Volume 7, Issue 7

13 VIRGINIA

INVADES VERMONT

scr覺mmageplay THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA SPORTS AUTHORITY

Breaking out William Monroe has a new look, and after rebuilding last year, is looking to see different results.

PAGE 07

VOL 7. ISSUE 7 :: DECEMBER 9, 2015

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Congratulations to all athletes s

Downtown Athletic Store iS prouD to SponSor

the 2014-2015 Winter All-SCrimmAge PlAy AWArdS congrAtulAtionS to All the AthleteS SelecteD for the 2014-2015 teAmS!

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13 VIRGINIA

INVADES VERMONT

scrımmageplay THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA SPORTS AUTHORITY

x’s and o’s

13

NOT THAT KIND OF TURNOVER Looking at all the new basketball coaches

07

MONROE AWAKENS The Dragons are poised to break out

13

OUT OF THE WOODS Green Mountain College taps into CVa

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GAME TIME Western girls basketball edges Covenant

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THE SP GIFT GUIDE What you should and shouldn’t buy this year

Breaking out VOL 7 . ISSUE 7 :: DECEMBER 9, 2015

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VOL 7. ISSUE 7 :: DECEMBER 9, 2015

William Monroe has a new look, and after rebuilding last year, is looking to see different results.

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S TA F F Bart Isley, Creative Director Bob Isley, Infrastructure Director Ryan Yemen, Creative Editor O N T H E COV E R The William Monroe girls basketball team M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T Local sports are the lifeblood of every community in America, and we’re here to reach beyond the basics and give compelling accounts about Central Virginia athletes to our readers.

CO N TAC T U S [ e ] info@scrimmageplay.com [ p ] 434-249-2032

Community Partnership

Working hand in hand with Red Shoes Cville to support the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville.

Choose the Red Shoes Cville special at www.papajohns.com

PREGAME

Around the corner Charlottesville’s Caleb Gage tries to get around to the basket in his team’s win over Covenant. The Black Knights are coming off a two straight Jefferson District championships, but lost more than a handful of seniors last year. With Gage one of the few holdovers from that core now leading the way, Charlottesville will look to see if it can navigate its way to a thirdstraight JD title. ✖ (Photo by Ashley Thornton)

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The Classroom The winning college essay Avoiding the typical pitfalls of drafting your introduction

By Clayborne Education

{ GAINING STATURE } Percentage of colleges (public and private) that claim admission essays were significant in selectivity.

25%

K AR A EL DER K AR A EL DER

20 12

1993

14%

FLUSH THE PHILOSOPHY PAPER Unless you’re the next Plato, a philosophical essay will be about as useful to you as Play-doh. It’s tempting to try to show the admissions committee how smart you are, but resist. As much as we love obscure SAT words, they usually sound out of place in a college essay. Bottom line: colleges want to know your story, not Aristotle.

HIDE THE HERO We know it was exciting when you made the game-winning goal at the state playoffs. The problem is that hundreds of other students have already told that story. Also, hero profiles tend to be one-dimensional. You need to reveal yourself in more depth.

So if the the college essay isn’t the list, the philosophy paper, or the hero epic, what is it?

It’s a story with a purpose. This is your one shot to say something important about yourself, and a narrative is typically the best way to say it.

Good stories are as different as snowflakes, but they tend to have a few elements in common:

{ ATTENTION SPAN } Average time it takes to write an essay compared to average time an essay is read by admissions.

25 4 MINS

LEAVE BEHIND THE LIST It’s understandable: you really want to get into the college of your dreams, so you tell the admissions readers all the reasons why you should. But remember, the rest of your application already tells them this! Besides, would you want to read a list of somebody else’s qualifications? Boooooooooooooring.

HOURS

S

ometimes the best way to explain how to do something is to explain how not to do something. College admissions officers read a thousand forgettable essays every year. Let’s make sure yours isn’t the thousand and first!

READING WRITING

• Relationships. You would not be who you are without others. Tell their story too.

• Struggle. You have lived long enough to wrestle with adversity, both from within and without. Let your humanity emerge.

• Individuality. People are gloriously unique, and you are no exception. Reveal your wonderful quirks.

One final word: let others read your essay.

Whether the help is professional or amateur, your work will shine more brightly if you hear the voices of those who know and love you.

for more info » 4 :: www.scrimmageplay.com

Check out the College Board’s essay help section at: bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays

First Quarter

Not that kind of turnover Boys basketball sees big change on coaching scene

By Ryan Yemen

T

Orange’ s Corey Edmunds is one of more than a handful of new boys basketball coaches. (Grace Wilbanks)

{ NEW BLOOD } 7

The number of local coaching changes in boys basketball since the 2012-2013 season

‘ 13-’ 14

‘ 14 -’1 5

‘15-’16

0

1

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K‘ 12-’13 AR A EL DER K AR A EL DER

3

he climate in sports, it boils down to one thing right now — winning. Professional, collegiate, and now high school? Yes, no and maybe so. Obviously winning matters, but at the high school level, more emphasis is put on the community value of a coach.

Thankfully at this level, it’s not all about winning, all about salaries, etc. Some sports have a high coaching turnover rate — perhaps none more so than in field hockey. But for some reason, high school basketball, particularly on the boys side in Central Virginia, has been oddly quiet. Until now.

If you haven’t been keeping track, this year there are more new coaches at the 17 Central Virginia boys hoops programs than ever in the last decade. But you don’t even have to go back to see the trend, as the recent the stats don’t lie. In 2012, there were three coaching changes at the boys basketball level. In 2013, just one. In 2014, none. In 2015, try seven, as in over 40%. That’s unheard of, something that we probably won’t ever see again.

So how do you break it down? Well there are a few ways. For starters, while that’s a big turnover, consider that Charlottesville, Albemarle, Western Albemarle, Fluvanna County, Buckingham County, Nelson County, Madison County and St. Anne’s-Belfield have all had the same coach since the 2009. Nearly half of those schools have coaches with almost two decades of coaching experience. Of those eight, six have played in the final four of their respective state tournaments since 20072008. With those results at those schools, you wouldn’t expect change.

What about the seven schools that made changes this year though?

William Monroe was the last public school in final four contention. Mike Maynard stepped aside there and his nephew Brett

Maynard takes over. Blue Ridge won a VISAA Division 2 championship just last spring. Replacing long-time coach Bill Ramsey is Cade Lemcke, who was an assistant on last year’s team. Miller School won a Division 2 championship in 2008. The Mavericks have their third coach in three years with Danny Manuel now at the helm. Monticello brought in Gary Spry with former coach Robert Shelton now at Louisa County. Orange County hired Corey Edmunds to replace Jesse Lohr. And last but not least, at Covenant, athletic director Brooks Berry takes over to fill the void left by Travis Johnson.

Obviously, it’s a bit of a coaching change blur. With that said though, there are some pretty straight forward answers for explaining the blitz.

For the JD schools, Louisa, Monticello and Orange are all trying to get back into the fold at the top where Charlottesville, Western, Fluvanna County and Albemarle have all competed for district titles dating back a long ways (with Albemarle just joining the JD in ’13’14). The math adds up for the changes being made by those three schools.

For the programs that have seen success recently like Blue Ridge and Monroe, think of those changes as routine maintenance with plans in place for quite some time. Longtime coaches do hang it up or move on, it happens.

Yes, there are a lot of new faces, but don’t expect be learning so many names over the next few years. The coaching carousel of 2015 off-season appears to be quite the anomaly. ✖

go online »

For more basketball coverage head to our website at: www.scrimmageplay.com.

College Update

We’ve gone digital But you can have it in print too!

Miller’s White finds his old form at Nebraska

By Bart Isley It was pretty obvious in high school that Andrew White, a native of Petersburg who attended the Miller School for his final two years of high school, was going to be a good college player when he was filling up the stat sheet in Crozet. But sometimes the journey takes a little longer than expected.

After two less than productive years at Kansas where White simply found himself in a logjam behind a pair of future NBA players in Ben McLemore and Andrew Wiggins, White headed to the Big 10 and joined a Nebraksa program that coach Tim Miles has been building since coming to Lincoln from Colorado State in 2012. White had to sit out a year and be patient again, but through just nine games that patience appears to be paying off in spades.

White leads Nebraska (6-3) in scoring with 16.3 points per game, he’s nabbed 11 steals and blocked six shots. He’s shooting a sterling 84.2 percent from the line and 48.4 percent from the field including a team-high 42.6 percent from beyond the arc. He’s also second on the team in rebounding as a guard with 4.9

rebounds per game, which was a big focus for Nebraska coming into the year as they surrender some height in the frontcourt.

Most recently against Abilene Christian, White poured in 30 points with a 14-for-16 performance at the line. He also had a teamhigh seven boards and snagged a career-high four steals. The Huskers’ staff has clearly given White the green light to fire at will.

“I’m so much of a team guy at times that I don’t try to force myself on the game,” White told the Omaha World Herald after the win.

“I had some talks with my coaches, and they said that I need to be a little more aggressive.”

He was certainly aggressive against Abilene Christian, and he’ll likely need to continue that as the Huskers’ start heading toward conference play. Nebraska hung with Miami in the ACC/ Big 10 challenge four days before the ACU game before falling in overtime, so they’ve got the potential to make some noise.

White has waited patiently to be in this position to lead a team. There’s not much chance he wastes the opportunity. ✖

BELOW » Since he came from Kansas to Nebraska, Miller almunus Andrew White has enjoyed a resurgent second half to his collegiate career. (Nate Olsen/Nebraska Athletics)

HOW TO GET A PHYSICAL COPY OF SCRIMMAGE PLAY Step 1 :: Click here and head to the MagCloud version of the magazine.

It’s going to look like this below:

Step 2 :: Click the Buy Print button next to the magazine and follow instructions to order Step 3 :: Wait patiently by your mailbox Step 4 :: When it arrives, take it out and read or stash away to your heart’s delight!

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monroe

awakens 7 :: @scrimmageplay

Story by ryan yemen photos by ashley thornton

A

short time ago in a gym in Stanardsville...

William Monroe girls basketball coach Jess Stafford is entering her second year at the helm and this is just the beginning of an era. It’s late November and her team is just getting started to practice. Her players are using a new piece of technology on the high school scene — the Noah Basketball System. The size of a large speaker, it hangs on the side of the gym. When activated, the droid-like device gives out shooting angles in its machined voice. It’s the same system that University of Virginia men’s hoops coach Tony Bennett has used to help his players refine their shooting form. It takes pictures, it knows the players, it compounds the data and shoots it off to Stafford who can access it any time by just taking out her phone. Yes, we live in that kind of era now. The only thing scarier than the Noah though, is that Stafford has a blossoming team that is counting on a physically gifted freshman who appears more than poised to set the Central Virginia girls basketball scene ablaze. Team, talent... and technology. Call it a new hope for the Dragons.

www.scrimmageplay.com :: 8

“

She brings so much and distributes so well, gets everyone involved and then all of the sudden, you’ve got something special.”

— Jess Stafford

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Samantha Brunelle is 14 years old. On one hand, she’s a firstyear varsity player trying to find her way on a team that’s made up of players mostly older than her including senior Makayla Morris and juniors Dajour Strother, Kristen Maz and Kristin Shifflett. On the other hand, Charlottesville coach Jim Daly described it perfectly unsolicited in a preseason email about his team. He brought up the 6-foot-2 Monroe freshman just because.

“Save some ink for Sam Brunelle” he said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a high school freshman as ready to play college basketball as her.”

When asked about the list of colleges chasing her before ever playing a game in high school, Brunelle showed two things — she’s already vetted for this process, and that even though she’s young, she understands what winning basketball is truly about.

“There’s a been a few and it’s great to have those colleges be interested, but at the same time it’s more important to focus on this season than the colleges,” Brunelle said.

That’s a great attitude, one that bodes well for this team going forward, but the list still matters. The University of Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio State, Georgetown, West Virginia and James Madison — that’s who is lining up to try and recruit Brunelle. She’s a freshman who appears closer to getting a full ride at one of those schools than she does getting a learners permit.

But all of that right now takes a back seat for Brunelle, and fortunately, for the Dragons. The focus for this ESPN top-150 talent is that she and her teammates find a way to mesh, establish an identity as a team, and win. Last year was a rebuilding year for Monroe, and while the addition of Brunelle makes them instant contenders on paper in the Bull Run District, the work lies ahead for Stafford and the Dragons to find a way to make it all work. In that regard, it’s another rebuilding year, but the entertaining kind, the kind that could lead to a lot of celebrating if all goes well.

“Obviously adding a player like Sam makes a difference but it’s a difference in where it effects everyone,” Stafford said. “You see the players’confidence growing because they can play off of her. Last year we hit a rut offensively. We’d play tough defense, hustle, but that wasn’t enough. With her, she brings so much and distributes so well, gets everyone involved and then all of the sudden you’ve got something special. But we have to keep putting in the hard work to make that vision a reality.”

To get an idea of what the Dragons face, you only have to look at their first game. No season is won or lost in a debut, but the math added up when they fell to a well-coached, gritty Orange County team with a senior point guard in Kiani Hudgens. Brunelle finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, but it wasn’t a winning formula as she played a lot of pointforward, a bit out of the position for where Stafford wants her first-year phenom. It’s almost the perfect lesson for the Dragons.

“There’s a lot of hype to begin the year and I’m kind of glad that we’ve come down to earth,” Stafford said.

And you don’t have to read too hard between the lines to figure out what Monroe has to do. Yes, Brunelle is going to put up amazing numbers. But that’s not going to guarantee victory. If there’s one truth for the Dragons this year, it’s that this team will go as far as Brunelle’s teammates will carry the load — the story of Brunelle’s

See a photograph you like?

Defensive stand Warriors goalie has more than one trick | By Ryan Yemen

At Scrimmage Play we pride ourselves on offering the best possible graphics Two years ago the Western Albemarle boys to Shin, who doubles as a Junior National Judo soccer team get was fueled its underclassmen medalist, we can our byhands on, in both our but has developed into one of the with sophomores and freshman bearing the area’s most versatile goalkeepers. magazine as well as at our website at brunt of the work load.

The netminder has shown he’s capable of Now two years later, forwards Aaron Myers making big saves, particularly in the team’s www.scrimmageplay.com and Alex Nolet, as well as senior defender two ties. In the first game of the season, Tom Rogers are all in their senior seasons and looking to earn a Region II bid, something that Orange County snatched away from them in the Jefferson District semifinals last season.

After the first month of play, the Warriors seem to have the defensive side of the equation figured out and junior goalkeeper Kai Shin is a big part of that.

Before Western went on its spring break, none of its four opponents were able to score more than once, a testament to the team’s play in the middle of the field, but also a nod

Shin endured wave after wave of Albemarle attack, but stood tall and showed no rust in the 1-1- tie.

But while Shin’s on the field because he can make stops, his strong leg has also been of great use as he’s able to easily clear the zone but also spark fast breaks all by himself.

The Warriors averaged a little over two goals per contest before the break, but if that average starts to increase, don’t be surprised if it’s because of Shin’s ability to contribute to the transition game. ✖

We want to make sure that our readers have the same opportunity to have these photos. If something catches your eye in either the magazine or on the web, you can order the photograph for yourself.

Whether it’s a 4x6 glossy print or a 13x11 mounted photo, we’ve got a full range of possibilities for you to choose from.

Simply visit our smugmug website at

scrimmageplay.smugmug.com Covenant 1/2 page

Western Albemarle’s Kai Shin hauls in a shot during his team’s 1-1 tie with Albemarle that kicked off the soccer season for both squads. (Frank Crocker)

freshman year isn’t actually about her, it’s about those around her and how eager they are to elevate their game. Cue the seniors.

“It’s a different perspective being a senior on this team,” said senior Autumn Pomeroy. “Last year we had a senior (like Breanna Strother) and said ‘Hey, I’m going to be just like her, fill in her role.’ It’s a thing where she stepped up and looked after me and now it’s like we’re the next step, the people that have to set the example for the younger players, help them out. We have to set up the program to successful.”

The lone returning senior starter, Morris is a veteran in a lot of ways. Off the bat, she’s been playing varisty softball at a high level since she was a freshman. She’s no stranger to the team dynamic, and she’s excelled in a sport where individual attention is at its highest as far as team sports go. On top of that, Morris has been able to work through the drama involved in that program where early on in her career, the team wasn’t making the most of its potential. Last year, she and her teammates put the pieces together and came just a win away from making the Group 3A playoffs. What Morris has learned on the softball field in the last three years runs parallel to what the Dragons have to figure out on the hardwood.

“There are a lot expecations but (as seniors) we’re talking about just taking everything one day at a time, one practice at a time and getting better,” Morris said.

That’s classic coach speak, but good stuff because it’s coach speak for a reason. It works. Morris understands it’s the small stuff that builds a winning program, a great season. She’s a scrappy defender, a solid shooter and tough as nails. If she plays her regular defense this team is in good shape. And if she gets warm from outside, the Dragons have a big piece to build around outside of Brunelle offensively.

Pomeroy, and Hannah Carpenter are guards that complement Morris and Ashtyn Shifflett, a center rounds out the group of seniors who are most focus on playing for this year, for obvious reasons.

That group along with the returning underclassmen went through the process last year of trying to put the pieces together for what everyone around the program knew would be an important season this year. A lot of that process was trying to adjust to what Stafford had in mind as she took over for Phil Lamb. Dajour Strother figures

11 :: @scrimmageplay

“

Now it’s like we’re the next step, the people that have to set the example for the younger players, help them out.

We have to set up the program to be succesful.”

— autumn pomeroy

to be a key component on the glass, a true post presence that should allow Monroe be comfortable when Brunelle isn’t down low. And that’s a big part of the plan.

“Dajour Strother is a major part of the gameplan, she’s not afraid to get in there and do the dirty work, make the small things happen for us,” Stafford said. “She and I have been working on that for a few years now, and I’m excited to see how she does.”

When a program gets a talent like Brunelle, the early years are the foundation. The seniors she has around her are the bedrock for what will happen down the road, not just this year, but in years to come. The Dragons won the Jefferson District back in 2008-2009.

They are hoping to get back to that status in a Bull Run District that has been owned by George Mason seemingly since the dawn of time.

The Mustangs are the gold standard in the BRD, and since Monroe has joined the district in 2012, they’ve yet to take down the top dog.

While they participate in the Group 3A playoffs, playing with and competing against Mason gives them a marker to aim for.

While all schools count of the community bonds built through the various youth basketball programs, in almost every sport, the Monroe programs are notorious for the strength they lean on in growing up in those sports together. Almost everyone on the roster grew up in

“

They preach about passion, wanting to get better and better, that if you stop pushing, you’re going to get left behind because there’s always somebody behind you.”

— sam brunelle Greene County. That means something.

“Most of us have all played with each other or against each other growing up, so when it all comes together (in high school) we know our strengths and weaknesses,” Shifflett said. “You learn how to win and lose with each other. We can do anything, it just depends on the day.”

Stafford knows all about winning and what that means community wise in Greene County. She was a standout player in her time at the school just a decade ago. Interestingly enough, when she played, Brunelle’s mother, Katie, was the coach at Orange County before she moved over to the Monroe school system. It’s a small world, but a fitting one where one former phenom is coaching the program’s next big name, and if all goes well, the area’s next big program.

“If you’d have told me that I’d be coaching (Sam) after going up against her mother as a player, I’d have never believed you,” Stafford said. “It’s crazy, but it’s a small world. I remember her as a little kid running around. It’s crazy.”

Basketball, especially in this area, has a way of making things seem small. Yet when you look at Monroe from the outside in, you can’t help but think that big things are coming. That’s part of the problem for the Dragons going forward. There are instant expectations. The season opening loss might be the best thing that

happens this year. Nothing is going to be given to a team expected to dominante on paper, because of a dynamic freshman. To think so is unfair to this team. However, Stafford gets it and is doing her best to make sure she keeps her team grounded.

“Yes there’s pressure, but it’s coming from the outside so we don’t talk about it,” Stafford said. “We’re working on building better players and people. I feel like I’ve preached for years going back to JV that if you work hard wins will come. Hopefully the hard work continues and that happens. I can say though, if this team had not worked hard before this, with the addition of one player as good as she is, they would not be successful. It’s about that work they put in before. They deserve the credit right now, they are behind the hunger.”

So back to those seniors one more time. It’s their perspective that makes Monroe so interesting. They seem to get it, what’s happening at this school and what’s needed from them.

“We’re going to be leaving and so the future of this team is the younger players, so that can be sad — but it’s your job to teach the younger players, show them the way,” Shifflett said. “We’ve all known about Sam coming up for years, what’s in her future. What we’re trying to focus on is the now.”

And the 14-year old who seemingly will have the hopes and dreams of a fan base on her back for the next four years? She gets it too. She’s just getting started and looking to find her way on a team that’s just getting used to her. She’s counting on her teammates every bit as much or more as they are counting on her.

“It’s been a little bit crazy coming in but it’s about staying head strong, being humble,” Brunelle said. “At the end of the day, it’s you and your team, not you. How good you get is about the team around you. The older players are teaching me to be a leader in the future. They preach about passion, wanting to get better and better, that if you stop pushing, you’re going to get left behind because there’s always somebody behind you. They always talk about having that dedication.”

What’s going to be most interesting is the way this team builds up to what will be its zenith. The big things are cake, the dessert. The meat, the entree is right now, how they get this movement started.

The story of Sam Brunelle’s freshman year isn’t about her, but rather, those around her and how they shape the program. ✖ www.scrimmageplay.com :: 12

OUT OF THE WOODS

HOW DO A SLEW OF FOMER CENTRAL VIRGINIA ATHLETES ALL WIND UP PLAYING AT THE SAME SMALL DIVISION III COLLEGE IN THE HILLS OF VERMONT? STORY BY BART ISLEY PHOTOS GMC SPORTS INFORMATION 13 :: @scrimmageplay

A

t first glance, the Division III Green Mountain College basketball’s roster is just strange. Seven players with ties to Charlottesville, with another on campus sorting through the eligibility process.

There’s former Blue Ridge big man Cameron Anderson.

Nelson County star Thomas Brown, who led the Governors to a state title. Former Covenant point guard Boo Agee, St. Anne’s-Belfield guard Darius Wynn, Albemarle forward Kendall Hawkins, Miller alum Daniel Ginsberg and Covenant standout Sampson Dale. Throw in former Miller star Mychal Parker, who played for Maryland.

They ’re all there, wearing the green and gold of the Green Mountain College Eagles, a school that 18 months ago, none of them had ever heard of.

It’d be strange enough if Green Mountain was somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley. Or somewhere in Virginia. Or even in Maryland or West Virginia or North Carolina.

But in Vermont? At a school with less than 700 students?

The only question you can ask then is how.

How in the world did this happen? www.scrimmageplay.com :: 14

Above, Blue Ridge alumnus, Cameron Anderson

“When I took this job, I wanted this to be the kind of place I’d feel good bringing a player to. However it happened, they’ve ended up in the perfect place for them.”

— Leonelli 15 :: @scrimmageplay

Boo Agee was ready, at last, to hang it up. A point guard at the Covenant School who then played a postgraduate year at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro where he tore his MCL, Agee was finally ready to give up a dream he’d held since he was a kid and pursued with the same reckless abandon that he employs on the court, chasing offers and opportunities, trying to scratch and claw his way onto a collegiate roster.

But basketball, for people like Agee, is hard to quit. Call it a drug, call it an obsession. For Agee, basketball is life.

So even though he was resolved to turn his attention to the business of getting on with his life, possibly by attending Virginia Tech as a student, he played a game of pickup in the summer of 2014.

“I had one of those days where the rim was just huge,” Agee said.

So he thought...maybe. Maybe it wasn’t over just yet.

At that same time, 600 miles away in Boston, Anthony Leonelli had just been hired at Green Mountain in Vermont as the head coach, inheriting a four-win team and a program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2008-2009. He took every list of unrecruited or potentially available players that he’d accumulated as an assistant at Division III Rhode Island College and started texting.

He sent loads of texts.

One of them went to Agee who found the message when he got back to his phone after that pickup game.

“I said I’m probably not going to go to a school in Vermont, but I’ll hear you out,” Agee said.

Leonelli got in the car and drove 10 hours to meet Agee and his family and have dinner. That gesture grabbed Agee’s attention, and he visited Green Mountain, a school on a picturesque campus in Poultney, Vermont renowned for its environmental liberal arts program much more than its basketball team.

But Agee wasn’t going to go alone. Not if he could help it. Agee knows it takes more than a point guard to make an impact.

“We’ve joked that I’m going to list him as a recruiting coordinator/point guard,” Leonelli said.

Agee started sending Leonelli questions via text message.

Things like “do we still need players?” and “I’ve got a friend who is looking for a place to play too.”

In 2014, those two players were 6-foot-7 Blue Ridge alum and former Hampden Sydney player Cameron Anderson and STAB product Darius Wynn.

Wynn, who has an entrepreneurial bent and is majoring in business, was at Hampden Sydney as a student at the time and after closing his high school career with football as his focus, He started playing a lot of basketball at HSC. Suddenly the sport he fell in love with first was tugging at his heart again.

“I just felt like I wanted to transition to playing basketball,” Wynn said. “Green Mountain was a really good fit.”

Anderson was looking for a new spot to play. Agee got both on board, reached out to Leonelli and he gave them a second chance at college basketball. An opportunity to get an education.

“When I took this job, I wanted this to be the kind of place I’d feel good bringing a player to,” Leonelli said. “However it has

ACADEMIC EDGE

S P O N S O R E D

B Y

H A R G R AV E

M I L I TA R Y

A C A D E M Y

ORANGE COUNTY’S KIANI HUDGENS For four straight years, one player has been Orange County’s point guard. Each season since her freshman campaign, Kiani Hudgens has handled the responsibility of setting the tone for one of the area’s most drastically improved programs. She’s handled the ball, she’s scored, she’s played big-time defense. She’s also led.

In every way possible.

“Kiki is a true leader on the court, in our school, and in her community,” said Orange coach Dave Rabe. “On the court she is our QB, positioning players and leading in a way that allows others the opportunity to be successful. In school she is the true definition of a studentathlete by working hard in the classroom, taking challenging classes, and focusing on her academics before stepping on the court.”

Hudgens, who plans to major in nursing and eventually head to graduate school to become a nurse practitioner, carried a 3.9 GPA, plays volleyball in addition to basketball, is a member of the National Honor Society and the SCA, president of the Spanish Honor Society, HOSA vice president and sings in her church choir.

“Through all her clubs and activities, she has helped many throughout our community in outreach activities,” Rabe said. “It is a pleasure to have such a well-rounded young lady that day in and day out strives to be the best she can be and help others along the way.”

Hudgens knows how to take the reins. She’s been doing it since she set foot on campus at Orange.

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www.scrimmageplay.com :: 16

Above, STAB alumnus, Darius Wynn

“This is my third chance, really my fourth being able to step on the court again. I thought my career was done. It’s almost like a miracle, somehow I was given another chance.”

— Dale 17 :: @scrimmageplay

happened, they’ve ended up in the perfect place for them. At the end of day my job is to get these guys out of here with a degree.”

The Eagles doubled their win total from four to eight and Leonelli worked on developing the kind of culture he wanted the program to be about. That Virginia trio was a big part of that process.

All three started, with Agee running the point and leading the Eagles with 3.5 assists per game and was the team’s co-rookie of the year. Wynn emerged as a defensive stopper, including a game where he held the conference’s leading scorer to just two points in the first half. He earned the team’s defensive player of the year nod.

Anderson in particular flourished, earned second team AllConference honors while leading the conference in rebounds and blocks while finishing fourth in scoring.

“He’s so different athletically than what we run into at this level it’s a matchup problem,” Leonelli said.

That was a pretty good start. But it was just the beginning.

Things started to get interesting in the offseason as Agee, Anderson and Wynn started to spread the word about where they were playing. Suddenly a number of their friends and guys they’d played with in Charlottesville wanted in too. It was a testament to their experience and what kind of a program Leonelli was building.

“That was the part that was most rewarding for me for them to go back home and round up some guys,” Leonelli said.

And not just a couple of players. A lot of players wanted in and Agee was the team’s pied piper.

“I think Boo is such a likable guy, very charismatic, always has a smile on his face,” said Dale, a former Covenant standout. “When he talks about something, we really don’t hesitate to give it a try.

I’ve known Boo since my childhood and I have a lot of trust in him.”

Dale actually considered Green Mountain when the first wave of Virginians headed north, but he wasn’t exactly ready to uproot his life. Dale, now 24, had started to really get settled into the next phase after being a student athlete. He’d been to Allegany College in Maryland and Hampden Sydney, completing three years of eligibility. He was coaching youth basketball and was really plugged into that with VABA in Charlottesville.

But like Agee after that pickup game, he thought...maybe?

“This is my third chance, really my fourth being able to step on the court again,” Dale said. “I thought my career was done. It’s almost like a miracle, somehow I was given another chance. It’s just working itself out.”

Dale wasn’t the only one. Another longshot, a name from Central Virginia basketball long past, also surfaced when Thomas Brown got involved. Brown had an incredible career at Nelson County, leading the Governors to a state title in 2008. The 6-foot-2 guard eventually ended up at Concord, where he played two years with a few years in between them. He last played college ball in 2013. After he and Agee talked, Agee sent another “probing, hedging” text that Leonelli had grown to expect.

“Thomas was the funniest, Boo said ‘I just found the guy that’s going to put me on the bench’,” Leonelli said.

Former Miller guard Daniel Ginsberg got in on the mix too. He

was close with Mychal Parker, the former Miller star who went to Maryland and was a Top 50 recruit in the nation needed a place to play and a school to attend after a short stint at Georgetown College.

Kendall Hawkins, the former Albemarle small forward, said he was interested.

Leonelli went to work on making sure each time Agee or someone else from Virginia sent him a text with another interested player -- former Shenandoah player Jared Carrithers found his way into the mix because of a mutual friend with Wynn -- that the player was eligible.

“That’s the first thing we do because I don’t want to waste anybody’s time,” Leonelli said.

It’s also a big coup for Leonelli, validating his initial thought on how he could recruit to a program that had struggled and sits in one of the nation’s hotbeds for Division III hoops. Instead of competing for a kid in suburban Boston who has a wealth of local options, Leonelli and his staff needed to branch out.

“We need to be where these other schools aren’t,” Leonelli said.

“During live period I was at Hoop Group in Pennsylvania with 800 players and it was a great event for us, but the best day during live period was watching pickup at Albemarle at 5 p.m.”

That summer, most of the group played in the Banks Collage Summer League, winning the league. It was a huge boost for their chemistry.

“A lot of people doubted us because we’re really young,” Dale said. “That made us strong, made us play together.”

So far so good too. The Eagles started 6-1 despite Parker, who scored 16 points in 16 minutes in the season opener, rolling his ankle and being out of the lineup for a stretch.

“Since that moment, Cam has gone into kill mode,” Agee said.

Anderson is averaging 20.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, leading an uptempo attack that’s averaging north of 90 points per game. Brown is scoring 14.9 points per game and dishing out 4.7 assists while turning it over just 2.3 times a game. Dale is posting 7.5 points and 1.8 steals per game as he, along with Brown, continues to work back into the flow of not just the game, but the entire life of being a student athlete.

“For me, I think one of the things that was hard for me was being able to get back in the groove of being a student athlete,” Dale said. “I know some things I didn’t really understand when I was a freshman and a sophomore. Thomas and I are the oldest ones. We know what it takes and what we have to provide as leaders and men. We come out there with a very professional mindset. That was my stepping stone -- this is a job and I’m getting to do it with my best friends.”

Sure, it’s more than 500 miles away. Sure, it’s almost entirely basketball and class, basketball and class. But for a huge group of friends, it’s an opportunity. It’s a chance. It’s their first chance, or second chance or third chance or fourth chance. But it’s a chance.

Sometimes, it’s okay to think...maybe.

Because sometimes that simple, fleeting thought -- that maybe -- leads to something special, like a gym in Vermont where a pack of dreams born in Virginia are finding new life. ✖

“We need to be where these other schools aren’t... The best day during live period was watching pickup at Albemarle at 5 p.m..”

— Leonelli

Below, Covenant alumnus, Boo Agee

www.scrimmageplay.com :: 18

Game Time Western 51, Covenant 41

By Bart Isley

Western’s Deja Newton-Grant, seen here in 2013 and her team are out to a 3-1 start on the year.

(Tom Pajewski)

19 :: @scrimmageplay

Covenant closed the gap and suddenly Western Albemarle’s girls basketball team found itself in a dogfight with the score tied up.

The Warriors didn’t panic though. And why would they? Most of this squad fought through adversity all year last season as injuries mounted. A tie score wasn’t much to worry about.

“I think we just had our mind on what the goal was and that was to execute,” said Western senior Natalie Marbury. “As we started passing the ball around … we really worked together and finished.”

The Warriors got into a groove with a 21-11 stretch to close out the contest and pick up a 51-41 victory over Covenant. Marbury finished with 15 points for the second straight game, scoring 13 in the second half to help vault Western to a 2-0 start.

“Natalie has worked a lot over the summer to improve some of her skills,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “She’s a lot more in tune with what she is supposed to do more often.”

The Warriors (2-0) also got a solid night from Eleri Hayden who along with Shannon Moore drew the unenviable task of guarding Covenant’s standout 6-foot-2 forward Emily Maupin. Hayden, who returned to the lineup this year after a brutal leg injury that put her out for the year last December, carried the Warriors in the first half. She scored 10 of her 12 points before the break.

“Anybody who was in this gym, the place went crazy quiet is what such a dramatic injury when she hurt her knee,” Wright said.

“For her to not only be back but be back healthy, confident and moving well is very, very encouraging.”

Maupin had another big outing for the Eagles with 24 points including a 7-for-11 night from the free-throw line. She hit a pair of well-contested baseline jumpers back-toback in the first half as she flashed another wrinkle in a growing arsenal.

“She’s really worked on her game and the one thing we’ve been trying to work on is to make her game more versatile,” said Covenant coach Rock Watson. “Even though she’s 6-foot-2 and some change at the next level she’s going to play the wing so I just really want to put her out there and get her in open court and isolation. She has a nice jumper 10-15 and she likes to shoot it too.

She put the team on her shoulders tonight and led us and carried us.”

Sarah Meakem finished with 14 points, the bulk of which came on a trio of 3-pointers. Beyond Meakem and Maupin though, only Ella Dalton got on the board with three points as Covenant continues to try and put things together early in the season.

“It’s coming together slowly,” Watson said. “We’ve only had three solid practices because a lot of the girls were playing fall sports and they went deep into the states.

These tournament settings I kind of like it because it gives our young players time to get on the court. It’s a growing process. The way they played together and understand what team unity is, I was very, very impressed with them.” ✖

TEAM SPOTLIGHT BLUE RIDGE BASKETBALL The Barons are the defending VISAA Division 2 champions and have a crown to defend. But that doesn’t mean they can’t find a way to be charitable for the holiday season. Blue Ridge participated in the Toy Lift to help make sure that 3,569 different children have a great holiday. Kudos Blue Ridge, thanks for the help and keep up the great work!

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Best of luck to our 2015 student athletes as they embark on their college careers.

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Overtime

The SP gift guide There are some do’s and dont’s for the sports fan

M

y uncle is a big sports fan. He coached all kinds of little league baseball, he played three sports in high school including football with one of North Carolina’s all-time greats and a former Washington Redskin, Kelvin Bryant, that he loves to tell stories about.

He was also when we were kids among the most confusing gift givers I’ve ever met in my life. Everything he bought seemed to come off the clearance table at a sporting goods store he frequented called Overton’s because that’s exactly where it came from.

We’re talking legitimately odd gifts, which was understandable because there were 13 cousins and getting something everyone liked was no easy task, plus I’m grateful to have been part of a family that tried. But he bought my brother and I Chicago Bears blankets one year. We were and remain Packers fans. He also bought me a handheld radio once that was shaped like an actual kidney. It was even the same color as a kidney. Or what color I guess a kidney is. It was really strange.

So, in an effort to make sure you don’t buy your own nephew or whatever sports fan you’re buying presents for something strange, here’s a simple, straight-forward holiday gift buying guide for sports fans everywhere.

Rule one: Be smart about buying jerseys. Look, nearly everyone loves a jersey, but too often people invest a lot of money in jerseys of players that just don’t do much. Ask any Washington fan who bought an Albert Haynesworth jersey or a Jets fan that owns Mark Sanchez’s jersey. It’s excusable if the jersey becomes kind of a laugher down the road, as the Sanchize seems destined to become, but that’s a long game to play. Also, I have a B.J. Raji jersey, the Packers’ nose guard who seems in danger of leaving in free agency every year, you don’t want to be worried about your favorite jersey’s relevance year in and year out. Also, personalized jerseys with your own name on the back are for 8 year olds and I’ve found that generally female sports fans are not as stoked about those pink women’s jerseys as you might think they would be. Team colors are the safest way to go. Don’t overthink it, don’t try and get cute. Go with a classic from the past or the recipient’s favorite team’s franchise player.

Rule two: Don’t just buy anything you see with a team logo on it. There is some incredibly silly stuff out there with logos on them. I saw a Packers portable phone charger (the thing you actually plug into the wall) and a Packers crockpot recently on a website. I can’t imagine why I’d need these things, but I feel like, somewhere down the road, I’m going to be handed that slowcooker. I’m sure the meatballs it cooks will be tastier with that Packers logo on the side.

Instead, search for something unique that relates to their favorite team. My wife gave me an incredible Green Bay team photo from the 1960s that was an out-take. It’s more than 10 hall of famers all goofing around, pretending to kiss each other or covering each other’s faces, acting like 10 year old kids in a tee-ball photo shoot. It’s a great picture and something I’d never seen.

Do a little hunting, there’s greatness on the internet.

Rule three: Tickets are awesome. You’re never going wrong with tickets. No matter where the seats are or what the game is. When you buy someone tickets, they’re going to

22 :: @scrimmageplay

“You’re never going wrong with tickets.

No matter where the seats or what the game is.” be pleased. I have never been handed tickets and not been happy. How do I know tickets are great? I had a Green Bay rewards credit card that I signed up for in college back in the day and I was saving up all the rewards points to get tickets. It took awhile, you needed a lot of points.

Right around the time I was only a couple of thousand points away from heading to Green Bay for a preseason game (yes, I realize now as an adult I could’ve just bought the tickets rather than paying a high interest rate), they announced the program was going to end and you had to use your points immediately.

Instead of tickets I got a signed photo from then punter Ryan Longwell and a set of poorly made cornhole boards that I left in the rain once and essentially fell apart right after that.

How much happier would I have been if my reward had been tickets? So, so much happier. This is a slam dunk. Seriously, just go buy some tickets now.

No, not the Dallas Cowboys waffle iron.

Step away from that Bart Isley, waffle iron. ✖ CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR

back talk »

Have some gift shopping ideas for a sports fan? Contact Bart: bart@scrimmageplay.com

Success stories begin here.

Success Story: Christian Hackenberg There aren’t many athletes that can say they’ve been under the recruiting spotlight like Fork Union graduate Christian Hackenberg. From the day he committed to Penn State back in 2011, his decision was questioned by both local and national media. Hackenberg never faltered and instantly became the face of the Nittany Lions’ attempt to crawl out of the unprecedented situation that left the program under heavy NCAA sanctions.

After helping Fork Union win a VISAA Division 1 championship as a sophomore and then leading the way to a state runner-up showing in 2012 as a senior, Hackenberg shipped off to Happy Valley and wasted little time making an impact. As a true freshman quarterback, Hackenberg was named Big Ten freshman of the week five times. He finished with 2,995 yards passing (second in the Big Ten) and 20 touchdowns while throwing just 10 interceptions.

He had four 300-yard passing games to tie a school record. As a result, he won the Big Ten’s Freshman of the year award. In 2014 as a sophomore, Hackenberg was 270 for 484 passing and finished with 2977 yards and 12 touchdowns.

As a junior, Hackenberg led PSU with 2,386 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. The Nittany Lions finished 7-5 and are eligible to play for a bowl for the first time since 2010. They will take on Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl on January 2nd. It could well be Hackenberg’s last game for Penn State as the junior can enlist for the 2016 NFL Draft. As it stands right now many analysts project he will be one of the first quarterbacks taken should he come out.

Whether he stays or comes out, it’s been quite the journey for Hackenberg who’s simply towed the line wherever he’s been, whether at Fork Union or at Penn State.

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