Talent galore: Coach impressed with JV girls basketball
Published 9:31 am Thursday, December 31, 2020
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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record
Davie had enough players to field a JV girls basketball team in 2017-18, but it was not a fun season (0-15 record). Then the numbers plummeted. Davie did not have a JV the past two years.
Now we’re seeing a rebirth.
One sophomore and six freshmen have injected hope in the future of the program for first-year varsity coach Lindsey Adams. Marnic Lewis is the first-year head coach of the JV. His sophomore is Gracie Wilson. His freshmen are Kenadi Gentry, Hannah McMillian, Sydney Phelps, Peyton Spaugh, Gracie Spicer and Barbara White.
“The seven of them work very well together,” Adams said. “There’s not a weak link in the seven.”
The lone sophomore, Wilson, will play center and power forward as the tallest player on the team. She’s also a tremendous leader.
“She’s one of those if you ask her to run through a wall for you, she will,” Adams said. “She’s very coachable. She wants to do anything you ask. If I tell her to go in and get every rebound, she will try her hardest to do that. She may not be the leading scorer on the team, but she is somebody you need in the game in order to make a difference.”
Wilson has been juggling volleyball and basketball throughout the offseason, and doing it seamlessly.
“She came to all the workouts she could,” Adams said. “Some days she went to two practices in a day. That impressed me because some people would make an excuse. She balanced it very well.”
The other center is White.
“She could get a lot of rebounds and putbacks,” Adams said. “She can run the floor well for a post. If she goes rim to rim, my guards could lob it up to her for a quick transition bucket. She should be able to do a lot of things underneath the basket.”
Gentry, Phelps, Spaugh and Spicer are all guards.
“Kenadi can handle the ball very well and sees the floor very good,” Adams said.
“Sydney is a good spot-up shooter, and she’s a hustler. During workouts, we would have conditioning outside and basketball workouts. You didn’t have to push her; she pushed herself. That’s something you don’t see in a lot of freshmen.
“Peyton is very, very quick. She is probably the quickest defender we have. She’s loud. When you want somebody at the top of the press, that’s who you want.
“Gracie can shoot and it comes natural. As soon as it leaves her hands, I’ve seen the girls put their hands up like they know it’s going in.”
McMillian will play on the wing and inside.
“Hannah has come to every workout,” Adams said. “She will do anything you ask. She’s very disciplined when it comes to being accountable. You know she’s going to be there. You can count on her. She’s a very good role player and the type of person you need.”
Add it up and the JV appears to have the pieces to get its share of wins.
“They’re very strong, so I think there’s going to be a lot of good things coming from the JV team,” Adams said. “All seven of them are going to be able to make a difference when they step out there.”