By Kary Booher
For basketball teams in rebuilding mode, it only works if everybody buys in. Such is the case apparently for the Gainesville High School boys basketball team.
Some may remember that Gainesville reached the Class 2 state quarterfinals in 2015, plus was back-to-back district tournament champion. Yet last year was a forgettable one.
Fortunately for second-year coach Matt Powell, the Bulldogs have committed to using this season as a springboard to becoming a contender again.
“I think we’ll be better,” Powell said. “They want to do right, and they are working together.”
A 2007 graduate of Rogersville High School who was on a couple of playoff teams, Powell is doing his part by putting the Bulldogs in a position to have success. Gainesville has dropped several ultra-talented and ultra-competitive shootouts from the schedule and instead has lined up non-conference opponents who offer good challenges.
That’s not to say Powell is going soft on his team. Far from it. Among the edicts this year is to limit turnovers and being go-getters around the basket.
“It needs to bother them,” Powell said.
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That could make a difference for a team that finished last season at 6-20 but has some pieces to rebuild.
Among the key pieces are two returning starters, junior point guard Brodie Chapman and junior shooting guard Brandon Poe.
Chapman averaged 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game last season. Poe averaged 5.5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist a game and is the team’s best shooter. But because the Bulldogs have a ton of size, the two will need to be solid.
“(Brodie) has his moments where he looks like a 5-10 guard who is young,” Powell said. “But he’s going to be a good player. He just needs to focus on attention to detail. (Brandon) is a little streaky. But when he’s on, he’s going to make it. And since we’ve got a lot of bigs, Brodie is going to have to be a very good ball handler and help Brodie out.”
If the Bulldogs can get the ball inside to Justin Wallace, look out. Wallace is a hulking, 6-foot-6 junior center – a huge asset in Class 2 basketball.
“Justin is our second-best shooter,” Powell said. “But we need him to have the mindset to go down and punish people. We will run sets for him to shoot the 3, but we need him down in the blocks trying to score.”
Other notable inside players are two seniors in 6-5 Jeff Donley and 6-2 Kenny Grisham. Donley has a high motor and can go get rebounds. Donley plays more fluid.
Wyatt Wilson, a 6-2 junior forward, also can help Gainesville begin to turn the corner. His high energy leads him to attacking the rim on every offensive possession. Even better, he’s been dedicated in recent months to improving his game.
“He’s just got to improve his basketball IQ,” Powell said. “He’s going to be good. I’m convinced of it.”
Other notables are 6-3 sophomore John Hossman and 6-foot sophomore Garrett Morgan.
All seem to know who they are and what they need to do for the program, especially after a summer schedule that saw improvements from a year ago.
“They understand we’re trying to build for the future and hopefully improve along the way,” Powell said. “Their mindset is right. They want to give us a chance to win.”
He later added, “We’ve just got to figure out how to win. Hopefully we can do that early enough where we can pile some up.”
