 points-
per-game clip. Robbins is close
behind with 7.5 points per game.
Hall chipped in 6.5 points per game.
To compensate for the lack of a
proven offensive threat, as well as
the fact that the Vikings don’t have
a true point guard or post player,
Lee is switching away from the
traditional work-it-into-thc-paint
offense he’s used the last four sea-
sons. Instead, he’s opted for a mo-
tion-flex scheme. “Our players
willbc moving around and playing
all the positions,” he said.
Spears’ loss will be equally felt
on defense. Without him roaming
the baseline and rejecting oppo-
nents’ shots, the Vikings are having
to turn to pressure. Lee plans to
Keith Hall
Pat Honeycutt
throw man-to-man, zone and trap
defenses against the competition.
“We’re going to press 30 minutes
out of 32,” he said.
Despite having a multitude of
questions to answer, Lee enters the Andy Robbins
upcoming campaign optimisti-
cally. A hard-nosed work ethic is
one of the team’s bright spots.
“We’re going to be a team that
works hard and try to improve,” he
said. “It’s a new era and a new type
team I’m going to be coaching. I’m
excited.”
Following are the 1989-90
Powell Valley Vikings:
•Ricky Webb, 6-1 senior
guard/forward — Third-year
starter. Good rebounder. Good de-
fensive player. Will have to score.
Will play a lol inside. Big asset
Good team leader.
•Chad Bishop, 5-9 junior
guard — Good quickness. Plays
good defense. Gives 100 percent
every moment Needs to improve
shooting.
•Keith Hall, 5-10 senior guard
— Good quickness. Excellent de-
fensive player. Will have to score.
Needs to play with confidence.
•Roger Crank, 6-2 sophomore
center/forward — Fundamentally
sound. Pretty good shooting touch.
Fair rebounder. Could develop into
a pretty good post player. Needs
experience.
•Andy Robbins, 5-10 junior
guard-forward — Good quick-
ness. Good shooter. Will have to
score. Needs to play with more
consistency.
•Jerry Long, 5-11 sophomore
guard — Pretty solid player funda-
mentally. Pretty good shooter.
Needs to improve his defense and
his intensity. Could end up being a
pretty good player.
•Pat Honeycutt, 6-3 senior
center—Pretty good inside player.
Going to have to score in the post.
Pretty good rebounder. Needs to
play aggressively the whole ball-
game on both ends.
•Jason Artrip, 5-10 senior
guard — Good quickness. Plays
hard. Needs to improve on all-
around skills. Needs experience.
•John Clark, 5-11 senior
guard/forward — Pretty good
offensive player. Fundamentally
See VIKINGS, Page 28
Ricky Webb
John Clark
Brent Gibson
Page 18/Basketball 1989-90
Appalachia
Mark Summers
Matt Pierce
Lamont Shepard
Chad Sturgill
Chris Stidham
Appalachia has talent, depth
to make run at championship
APPALACHIA — Many times
when a coach resigns it is because
the program is stuck in a losing rut
with very few prospects for the
immediate future.
That’s not what happened at
Appalachia. Pat Jervis takes over a
program from Sieve Collins that is,
in Jervis’ words, in “excellent
shape.”
“Coach Collins left the program
in excellent shape and we’re top
heavy with seniors,” Jervis said,
adding that the freshmen are top-
notch as well and that Bulldog bas-
ketball has a good-looking future.
Indeed, Appalachia is widely
considered to be one of the lop three
teams in the district this year and
will probably be in the running for
district honors, although J .1. B urton
is a prohibitive favorite to win the
championship.
Jervis, also the girls’ basketball
coach, will have two full-time start-
ers and a third man who played a lot
throughout the year last season to
work with. The two returning start-
ers are Chad Sturgill and Chris
Stidham. Both were named to the
all-district team last year, along
with the now-graduated Jamie
Mabe.
And that tells a little something
about this Appalachia team. Stur-
gill and was predominately a post
player, along with Mabe. Stidham
has been fairly strong around the
basket himself. What the Bulldogs
will be looking for this year is
improved guard play.
“Last year we had three all-dis-
trict players and ended up with a
losing record (10-11) and all of our
strength was down low, so I’m
looking for good guard play,” Jer-
vis said.
James “Bam Bam” Poole, the
one who played throughout the year
last season, is a key figure in the
backcourt. Matt Pierce moves up
from the JV and could help a lot al
guard. Ken Sizemore could also
play a role there.
Mark Summers figures to start at
forward, giving the Bulldogs a tip-
off unit of Stidham, Sturgill, Sum-
mers, Poole and Pierce. Stidham
and Sturgill each averaged about 16
points a game in 1988-89.
“We definitely need to gel Chad
about 20 shots (a game) this year
because he’s so smooth inside and
out,” Jervis said. Appy will look to
run the fast break as much as it can,
but if the shot’s not there, the Bull-
dogs will pull and get the ball to
Slurgill. Sturgill will be depended
on to take Mabe’s place in rebound-
ing. Lee Smith and Summers could
also help with the board work.
Stidham will help the inside
game — by being a strong outside
shooting threat Opponents will
have to come out and play Stidham,
which will loosen things up around
the basket for Sturgill.
“We’re just going to have to
blend it together and find a couple
of different combinations,” Jervis
said. “We’re not overly blessed
with size, but we have enough that
if we need to put a bigger team in
there and hit the board and run the
clock, we can do that.”
Jervis docs enjoy coaching the
uptempo game. “If you’ve seen the
girls play, we press the whole game
and I’m carrying that philosophy
over to the boys,” Jervis said. The
idea is 32 minutes up and down the
floor, which should allow the best
athletes to come to the top, “and
we’ve got good athletes,” Jervis
said.
Several key players are still in-
volved in football as the gridiron
Bulldogs pursue a Group A DiyL Excellent defensive player.,Very
sion 1 state crown. “If there’s any
good to several people still being on
the football team, I’m getting to
look al (and) play some people,”
Jervis said.
Jervis began workouts with 20
players on his roster. Some of those
players will work in the J V program
this year. Jervis also may have to
cut a few. The high turnout “is a
good problem in a way, but I’m not
looking forward to cutting
anybody... .If I had the uniforms, 1
would keep everybody.”
Following are the members of
the 1989-90 Appalachia Bulldogs:
•Chad Sturgill, 6-5 senior cen-
ter — Averaged 16 points a game.
Excellent player in every facet of
the game. Can play center or for-
ward. A returning all-LPD player.
Must provide leadership.
•Chris Stidham, 6-2 senior
guard — Averaged 16 points a
game and is a returning all-LPD
selection. Can play guard or for-
ward. Strong point is his outside
shooting and hustle. Member of the
football team.
•Mark Summers, 6-1 senior
forward — Member of the football
team. Strong inside player who
gives the team a force on the boards
at 200 pounds. Good ballhandler
and defensive player.
•David Foster, 6-1 senior for-
ward — Member of the football
team. Reserve forward last year
who saw limited playing lime.
Steady player who will provide
depth at forward.
•Scott Eldridge, 6-2 senior for-
ward — Member of the football
team. Reserve forward last year
who saw limited action. Much
improved over the summer.
•Tim Mabe, 50-10 senior for-
ward —Played sparingly last year.
Danny Lawson
Ken Sizemore
David Kirk
quick and hard-nosed.
•Chris “Goober” Barnette, 6-
0 senior center/forward — Agile
for his size: 6-0 and 245 pounds. A
force around the boards. Member of
the football team.
•Jerry Rutherford, 6-0 junior
forward — Member of the football
team. A starter at forward on the J V
last year.
•James “Bam” Poole, 6-0 jun-
ior guard — Started some last year
at guard. Extremely quick and an
excellent ballhandler. Can play
forward also.
•Randy Carter, 6-2 junior for-
ward — Starter on JV last year.
Good shooter who could provide
some depth at forward.
. .•Alan Lawson, 5-11 junior for-
Coach Pat Jervis
ward — Up from the JV, where he
played forward.
•Lamont Shepard, 5-10
sophomore guard — Very quick
and a good shooter. Needs to work
on ballhandling.
•Matt Pierce, 5-9 junior guard
— Starter on JV last year and a
probable starter this year. Good
ballhandler and shooter.
•Kenny Owens, 5-10 junior
forward — Member of the football
team. Starter on the JV last year.
•Keith Maggard, 5-10 junior
guard — Transfer from Keokee.
Will not be eligible until second
semester.
•Danny Lawson, 5-11 senior
See BULLDOGS, Page 30.
Dustin Mabe David Moore John Stallard Jason Traverse Matt Harrison
St. Paul rebuilding team after
advancing to region in 88-89
ST. PAUL — The St. Paul Dea-
cons reached the Region D tourna-
ment semifinals last year before
falling to J.J. Kelly. The Deacons
finished with an impressive 214
record.
The 1988-89 Deacons were an
experienced and talented team.
Coach Skip Bailey lost some key
personnel to graduation and says
frankly that “we’re hurting” in
1989-90.
“We lost two all-district players
(Johnny Minton and Matt Couch)
and an honorable mention all-dis-
trict (David Short) that combined
for 52 points,” Bailey explained.
“So that’s a big hole to fill.”
Bailey does have two returning
starters in Erik Short and Jody
Salyers. Several players, including
Steve Powers, Jason Kiser, Matt
Harrison and Mike Austin, played
some last year. Although he didn’t
play last year, David Moore could
come in off the bench and help wi th
his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. At
6-2, 190, John Stallard could also
help a great deal. Stallard is off the
JV. Dustin Mabe is a 6-5 sopho-
more who is “a little inexperi-
enced,” said Bailey. “With time he
will be okay.”
St. Paul also has a couple of
transfers who won’t be eligible
until after Christmas.
The coaches’ poll put St. Paul
fifth in the Black Diamond District,
and Bailey basically agrees with
that, seeing his team somewhere in
the top five with Honaker, Garden,
Haysi and Hurley. Those four
teams could all be in contention for
the district crown. “It all depends
on who wins on the road,” Bailey
noted. “I don’t think there will be
any teams as dominant as there
were last year.”
Following are profiles of the
1989-90 St. Paul Deacons:
• Jody Salyers, 6-3 junior center
— Swing man; goes inside and out.
A good outside shot and a good
rebounder.
• Erik Short, 6-3 junior guard -
Excellent leapcr and a gooc
shooter. Works inside and out like
Salyers.
• Steve Powers, 6-1 senior guard
- Plays guard or at a wing. A
ballhandler and excellent outside
shooter.
• Jason Kiser, 5-8 senior guard
— Plays guard or at a wing. A good
ballhandler and excellent on drives
to the basket. Can make things
happen with his passing.
• Matt Harrison, 6-2 senior for-
ward — Post. Should help on re-
bounding.
• Mike Austin, 6-0 junior for-
ward — Wing; a good outside shot
A good leaper and has good quick-
ness.
• David Moore, 6-2 senior center
— A good rebounder. Fils in well
with what little time he’s been out.
• Dustin Mabe, 6-5 sophomore
center—Up from the J V. Has got to
prove to himself that he can play
with the varsity. Hopefully will
come along with practice and play
during the first part of the year.
• John Stallard, 6-2 junior for-
ward — Was the big man on the J V
^]uad and hopefully will do the
sarne on the varsity. A muscular
rebounder.
• Jason Traverse, 6-3 junior for-
Dwight Ingles
Coach Skip Bailey
’We lost two all-district players
and an honorable mention all-
district player that combined for
52 points. So that's a big hole to
fill/
—St. Paul coach Skip Bailey
ward — Transfer. Eligible after junior guard — Transfer. Eligible
Christmas. A leaper. after Christmas. A good ballhan-
• Dwight “Junior” Ingle, 5-9 dler.
Page 22/Basketball 1989-90
More pound, More CVC, Predictions
More Pound Wildcats
Raiders picked to
win district, but
after that.
By GLENN GANNA WAY
Coalfield Progress Sports Editor
Sam Schwerdfeger
Trey Wilburn
Jerry Hall
Dennis Price
Heith Reynolds
Mark Cooper
♦CVC
From Page 2
freshman guard, Pilgrim, Ky. —
Son of John and Margie Harmon.
-Trey Wilburn, 6-foot-3 fresh-
man forward, Castlewood —
Strength should help inside. Son of
Dan and Marian Wilburn Jr.
• Heith Reynolds, 6-foot-5
freshman forward, Wise — Son
of Jeff and Kathy Reynolds.
•Tony Swinson, 5-foot-10
freshman guard, Rural Retreat
— Son of William and Ella
Wheeler Jr.
Keith Harmon
Steve McKenzie
Picking first and last in
Lonesome Pine District basketball
is not much of a problem. It’s the
middle of the pack that looks like
a muddle.
J.l. Burton is favored by
everybody in the solar system to
win the championship. I agree:
the Black Raiders should win it.
This is the final go-around for
Reecie Gravely and Co., who
have been to two consecutive
state tournaments.
Sure, a couple of teams might
catch J.l. Burton and beat them
during the season, but the Black
Raiders will have to be contended
with come late February and early
March.
There are always some
questions, though. Tommy
Shrader, the lop point guard in the
area a year ago, is coming off
knee surgery and must wear a
brace. Shrader will have to be at
full speed throughout for J.l.
Burton to dominate.
Now, as to the Designated No.
2 Team. Let’s pin the button
on...J.J. Kelly. Yessir, they did
indeed lose all-time great Danis
Simmons. But there arc still
plenty of fine Indians around.
Too, Coach Dave Bentley has
gotten the J.J. Kelly program in
tip-top shape in his first four
years. Things should continue to
go well in the fifth.
Appalachia, one coach told
me, is definitely the team to watch
and should be picked second.
Could be, but I’ll hedge my bet
and plug the Bulldogs into the
third spot. Several top Bulldogs
must make the adjustment from
football to basketball, and that
may not happen before the district
schedule is well underway in
January.
But Appy is certainly loaded.
The Bulldogs were so-so last year
but showed signs of being on the
way up and lose only one major
player from that team. Pat Jervis
replaces Steve Collins as coach.
The four-through-six spots are
bum-puzzling. Pound and Powell
Valley appear capable of slipping
into the fourth spot, and Coeburn
could go that high, too. Pound and
Coeburn are under new coaches,
Alan Cantrell and Jeff Adkins.
Give Powell Valley the slight
edge for fourth place, based on
the Vikings having several
experienced hands back from the
team that tied for second last year.
See PREDICTIONS, Page 29
Page 24/Basketball 1989-90
Haysi
Haysi Tigers return
many key players
HAYSI — Coach Larry Comp-
ton is in a pleasant situation. He
returns five players who started
throughout the year on a team that
was competitive enough to go 8-13.
The Tigers have considerable
talent and decent size. There are a
lot of strengths: quickness and
speed, experience, work habits,
teamwork, and the fact that Haysi
has 66 percent of its offense and 78
percent of its rebounding back.
There appear to be few overall
weaknesses. Shooting could be
one. Also, the squad is still young
despite its experience. Compton,
partly in jest, also lists the absence
of a scoreboard and goals on the
side in the new Sandlick Elemen-
tary School gym, where the Tigers
will play their home games this
year.
Compton expanded on his feel-
ings about the upcoming season.
“We’re not as deep as I’d like to be.
We ’re going to do what we’ vc done
before —run, run, run and press,
press, press.” Haysi docs have
some depth, but Compton will be
mindful of the foul trouble that may
result from the Tigers’ all-out as-
saults on both ends of the floor.
Of the experience, Compton
stressed that it’s “young experi-
ence. I could have basically four
sophomores on the floor at once.
Put that against four seniors and it
hurts.”
Haysi has only two seniors on
the squad, Scott O’Quinn and Joey
Edwards. Edwards has seen some
action but has not been a full-time
starter. He’s also the tallest Tiger at
6-foot-5, and just about the thinnest
at 165 pounds.
“For years, we’ve not had a 6-7
or a 6-8, but sizewise we can match
up with anybody, basically,” said
Compton, who believes in posi-
tioning. “We will be small with
(Chris) Sutherland at point. Other
teams can post him up when we’re
in a man-to-man.”
Compton looks for positioning
and quickness to offset any size
disadvantages. “Speed, quickness
— we’ve got an abundance of it,”
he said. “We won’t play a press as
much as we’ll play constant pres-
sure. A pressure defense. We want
them to give us the ball and then try
to score.”
“Our halfcourt offense will be
our weakest point because we don ’t
have a kid who can stand out there
and hit 60 percent of the time,”
Compton said.
The Tigers will run a motion
offense and try to post up smaller
players.
Haysi is typically in the thick of
the Black Diamond District race,
and Compton expects to be there
again. He described Honaker as
being “awfully tough.” Garden has
a couple of big players back and
“has had a good run of basketball,”
so the Green Dragons figure to
challenge again. St. Paul losta lol of
its offense but still has some key
players.
“Like every year, it’s whoever
wins away,” Compton said. A team
can be in the BDD race, “if you can
win a couple of away games and
win at home as you should.”
Although Haysi has a lot of
experienced people back, Compton
said the team will miss Paul Vicrs,
one of two starters who graduated
last year. Viers gave the team lead-
ership and experience.
Following arc profiles of the
1989-90 Haysi Tigers:
•Scott O’Quinn, 6-2 senior
post —Team’s most physical
player. A good rebounder with in-
side strength. Averaged 6 points
and 5 rebounds a game.
•Joey Edwards,6-5 senior post
— Lacks aggressiveness right
now. A zone-type defensive player
and one of the better shot blockers.
Most inexperienced of the return-
ing players.
•Mike Rasnake, 6-2 junior
post-w ing— Team’s second-lead-
ing scorer last year with 10 points a
game. Also the second-leading
rebounder with 7 per game. Proba-
bly the quickest player inside. Can
run and fill the wings from the in-
side position.
•Brett Powers, 6-2 junior post
— Up from the JV. Has a body to
play inside; can beat and bang. Just
inexperienced. Gives the team
some extra fouls and rebounding.
•Jamie Hackney, 6-3 sopho-
more post-wing — Most experi-
enced starter. The team’s leading
returning scorer and rebounder
with 11.7 points and 10.6 rebounds
per game. Also had 59 blocked
shots. Played point last summer.
Just lacks endurance; was sick be-
fore the beginning of the school
year and not physically fit.
•Carlos Gulley, 5-11 sopho-
more wing — Best pure shooter.
Strong for his size. Has real good
hands and can play defense. Will
have to be a shooter. Averaged 9.3
points a game last year.
See HAYSI, Page 29
Scott O’Quinn
Joey Edwards
Tito Mock
Tim Raines
Jamie Hackney
Brett Powers
Chris Sutherland
Donnell Martin
Christian School
Wise vuumy vin
David Hamm
Kevin Jones
Stephen Jenkins
Michael Bennett
Chad Coleman
Jason Mullins
Kevin Stumpf
Brandon Bennett
Brian Boone
Coach David Jeck
WCCS EcWes expecting strong year;
depth is
WISE — The Wise County
Christian School Eagles have some
promising talent and experience.
Coach David Jeck’s top concern is
depth.
“The good thing is most of ‘em
have played basketball,” said Jeck,
who is in his first year at the private
school. “I’d say we’re a veteran
team. I’ve got four seniors and a
junior.”
“They’ve all played together for
a while, so they’re familiar with
each other,” he said. “They’re a
smart group, they have played be-
fore and they know how each other
play”
“Our weakness will be numbers:
not having bench strength,” he said.
Jeck listed a couple of keys for
the Eagles to have a successful
campaign. For one tiling, “how
Kevin Stumpf handles the team in
terms of playing die point. He’s
never played point before and will
have to run the offense.”
Another key is how much scor-
ing the Eagles get from 6-foot-0
Jason Mullins and 6-2 Michael
top concern for talented team
Bennett
Also, “we’ve got two g. re-
bounders in Jason and Chad Cole-
man,” who is 6-3. “But they’re
aggressive and if they get in foul
trouble it’s going to hurt us.”
Jeck said his squad may be able
to surprise some of its opponents
with its quickness. “We’ve got the
people to run and push the ball up
the floor and get some fast breaks.
But I run a very team-oriented of-
fense — a lot of motion-type of-
fense and waiting for the good
shots.”
“My biggest fear right now is
our outside shooting.”
Wise County Christian School
last year began beefing up its sched-
ule with games against area high
schools, particularly in the Cum-
berland District. However, many of
those schools have since been con-
solidated to form Lee County High
School. The Eagles’ schedule this
year includes only one public
school, Ervinton. The Eagle JV
team will play J.J. Kelly.
Jeck feels his team has a chance
’The good thing is most of
’em have played basket-
ball. I’d say we’re a vet-
eran team. I’ve got four
seniors and a junior.’
—Coach David Jeck
to have a good record against the
Christian schools that make up the
bulk of the schedule.
Following are Jcck’s profiles of
the 1989-90 WCCS Eagles:
° Michael Bennett, 6-2 junior
guard — Most physically talented
and a good leapcr. Good shooter
from 15 lect. Needs to he more
aggressive. Has unlimited poten-
tial.
• Chad Coleman, 6-3 senior
center — Aggressive rebounder.
Jumps well; can dunk basketball. A
mature athlete.
• David Hamm, 5-10 sopho-
more forward — Aggressive;
good around the basket. Rebounds
well for his size.
• Stephen Jenkins, 5-10 fresh-
man guard—Good shooter. Left-
handed point guard. Needs playing
time.
• Kevin Jones, 6-0 senior
guard — Should give solid min-
utes off the bench; a good defender.
Needs playing time.
• Jason Mullins, 6-0 senior for-
ward — Very solid player. Every
part of his game is good: good re-
bounder, shooter and inside player.
Very aggressive; very smart player.
• Kevin Stumpf, 5-10 senior
guard — Strong physically. Could
be a great leader and could be the
key to the team: as Kevin goes, so
goes the team. Good defender.
Consistent shooter from 15 feet in.
• Brandon Bennett, 6-0 eighth-
grade guard — Needs playing
time. Not afraid to lake the ball to
the basket. Good jumper.
• Brian Boone, 5-8 eighth-
grade guard—Could be great. Up
from (he J V. A point guard and the
team’s best shooter.
Clintwood at square one with
small, inexperienced squad
CLINTWOOD — Clintwood
coach Bill Deel could sec it coming
last year.
On the positive side, there was a
varsity with a bunch of solid and
good-sized people, players like
Wes Meade, Wes Stanley, David
Lockhart, Dillon Sutherland and
Reggie Stanley.
On the negative side, all of those
people were seniors. And behind
them was a junior-varsity squad
with hardly any size at all.
Deel has one athlete who has
clayed at the varsity level, that
being 6-foot Shane Hillman, who
quarterbacked the football team.
Hillman will try to recover from a
clavicle injury suffered in the fall
sport and lead the winter Green
Wave squad.
Beyond Hillman, Deel is search-
ing. He certainly expects the Green
Wave to have a trying season, but
Deel appeared ready to accept the
challenge of developing his young
group for the future.
“The brightest spot is most of
them arc sophomores and juniors
and ought to be better next year,”
Deel said.
“I don’t have any size at all,”
Deel said. “Except that one boy (6-
3 David Stanley). Shane’s the next
biggest.” Hillman played guard last
year but will move down to a for-
ward spot.
“I’ve never had this small of a
team,” Deel said. “And I’ve never
had a team this inexperienced. I
think several will be pretty good
little players, they’ll just never be
big enough.”
“I expect Jason Childress (5-10
sophomore) to play pretty fair be-
fore it’s over,” Deel said. “Derek
Sutherland (6-0 sophomore) could
be a good player if he learns to
shoot. Donnie Culbertson is proba-
bly the best 5-7,155-pound player
in the state. But how many 5-7,155-
pound players are there in the
slate?” Culbertson will most likely
start at point guard.
Hillman, Culbertson, Childress
and David Stanley will probably be
four of the starters. Either Suther-
land or Chris Stanley will be the
fifth.
“Shane is a pretty good shooter
close in around the basket,” Deel
said. “Donnie is pretty good out-
side. Chris Stanley is a pretty good
shooter outside.”
With the change in personnel,
<Deel is making a change in his tac-
tics. The Green Wave has used a
zone defense the last couple of
years, in large part to help keep the
big players like Wes Meade out of
foul trouble. This year, Clintwood
is “definitely” going back to a man-
to-man.
While Clintwood doesn’t ap-
pear to have a team that can chal-
lenge for district honors this year,
Deel will be looking for the young
players to show some competitive
traits. “If we don’t get discouraged,
by the second half of the season
they will be playing pretty good ball
— if they don’t lose heart. We may
be able to sneak up and beat some
people.”
“It’s a good bunch of kids,” he
added. “They’re intelligent and
easy to work with.”
In that respect, Deel is looking
forward to 1989-90 as a coach.
Following arc the members of
the 1989-90 Clintwood Green
Wave:
•Shane Hillman, 6-0 senior
Shane Hicks
Coach Bill Deel
’I’ve never had this small of a team. And I’ve
never had a team this inexperienced.’
—Clintwood coach Bill Deel
forward — Averaged 8 points a
game last year.
•Jason Childress, 5-10 sopho-
more forward — Up from the JV.
•Donnie Culbertson, 5-7 jun-
ior guard — Up from the JV.
•David Stanley, 6-3 junior post
— Up from the JV.
•Derek Sutherland, 6-0 sopho-
more forward — Up from the JV.
•Chris Stanley, 5-7 junior
guard — Up from the JV.
•Wes Rose, 5-5 senior guard.
•Scott Tickle, 5-6 junior guard
— Up from the J V.
•Larry Kendrick, 5-10 sopho-
more post — Up from the JV.
•Jim Bart Goins, 5-9 sopho-
more post — Up from the JV.
•Michael Eskridge, 6-0 fresh-
man guard/forward — Up from
lheJV.
•Shane Hicks, 5-8 sophomore
guard/forward — Up from the J V.