Dogwood District Boys Basketball Notes, Standings and More

Heading into this week, we have a couple of big showdowns in the district, including a battle between the two undefeated teams on Tuesday.

Here are the standings and schedule (Overall record listed in parantheses)

Appomattox 2-0 (9-2)

Altavista 2-0 (3-2)

William Campbell 2-1 (5-5)

Dan River 1-1 (7-3)

Nelson County 1-1 (1-5)

Gretna 0-2 (0-5)

Chatham 0-3 (4-7)

This Week's Schedule

Tuesday

Altavista at Appomattox

William Campbell at Dan River

Nelson County at Gretna

Thursday

Chatham at William Campbell

Friday

Nelson County at Altavista

Dan River at Appomattox

Gretna at Chatham

Interview withthe Head Coach of the Appomattox Raiders, Brantley Shields

Bob Alvis: You guys are 9-2 right now, what's going good for the Raiders?

Brantley Shields: Probably one of the best things that happened to us were the games against Hayfield and LCA. They were really good teams and we had a chance to win both games, but didn't execute in the last 3 minutes of each game. It was a great learning experience for us and hopefully prepared us for a tough Dogwood schedule. Defensively we are playing really well. Most of these guys have been playing together for 4 years and know each other really well. They are all great kids and I have really enjoyed coaching them.

BA: You got some guys late due to football, how long did you feel it would take to get a good chemistry and has your team gelled quicker then you thought?

BS: The majority of these guys have been playing together all of their lives, which is one of the benefits of being in a small school system. Coming into the season, I wasn't as concerned with chemistry as much as I was conditioning. We aren't completely there yet, but we are close.

BA: You have an undefeated (district record) team coming in on Tuesday in Altavista, what worries you about the Colonels?

BS: Jerrell Jordan concerns us more than anything. Any big man that averages a double-double will drive opposing coaches crazy. We have to find a way to control him and keep him off the boards. If we don't, it will be a long night for us.

BA: If you had to give a "player of the week" award last week (from your team), who do you give it to and why?

BS: It would be a tri-player of the week. Kenny Scott, Rico Rose, and Neal Thomas do so many good things for us and have been playing really well. If I had to give a most improved it would be Devanti Perkins, he is averaging close to a double-double and if he could stay out of foul trouble probably would have those numbers (double-double).

BA: Some people have said that you guys are as good as Nelson was the year they won the state, but you don't have a player like Thomas Brown. With that being said, you guys have lots of great options, but do you have that one player you consider the guy? Why or why does it not worry you that you have that one guy that can be called the guy?

BS: I don't like to compare past and present teams, but these guys only lost to that Nelson team by 3 points and 7 points as sophomores and beat them as freshman by 5 and 16. I think we have three guys, maybe 4 that I would have no problem taking the last shot. We have had that guy before in Michael St. John, and I think I would prefer to have it the way we do now. As a coach, it is always easier to prepare for a team that has one dynamic player than it is a team full of good players. I think out of our top 8, there is not one guy a coach can tell his defenders to back off of, or help off of. They are all able to score from different areas of the floor and they all are really good defenders.

Altavista and Appomattox, you can hear all the action Tuesday night on 105.5 KD Country, or at KD Country.com