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Lots of work to be done as the program transitions from a starting rotation that primarily consisted of seven seniors to a relatively inexperienced mix that will most certainly include some sophomores. Inexperience aside, the group moving is quite talented and could make some noise. Rumor has it that the team is shooting on Tuesday and Thursday mornings but that attendance has been, shall we say "light."

Seems to me that the next few years hold great promise for the program if everyone takes care of the basics: shooting, lifting, conditioning, etc. With some hard work I can envision the team battling for the SEOAL title, and perhaps hanging around the Convo for a game or two. The team has the opportunity to work hard in the gym and the weight room right now, in the off season, and meet its potential. If they don't work hard NOW, the opportunity will be lost, and that would be a shame considering how really good this team could be.

Names that could be in the varsity rotation next year include:

SRs:
Hebb
Brown
Hoon
Anderson

JRs:
Fivecoait
Wolfe
Ellenwood

SOs:
Venham
Cunningham
Hilverding

There are possibly others that will separate themselves from the crowd. Several JRs could step-up like Canaday, Lang, Coffman, Yocum, etc.

We'll see.

So, what's the scoop? Where is everyone?

we havent seen many lost oppertunities lately at Warren

I'll be back to issue some challenges for next years crop of players for the blue and white.

Tribetime:

I guess you might assume by my post (if you paid particular attention to just one sentence) that I'm picking at the program's recent teams, but I'm really not. I'm proud of the accomplishments of the Warren program and only hope that the next few years will be as successful. I'm certainly not complaining about the program's overall level of success.

I was simply challenging the current players to step-up and work harder than any other Warren team has worked. That is the lost opportunity that I am referring to. I know that year-after-year Maddox challenges the players to shoot, lift and condition in the off-season and every year (in my opinion, and in the opinion of a few others) the level of commitment shown (by the team overall, not every individual, but as a TEAM) represents a missed opportunity. Two years ago I inquired as to why the team didn't shoot before school and I was told that Maddox had tried to have morning shooting, but no one would show-up, so he had no choice but to stop opening the gym. That is a "lost opportunity." For a few weeks now open gym has been scheduled before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and thus far I believe the maximum number of players present has been 5 (maybe 6). In my opinion, this seems like another "lost opportunity" and is in fact exactly the type of "lost opportunity" that I am referring to in my initial post.

So, sorry if I offended you, but I really wasn't thinking much at all about the teams that have recently represented Warren (quite nicely I might add!). I'm thinking about the next few years and worrying that the team will not meet its potential. Nothing more than that.

I'll edit my initial post to more precisely reflect what I was trying to say.

I'll be interested to read your "challenges" for next year's team.

fan - this is very interesting - most of the boys you listed in your earlier post - are not playing any spring sports - I figure a few are probably playing AAU ball - but - to my point - kids can really improve themselves in the open gym pickup ball setting - if they work at it. Younger kids can really get better by playing against more mature, quicker, stronger etc. kids.

Open gym is really fun (if you love to play basketball).

NO EXCUSES - Get in the gym boys! On any given day - the coach should be able to count on AT LEAST 10 kids - dedicated enough to their games, to show up and run up and down the floor for a couple of hours.

Coach's real problem is this - kids today are just plain lazy - mine included!!!!!!

Challenges have come and gone. Just my personal opinions anyways.
Enjoy July and August, and good luck in your fall sports. But don't forget about hoops.

I agree.

That's a pretty pathetic response to such a "grand" post, but, oh well . . . I do agree.

I viewed some open gym yesterday at the High School. It was nice to see some 8th graders coming in to play. 90 % of the summer schedule was handed out in late February. This was done as early as possible to allow families to hopefully schedule vacations, other camps, etc. around the basketball dates. I will be mailing total and complete schedules to all parents (varsity excluded because they already have them) tomorrow. This includes all open gyms, weight lifting, team camp, warrior camp, all team summer practices, shoot out dates, etc. The P-burg summer league schedule is not out yet, and will be given to varsity, J.V. and 9th graders later. The opportunities to improve are in place like they have always been. Craig call is a great example of what hard work can do for you. Non-starter as freshman, role player as a soph., role player as a junior, All Distrist and North / South all star alternate as a senior. It is great to see all of the interest in Summer Basketball. Let's hope it is contagious all the way down to youth leagues. I know Little Warren, and B.V. are starting open gym as well, I haven't heard about L.H. or Bartlett. Let's have a great summer guys, it is time to get to work !!!!

Boy, nothing kills a thread like having a bona fide coach post a bunch of factual/positive stuff about a program. It seems folks far prefer to sling baloney than deal with the stuff that comes from the horse's mouth. Anyway, I hear that kids are getting plugged-in to open gym in the evenings. Players are showing-up. That's great news. Summer league, shoot-outs and camp are all next month. Time does fly. We'll soon get a better idea of how this team is going to come together.

Goodluck Warriors, but I'd love to see some of these younger kids out for baseball next spring!

Well, here we go. As usual the Warriors will be having a busy, busy June. Warren will be playing in the Wood County (WV) Summer League with Marietta and several WV teams, including Ravenswood, Parkersburg, Parkersburg Catholic, Tyler County & Williamstown. They will be participating in two shoot-outs, the first is on June 7th at Marietta College and the second will be on June 13th at Rio Grande. To top it all off, they will be once again (two years on a row!) participating in the infamous Eastern Basketball Camp (June 18-20). Attendance at all the basketball activities is as it should be, with several kids actually shooting in the mornings then going to open gym in the afternoons. Kids are also taking the lifting very seriously.

We'll soon have a good read on where things are at . . .

Everyone is working very hard (yes, unusually hard) and I'll bet it will pay off.

these boys need to own the Civitan Park court this spring/summer! winners stay!!! This would be great opportunity to play against the older competition mentioned earlier!

I wanted to jump back in here and mention a player that I forgot earlier. I'm sure there are others not addressed as well, but I believe Seth Harris should be considered a legit varsity prospect for next season. Seth has a very athletic body (strong, tall, nice jump) that could be polished into a nice player for CM and company...I hope he keeps his interest in basketball and continues to work hard to improve....

The first summer league game is this Sunday against Ravenswood. The games are being played at PHS and this one begins at 8:00p.

It'll be fun to see how things go . . .

I think these two teams played for the league championship last summer.

I think the Warriors will put out another competitive team. They always seem to. I know one thing.....they looked like a machine when they beat my Trojans at Portsmouth on the Day of Champions, in addition to beating us at Warren earlier in the season.

Warren will play at Portsmouth this year......which means no chicken and noodles for me.........that was some good stuff, the best concession item that I sampled last year.

Warren looked good last night in the first summer league games of the year, going 1-1 against Ravenswood and Parkersburg. The real defining factor for the teams was conditioning. We arrived to see Ravenswood beat PHS by about 15, then Warren played Ravenswood and defeated them by about 8, then Warren had to play back-to-back and was defeated by PHS. The Warriors had nothing in the tank after about half way through the second game. Hebb, Fivecoait, Ellenwood, Wolfe, Venham and Cunningham were in the first rotation for Warren. Hoon, Anderson, Lang and Hilverding also played well. Warren needs some players to step into the 7, 8 and 9 spots in the rotation. Harris was not present and Brown is apparently not playing.

Warren looked very strong (physically), by far the strongest of the three teams last night. They shot pretty well, and moved pretty well. Not bad for the first competition. Not bad considering the first practice is tonight.

In other news, it was interesting to see Reggie Sims, formerly of Belpre, suited up for PHS. He has transferred to Parkersburg.

Here's to hoping for a successful practice to night and improvement from all the players this summer.

TT,
It's probably a little early to be facing "facts" about playing time this season (it is only June 3rd, after all). I figure Coach Maddox will let performance determine that as time goes by. The rotation that I listed above is simply a description of how things played out Sunday evening. Anything can happen before the first game in December. As for Hoon, he looked good in the games and was just a "whisker" away from putting up some nice points. You're right, he can really make a nice contribution with his big presence. I think he'll come around this summer.

As for Sims, he looked good. I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a real factor for PHS. He appeared to me to be the best post man that they had. He was certainly a handful for us. I guess it depends on how he fits into the system. I don't think his "on-court" performance will be lacking. Hopefully other factors will not knock him off track.

You never know what a kid's circumstances are. I wish him the best.

What future doed Belpre have for any kids now? He should be given the same chance as every kid has in all schools! But Belpre is falling apart(Band, Football cant even play games at night, who's to say they wont have money for gas to travel when it comes to Basketball). Its whats best for the kids. Is Belpre giving all that they can for the Kids? NO. So Im sure he wont be the only kid to leave belpre.

[color=#BF0040]After talking to his family, their only concern is the best for Reggie, PHS is very excited for him coming over. He'll have no problems, so I hope you will continue to follow his first season as a Big Red!!

Belpre's future will be just fine. Lots of money for gas and there is a volunteer committee working on new lights at the stadium.

Of course, if the town got behind the kids, there would be a lot more new stuff for them. I guess when most of your parents aren't signed up to vote, we know where to put the blame - the parents who won't or can't vote.

As for Warren, coach Maddox will do another good job at the Warrior helm and they should be a solid contender for the SEOAL crown.

But, lets give the kids the chance to enjoy the summer. The summer league is a chance for the kids to stay in shape, not predict whom will beat whom during the season.