Up & Coming Weekly

March 13, 2018

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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24 UCW MARCH 14-20, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM New E.E. Smith High School boys bas- ketball coach Dontrell Snow has no trou- ble understanding the history of Golden Bull basketball. For the past few years, he's worked with a man who lived it. Snow, a 2005 graduate of Jack Britt and 2010 graduate of the University of Mount Olive, has both played and coached bas- ketball with Ike Walker Jr., son of longtime E.E. Smith boys coach Ike Walker. No one has to tell Snow how important tradition is at Smith and how crucial it is to expose today's players to living examples of that rich history. "A lot of guys have reached out, and I've reached out to a lot of guys,'' he said, referring to former players from the Smith athletic program. But returning the Golden Bulls to their former glory days will involve more than just reuniting today's players with former stars. Snow said that's where he learned another valu- able lesson working as an assistant coach with Walker for the past five years while he was serving as a health and physical education teacher at Reid Ross Classical. Prior to joining the faculty at Reid Ross, he taught at South View Middle and Lake Rim Elementary. He's been assisting with the bas- ketball program at Jack Britt since 2012. "Being around Coach Walker, we don't nec- essarily have one emphasis,'' he said, referring to specific offensive and defensive philosophies. "It's basically based off the talent we have that year. One year we might be picking up full court and pressing. e next year the talent might change where we're taller and bigger and have to go zone.'' Regardless of the personnel he has available, Snow said he will lean toward being defensive-minded and high energy with a lot of communication taking place. "You've always got to have something in your bag to change up,'' he said. "It will change as players develop.'' One thing that has changed a lot in Cumberland County basketball in recent years is the migration of players from public school to private school ranks. Snow thinks a big reason for that is coaches heav- ily involved in Amateur Athletic Union basketball have taken roles on the staff at some of the private schools, and the result has been the funneling of some of their AAU players to private school teams. "I know a lot of college coaches, so I know how the business works,'' Snow said. "My biggest thing is about building relationships with kids in the com- munity, not just at E.E. Smith but all over. Once you build a relationship with the kids, they are going to play with who they have a good relationship with. "I adapt to any situation. If that's the climate we're in, then that's what we're in. If you build a relationship with the kids, it's not going to matter.'' Snow will complete the school year on the faculty at Reid Ross but will join the faculty at E.E. Smith in the fall heading the in-school suspension program. He's already scheduled a team meeting and plans to begin offseason workouts with his new players by the end of March. Jack Britt High School's time to savor sharing last year's first-ever share of a conference baseball championship with Cape Fear is over. Not only do the Buccaneers no longer have time to celebrate, they won't even get to defend the title. Realignment by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association moved Britt out of the defunct Mid-South 4-A Conference and into the realigned and powerful Sandhills 4-A Conference, where multiple teams, including Scotland, Pinecrest, Richmond Senior and Hoke County, have state base- ball championships on their respective resumes. But Britt head coach Dr. Christopher Dague is looking at the season ahead with anything but a negative attitude. "I feel we have a lot of positive pieces coming back,'' Dague said. "e kids have had a good fall, and we worked hard. A lot of the reason we were successful last year is the kids bought in. I think if we do that this year, we'll be fine.'' e good news for Dague is he returns a solid core of pitchers who have already committed to play baseball at the college level. e group includes Brennen Herbert, Brendan Shea and Nick Lee. Herbert will attend Appalachian State University, Shea William Peace University and Lee Wake Technical Community College. "Looking at it as a former pitcher, pitching wins championships,'' Dague said of the trio. Herbert was 7-1 last season with a 1.25 earned run average. Lee and Shea recorded 36 and 28 strikeouts respectively. e big question for Dague is where the team's offensive production will come from. "We'll have to see once the season starts,'' he said. Herbert is also among the offensive leaders returning with a .337 batting average that included a double, two triples and two home runs. He was second in Cumberland County Schools last season with 25 RBIs. "is year we're going to try and win another confer- ence championship and make a name for ourselves,'' Herbert said. "We lost a lot of good leaders, but we can replace some of those guys. e seniors have got to do what we've got to do and leave on a good note.'' Some of the younger players Dague will be count- ing on to take on bigger roles are shortstop Alex Reyna and catcher Chandler Cannon. Cannon batted .314 for the Buccaneers last sea- son. Reyna had five doubles and a triple and drove in 15 runs. "We've got to have a couple of guys step up and replace those guys that left,'' Herbert said. "We've got to stick together. "We've got to be a team and listen to Coach Dague and all the other coaches. We'll be fine.'' HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Snow hopes to connect with Golden Bull greats by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Bucs face challenges after title season by EARL VAUGHAN JR. E.E. Smith boys basketball coach Dontrell Snow Brennen Herbert Dr. Christopher Dague MONDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 FRIDAY & BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Athletes of the Month in February: Daniel Peede (Pine Forest)•Michael Vernagallo (Cape Fear)•Dallas Wilson (Cape Fear) (WRESTLING) 6-8pm Join Don Koonce & Trey Edge for the Baseball Game of The Week South View HS @ Cape Fear HS Friday 16 MAR @ 7pm on WCLN 105.7 FM

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