Athens Bulldogs - 2009 Basketball season
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:03 pm
I may be mentally invested in the Tri-Vallley Conference ...
I may cheer for all 5 Athens County Schools ...
And I do have friendships and connections with Trimble ...
But if you happened to cut me; you will notice I still bleed Green & Gold.
As for the 2009 hoops season ... I'm about to take off my Gridiron glasses (have to wait and see if Alex wins tomorow versus Amanda though) and I'm ready to slip on the old 'Hoops' hat for the winter ... As I plan on diving head first into the trivalleyconference.com web site soon, I thought I would go ahead and get the 'Dogs 2009 thread going before I forgot.
First and most importantly ... I've got to give the Administration credit (which I'm not always quick to do with my Alma Mater) with the re-hiring of Jeff Skinner as head basketball coach ... He should have never been let-go, but that's neither now or then, he's back and a lot of people are definitley happy about it ... Sometimes it needs to be recognized that with high school sports, its not always about X's and O's or wins and losses ... Coach Skinner is a terrific man off the court and a friend to anyone who is willing to make his aquaintence ... I believe having him back leading the kids on the court is the best thing for Athens ... if you're a 'true' fan of prep sports - the kids come first and not wins or results on the court/field) ... that notion has to be fully embraced and with Coach Skinner, Athens will have that kind of character teaching and leading those kids that end up playing on the hardwoord this winter and beyond for him.
Oh yea, it doesn't hurt that coach Skinner (hum, hum) teaches defense too.
THE TEAM:
Of course I don't have a roster yet ... and just like any year, there will be surprises and new talent that springs up out of nowhere ... Ian Dixon, DeVon Sharp and Tanner Weaver did this fall on the gridiron and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few new faces running up and down the court this winter.
Going off last season - with the talent Athens has returning this year there is no reason why they couldn't contend with VC for the TVC-Ohio title ... They played the Vikings tough last year, losing both games by just a few points, even in McArthur. COLIN PFAFF will be the man leading the show for the 3rd straight year. If last year is any indication of how much a player can improve in the off-season, the league better watch out for Pfaff - the kid is a playmaker, a shooter and he can dish the rock. Anytime you have an above average Point Guard and a true low-post presence - you're in great shape and that goes for any level except maybe the pro's ... FRANK VALENTOUR was as solid of player that I have seen play down low on the block for Athens in a few years. He's 6-foor-5, maybe even 6'6, but he'e got lengthy arms and a vertical jump and a very nice little 10-foot jumper that he can hit ... Those two alone can take Athens places ... But if Coach Skinner reads that he may want to scold me the next time we speak ... Its a 'team game' with what I guess will be considered the (first year head coach at Athens) - (we may need to clarify his status and what will be the proper way to address when writting about coach Skinner) ... But its never a two-man game with him as we have seen in the past during his earlier tenure at Athens.
BEN McADOO - was a solid performer last year, can play defense against other top guards in the league and can hit the three and drive to the hoop if he has too. JIMMY HERPY - is similar to McAdoo, he can do all the above but seems to reboud well for a guard. IAN FRAMPTON was a 6-foot-1 sophomore who I'm sure has improved his game since last year. Kids make huge strides from sophormore to junior years on the court. Cordination, strength, intelligence all seem to jump during that span. JOEY STANLEY has spent the last three months punishing the opposing team on the gridiron and his 6-foot-2 frame I'm sure has got bigger, stronger due to the football training. He's actually a pretty good player on the block and really stpped it up a few times last year when Valentour fouled out or was not available for a game. COREY BUTCHER could be a real sleeper for this team this year - toward the end of last year he was really stepping up his game and sort of took over as the third option (if Matt Witten was not hitting from the outside.) I like his game, he's not real tall but can leap out of the gym and knock down the trey ... Those are the returning players from last season.
Losses (Matt Witen - SG), Anthony Sylvester, Derrick Watters and Cameron Tope ... Watters and Tope never really played the entire season. Witten will be the only real starter not returning from last seasons team.
Good luck coach Skinner ... Good luck Athens ... if anyone knows more about the team, please post it ... I'm sort of supposed to be an unbias TVC supporter now - so inside info may elude this old dog for awhile.
I may cheer for all 5 Athens County Schools ...
And I do have friendships and connections with Trimble ...
But if you happened to cut me; you will notice I still bleed Green & Gold.
As for the 2009 hoops season ... I'm about to take off my Gridiron glasses (have to wait and see if Alex wins tomorow versus Amanda though) and I'm ready to slip on the old 'Hoops' hat for the winter ... As I plan on diving head first into the trivalleyconference.com web site soon, I thought I would go ahead and get the 'Dogs 2009 thread going before I forgot.
First and most importantly ... I've got to give the Administration credit (which I'm not always quick to do with my Alma Mater) with the re-hiring of Jeff Skinner as head basketball coach ... He should have never been let-go, but that's neither now or then, he's back and a lot of people are definitley happy about it ... Sometimes it needs to be recognized that with high school sports, its not always about X's and O's or wins and losses ... Coach Skinner is a terrific man off the court and a friend to anyone who is willing to make his aquaintence ... I believe having him back leading the kids on the court is the best thing for Athens ... if you're a 'true' fan of prep sports - the kids come first and not wins or results on the court/field) ... that notion has to be fully embraced and with Coach Skinner, Athens will have that kind of character teaching and leading those kids that end up playing on the hardwoord this winter and beyond for him.
Oh yea, it doesn't hurt that coach Skinner (hum, hum) teaches defense too.
THE TEAM:
Of course I don't have a roster yet ... and just like any year, there will be surprises and new talent that springs up out of nowhere ... Ian Dixon, DeVon Sharp and Tanner Weaver did this fall on the gridiron and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few new faces running up and down the court this winter.
Going off last season - with the talent Athens has returning this year there is no reason why they couldn't contend with VC for the TVC-Ohio title ... They played the Vikings tough last year, losing both games by just a few points, even in McArthur. COLIN PFAFF will be the man leading the show for the 3rd straight year. If last year is any indication of how much a player can improve in the off-season, the league better watch out for Pfaff - the kid is a playmaker, a shooter and he can dish the rock. Anytime you have an above average Point Guard and a true low-post presence - you're in great shape and that goes for any level except maybe the pro's ... FRANK VALENTOUR was as solid of player that I have seen play down low on the block for Athens in a few years. He's 6-foor-5, maybe even 6'6, but he'e got lengthy arms and a vertical jump and a very nice little 10-foot jumper that he can hit ... Those two alone can take Athens places ... But if Coach Skinner reads that he may want to scold me the next time we speak ... Its a 'team game' with what I guess will be considered the (first year head coach at Athens) - (we may need to clarify his status and what will be the proper way to address when writting about coach Skinner) ... But its never a two-man game with him as we have seen in the past during his earlier tenure at Athens.
BEN McADOO - was a solid performer last year, can play defense against other top guards in the league and can hit the three and drive to the hoop if he has too. JIMMY HERPY - is similar to McAdoo, he can do all the above but seems to reboud well for a guard. IAN FRAMPTON was a 6-foot-1 sophomore who I'm sure has improved his game since last year. Kids make huge strides from sophormore to junior years on the court. Cordination, strength, intelligence all seem to jump during that span. JOEY STANLEY has spent the last three months punishing the opposing team on the gridiron and his 6-foot-2 frame I'm sure has got bigger, stronger due to the football training. He's actually a pretty good player on the block and really stpped it up a few times last year when Valentour fouled out or was not available for a game. COREY BUTCHER could be a real sleeper for this team this year - toward the end of last year he was really stepping up his game and sort of took over as the third option (if Matt Witten was not hitting from the outside.) I like his game, he's not real tall but can leap out of the gym and knock down the trey ... Those are the returning players from last season.
Losses (Matt Witen - SG), Anthony Sylvester, Derrick Watters and Cameron Tope ... Watters and Tope never really played the entire season. Witten will be the only real starter not returning from last seasons team.
Good luck coach Skinner ... Good luck Athens ... if anyone knows more about the team, please post it ... I'm sort of supposed to be an unbias TVC supporter now - so inside info may elude this old dog for awhile.
