Full speed ahead for Rams, despite missing players

For Reidsville High School boys’ basketball coach Bill Walton, having to go ahead and play basketball games while some of your key players are busy on the gridiron is nothing new.
Walton, who is preparing for his fifth season with the Rams, is use to playing the waiting game while the Reidsville football team marches through the 2-AA state playoffs.
“We hope those kids are playing until Dec. 12,” said Walton. “We’ve got to go without them and they’ll be back when football’s done.”
The Rams, winners of the North State 2-A Conference, are coming off a 24-3 season last season – their best campaign under Walton – and several of the team’s key figures return to what could be Walton’s most athletic team.
Reidsville, which lost to Burlington Cummings in the Section 4 championship game, currently has just eight players on the roster – minus six players still involved with football.
The only other losses for the Rams came against prep-power Winston-Salem Prep and Liberty Christian, at the 2008 Register and Bee Holiday Shootout.
What the Rams will have to replace is last season’s solid core of seniors led by A.J. Williams, Niko McGirt, Jarrett Barnett, Quinn Childs and Dytannial Royster.
“We lost some good players, but we got a lot of kids who know what’s going on so I think we’re a little ahead of where we were at this time last year.”
Until the RHS football comes to a close, Walton and the Rams will go with a roster that includes seniors Dionte Price (guard) and Devante Scarver (guard) – Scarver was named last year’s North State Conference player of the year – as well as junior big-men Darence Jumper (6’7”), Carl Holder (6’4”) and guard Daniel Leake.
The remainder of the roster includes Brandon Roach, Tyler Barnett and Demarick Scarver.
Junior varsity players such as Dominique Shoffner and Devonte Neal are currently playing with the varsity to help give the team some depth, but Walton was quick to mention that the duo could find themselves on the varsity permanently.
Reidsville opens the season against McMichael Tuesday night at home. The Rams, who played in a jamboree at Morehead High School Saturday, play three games against county-foes (McMichael, Rockingham and Morehead) and then quickly face a new conference opponent in Eastern Randolph.
Those who take on Reidsville towards the end of December will get the full brunt of Walton’s arsenal that will include Tyrell Houghton (senior, 6’1”), Steve Williams (senior, 6’0”), Kenzel Doe (senior, 5’11”), Ryan Broadnax (senior, 6’1”), Lyshod Graves (senior, 5’9”) and Rashawn McNeal (sophomore, 5’8”) – the lone non-senior in the group.
Eastern and Reidsville are part of the newly formed Mid-State 2-A Conference that also features Providence Grove, Graham, Bartlett Yancey, Jordan-Matthews and of course an old nemesis to Reidsville – Cummings.
“I think this is going to be a tough conference,” said Walton. “Cummings, Providence Grove and Jordan-Matthews were all playoff teams last year.”
Alan Scales and Jarrod Neal will assist Walton. Neal will be the junior varsity head coach.
Walton added that the team’s expectations are simple; win the annual Register Bee Holiday Shootout, which has been dominated by George Washington and win the Mid-State 2-A Conference.
“We are going to be a better shooting team, we’re quicker than last year and more athletic,” he said. “We have to rebound though. We aren’t big enough to move people out.”
Key dates on the schedule include the Register and Bee tournament (Dec. 26-29), two meetings with Northeast Guilford (Dec. 16 and Jan. 6), at Cummings (Dec. 15), home against Cummings (Jan. 22) and the two matchups with P-Grove (Jan. 5, home and Jan. 29, away).
Tuesday’s game with McMichael is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Reidsville High School.

2009-10 SCHEDULE
November
24 – McMichael
December
1 – Rockingham County, 2 – at Morehead, 4 – at Eastern Randolph, 9 – Morehead, 11 – at Bartlett Yancey*, 15 – at Burlington Cummings*, 16 – Northeast Guilford, 18 – at Graham*, 26-29 – Register and Bee Holiday Shootout, Danville (Va.)
January
5 – Providence Grove*, 6 – at Northeast Guilford, 7 – Bartlett Yancey*, 13 – at Rockingham County, 15 – Jordan-Matthews*, 22 – Burlington Cummings*, 26 – Graham*, 29 – at Providence Grove*,
February
3 – at McMichael, 5 – Eastern Randolph*, 9 – at Jordan-Matthews*, 16-19 – Mid-State 2-A Conference Tournament at Eastern Randolph