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Veteran Titans should improve

Bonnie Byrd/bbevent.photoreflect.com

The 2009-10 McDowell Titans varsity basketball team is (front row, left to right) Tyler Hopkins, Zack Brown, Dakota Arrowood, Eli Miller, Brandon Dockery, Chavis Hamilton. (Back row) Head coach Lloyd Church, assistant coach Amy Sarratt, Ryan Lambert, Caleb Harris, Tre Young, Randall Conley, assistant coach Joe Cash and manager Harrison Corpening. Not pictured was team member Matt Ledford.

By Marty Queen | The McDowell News

Published: November 19, 2009

In 2008-09, the McDowell Titans were the smallest team in the Northwestern 4A. This year, they'll be the smallest team in the Mountain Athletic Conference.
But that may end up being where the similarities between the two seasons end.
The Titans finished an uncharacteristic 8-18 last year. And even though McDowell qualified for the State 4A Playoffs for the 22nd time in the last 24 seasons, the sub-.500 final record left a bad taste in the Titans' mouths. After all, the program was coming off a pair of 24-win campaigns.
But last year's inexperienced underclassmen are this year's battle-hardened veterans. And make no mistake about it — the players fully intend to turn things around. The Titans return all five starters, and only three of the 11 team members are without varsity experience.
And even though the club has only two players as tall as 6-3, the Titans will almost certainly be worlds better than they were last year.
"We're still the smallest team around," said 21st-year head coach Lloyd Church (347-197). "But we're much more experienced. We've got everybody back, and we've matured physically. So, two of the three things we had going against us last year, we've corrected. Last year, we didn't have great team chemistry, we didn't have leadership, we didn't have a lot of things. This year, I'm seeing an exact reversal.
"We're still small. We can't do anything about our size. But we're physically stronger and more mature, and based on (Tuesday's) scrimmage, our defense has improved dramatically."
That's certainly true of the club's six seniors, five of whom were either full- or part-time starters. All-Conference post Chavis Hamilton returns, along with steady point guard Eli Miller, leading scorer Brandon Dockery, and versatile wing players Tyler Hopkins and Dakota Arrowood. The two additions to the roster from last season's jayvee team, wing Randall Conley and post Tre Young, will also fit into the rotation.
And there is viable depth for the Titans in the form of much-improved senior guard Zack Brown, juniors Caleb Harris and Matt Ledford — who were with the varsity most of the season — and junior wing Ryan Lambert.
And none of them were happy with the way last season ended.
"When it was over, they couldn't wait for a new year to start," said Church. "That was the attitude: We'll be ready for next year."
They've certainly been ready to work. Church said the team's practices have been crisp, and he's happy with the efforts he has seen.
"I'm very pleased with our work ethic and the guys' attitudes about practice and playing have been tremendous," said Church. "I could not be happier."
The coach also said the adversity McDowell endured last year taught the inexperienced club some valuable lessons.
"They say adversity builds character," said Church. "I think it exposes character. We found out what we're good at and what we're not good at. Last year, we weren't very good on defense and we didn't rebound," Church said. "And, we weren't in the best of shape because of some injuries. So my goal this year was to improve our conditioning, so we'd be a better defensive team and a better rebounding team, because you can't win if you can't play defense and rebound."
The Titans also found out what their strong points were, and Church hopes the squad will continue to do the things it did do well last year — play unselfishly and shoot well from the perimeter.
"Our strengths are, we're very intelligent — these guys really know how to play the game," Church said, "and overall, we're a pretty good shooting team. Our shooting has really improved. Right now, being unselfish and getting along, just our team chemistry, is good. If that keeps up, I'll be very pleased. Sometimes, you start off with great chemistry, and then it depends on how the season goes."
Guards — As always, guard play will determine, to a large extent, how the season goes.
The Titans should be fine.
Miller, a three-year varsity performer, returns to quarterback the team. The 6-foot senior averaged 12.4 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per contest to go along with 1.8 steals. Miller is substantially stronger this year, and his 3.7 turnovers-per-game average could get even lower.
Joining Miller is scoring machine Dockery, another 6-foot senior. Dockery led the team with 15.3 points per game and swiped a team-high 2.2 steals per contest. He also averaged 2.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds, and shot a team-best 75 percent from the line. Dockery, who hit five 3-pointers in a single quarter last year, is a reliable outside shooter who can get to the basket as well.
Brown, another 6-foot senior, saw limited time last year, but has made great strides in the interim. His defense, tenacity and rebounding should net him far more playing time this time around.
Wings — Seniors Hopkins and Arrowood will combine with juniors Conley, Harris and Ryan Lambert to give Church a plethora of options at the 3 spot.
The fiery Hopkins (6-0) posted solid averages of 7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Hopkins is an effective perimeter shooter, but does much of his damage around the basket, using his tenacity to score garbage buckets.
Arrowood (6-0) is a polished offensive player with great court savvy. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 boards last season, but missed a huge chunk of the year with a severely sprained ankle.
Conley (6-0) proved to be a smooth shooter and fast-break finisher as part of the jayvee team last year, and figures to fill the same role for the varsity.
Harris (6-0), along with Matt Ledford, was elevated to the varsity as a sophomore last year, and faced his share of match-up problems against older, stronger players.
But Harris has improved in the off-season and should contribute.
Lambert (5-10), a junior, was the top outside shooting threat for the jayvees last year, and may be the team's best pure shooter.
Posts — Compared to most teams, the Titans' inside players are vastly undersized. But there is nothing undersized about Hamilton's game.
The 6-3 senior, a four-year varsity performer, averaged a double-double a year ago with 10.8 points and 10 hard-earned boards per contest. His efforts earned him all-conference status, and should do so again. Hamilton has worked diligently on his mid-range jumper, which, combined with his post moves, should make him a threat to score 20-plus every time out.
Junior Tre Young, a jayvee standout last year, gives the Titans a healthy dose of strength on the low blocks. Young is 270 pounds at 6-3, but his footwork is excellent and he is surprisingly mobile.
Ledford (6-0), like Harris, struggled against bigger opponents last year, but that likely won't happen again. As a result, he should combine with Hamilton and Young in a versatile frontcourt rotation.
Note: Church is assisted by longtime coach Joe Cash and junior varsity coach Amy Sarratt.

McDowell Titans head coach Lloyd Church talks about the Titans:

10 – Brandon Dockery, 6-0, Sr., Guard – "Two things stand out in my mind about Brandon. First, he's an outstanding shooter, and second, he's an unbelievable competitor. This guy hates to lose; he cannot stand it. He's a very underrated athlete. He can run and jump with a lot of people, he's just not 6-3. I think he will have a very solid year for us."

12 – Eli Miller, 6-0, Sr., Guard – "Eli is probably the most dependable player we have. You tell Eli one time, this is what we need to do, and it gets done. He's a shooter, a rebounder, a defender, a passer. He does a little bit of everything, and he's definitely a leader. The kids look up to him. As a coach, you want your point guard to be dependable, and I don't have to worry about him."
14 – Zack Brown, 6-0, Sr., Guard – "Zack can surprise people. He's an outstanding defender and rebounder. He's a really good athlete, and on the ball, he might be our best defender. He's got to improve his ballhandling, but he's somebody I think we can put on somebody else's best player when we need to get him shut down. He'll get a lot more playing time this year. He's improved tremendously."

20 – Dakota Arrowood, 6-0, Sr., Wing – "He understands the game as well as anybody I've been around. He's very cerebral. He's an excellent passer and shooter. We're trying to get him to concentrate more on rebounding, because at the position he's playing, he has to, and he's done a tremendous job at that. Offensively, when he's on the floor, we do some good things."

22 – Tyler Hopkins, 6-0, Sr., Wing – "When he's at full speed, nobody works any harder. He's not very big but he makes up for it with hard work. He's very intense in spurts, and what we're trying to do is make those spurts longer. When he's all-out, he's a Kamikaze out there."

24 – Randall Conley, 6-0, Jr., Wing – "Randall is the biggest surprise in our whole program from last year. He had no experience going into last year, and he went from a young man who could not shoot at all to a pretty good jump-shooter. He's an excellent defender and rebounder. He needs some polish on offense because he has not played a lot, but if he improves as much from last year to this year in the future, he's going to have a tremendous career for us."

30 – Caleb Harris, 6-0, Jr., Wing – "Caleb and Matt Ledford were unfortunately moved up to the varsity before they were ready because of lack of numbers, but in the long run, it makes you a better player. Last year wasn't that good for him, but he gained that experience and now he's ready to get some meaningful minutes. His playing time will improve as he gets stronger. He's a fine young man who wants to do what you ask him."

32 – Chavis Hamilton, 6-3, Sr., Post – "Chavis is relentless on the boards. I don't know that I've ever coached anybody who is as relentless on the boards as he is. For his size, Chavis is the best rebounder I've ever been around. But that's just one of the things he does. He's the first one on the team to take a charge. He's a tremendous defensive player, and he's improved his jump shot a whole lot. His inside game is excellent. He is just amazing to me. He never has a bad practice."

34 – Ryan Lambert, 5-10, Jr., Wing – "If Brandon is not the best shooter on the team, then Ryan is. He's a pure shooter. He's small and he's got to get stronger, but he's a shooter. I love his attitude; he's very coachable, and he's a lot tougher this year. Football has helped him get tougher. He's not very big physically, so he's got to fight for everything he gets."

50 – Matt Ledford, 6-0, Jr., Post – "Matt's very similar to Caleb; he got moved up early, but it's made him a better player. Matt's a very intelligent player. He's similar to Dakota in that he really understands how to play the game. He's totally unselfish; he sets screens, he makes passes, he makes people around him better."

54 – Tre Young, 6-3, Jr., Post – "Tre has been the most pleasant surprise we've had to this point. He has matured a tremendous amount since last year, and because of his emotional and psychological maturity, he'll do a great job for us. Tre has learned to play hard a whole lot more than he did in the past. I'm totally pleased with what he has done. He's doing things now we've been trying to get him to do for two years, and he's learned that it works."