Davie boasts depth and a football mentality

Davie County boys basketball coach Jim Young wasn’t expecting the War Eagles to be this good this soon.

Several of his key players were still supposed to be playing football.

But when Doug Illing’s club lost a coin flip, missing the playoffs after a 9-2 season, it was basketball’s gain.

Young was rooting for the football team but instead, got point guard Jason Hogue (the top receiver) and 6-3 center Dan Sullivan (the quarterback) a little early.

So when the War Eagles open up tonight at North Iredell, they should have their basketball muscles.

Those two will join Sean Stevens, who at 5-foot-7 showed his muscle last year, averaging 23 points per contest. Those three should give Young one of the top teams in the always-tough 4A Central Piedmont Conference.

“Last year, I was estimating a .500 year,” said Young whose team finished 16-9 instead. “We have high expectations this year. These kids don’t come in here to lose.”

Stevens certainly doesn’t. Give him an inch of daylight and he’ll scorch you from the outside. He is perfect for Young’s style of running around screens and bombing three-pointers.

“Sean gets his shot off so quick,” Young marveled. “He shoots off the dribble well. He gets his shot up and over some pretty good caliber of kids in our league.

“Sean has small man’s syndrome. He’s extremely confident. The harder you knock him down, the harder he comes back at you.”

What should we expect from Stevens in his senior season?

“We expect the same as last year, only more,” Young said.

But the key to Young’s teams is always the point guard. And that’s where the 6-0 Hogue comes in.

Hogue should double his scoring average of 7.0 and Young thinks he is an all-conference candidate.

“The best thing about Hogie is that he knows whose hands to get the ball in,”he said. “He penetrates well and passes well.”

Sullivan could get a double- double every game, even though, at 6-3, he’ll be battling much taller players. Last year, he scored 9 points per game and grabbed eight rebounds.

“He’s the trench guy,” said Young. “He brings that football mentality to us.

“It usually takes a good two weeks to get over football. Hogie’s just getting back in basketball shape. They’re both in good shape but not basketball condition.”

Young always seems to bring in a Yugoslavian so why should this year be any different? Nemanja Kreckovic is a 6-1 guard with unlimited range.

“He’s not your normal European player,” said Young. “They’re usually finesse players. But he probably takes the ball to the basket and finishes as well as anybody we have. His dad is a pro coach in Yugoslavia and he knows the game.”

The other Yugo is 6-4 Vuk Guberinic, who is still developing. He’ll be a role player.

Young thinks Chris Stein, at 6-4, will be his power forward. But Stein is coming off a broken foot, suffered in soccer.

“He has improved a lot,” said Young.

Luke Phelps will also join the banging underneath. He’s a rough-and-tumble 6-4 junior who averaged a double-double for the jayvees last year.

Stevens will have plenty of help in the backcourt, thanks to juniors Matt Moser and Micah Garner.

Moser averaged 20 points for the jayvees last year and is the heir apparent to Stevens. Garner is a solid backup to Hogue and will see plenty of action.

“Micah does a great job,” Young said.“He’s not showy, but he’s fundamentally strong.”

Brian Hunter, at 5-11, is a swing man who is one of the best defensive players on the team. “If we need somebody stopped, that’s his role,” Young said.

Donnie Vestal, at 5-9, and Josh Wallace, at 6-2, come from the jayvees.

It’s a group that can compete with the Reynolds’ and the West Forsyths of the world and the reason, Young thinks, is depth.

“We may be the smallest team I’ve ever had but one of the deepest,” Young said. “We have two people for every position.”

Young, who has a whopping 446 wins in his career, got most of them by being an offensive genius. So how, the offense this year?

“On an average night, we should be able to put a lot of points on the board,” he said. “We’re good shooters.”

And there’s one more thing Young should be happy about: the football mentality several of his players bring with them.

Illing has taught them the same thing as Young — how to win.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com .