The last time Fluvanna County made the state semifinals, it was 1993 and the Flucos were in Group A. Justin Parker and the Blackwell twins couldn’t push the Flucos to the semifinals in 2005. Neither could 16 other Fluvanna teams over that stretch.
YaYa Anderson, Jordan Green and Jamal Tolliver and the rest of the 2011 Flucos did though. Now Waynesboro waits.
Anderson carried Fluvanna to the semifinals with one of the greatest performances in state tournament history, pouring in 47 points, tying the record for the most ever in a state tournament game in any classification. He’s now a part of a tournament record book that includes current Orlando Magic player and ACC legend J.J. Redick, NBA superstar Allen Iverson and Alonzo Mourning. Pretty good company for a junior.
The Flucos will need another dynamic effort from Anderson and his teammates to slip past the Region III champion Little Giants, who boast a pair of tall, athletic players with varied skill sets that have the potential to give Fluvanna problems.
Waynesboro’s offense, and defense for that matter, starts with its own superstar junior, Alex Graves. The 6-foot-3 forward is tough to handle down low and should present some unique offensive challenges for the Flucos’ post players like T.J. Dudley and Jake Smith, who gave Fluvanna some big-time minutes in the state quarterfinal win over Culpeper.
Graves is also a shotblocking machine — he’s rejected over 100 shots on the year, an average of about four per game. Graves could help Waynesboro deter Anderson from attacking the basket, which he did relentlessly against Culpeper. The Blue Devils never had an answer and it cost them the game.
An array of other players surround Graves. Senior Chris Johnson, at 6-foot-2, is an excellent passing forward with the ability to create his own shot by putting the ball on the floor. Shy Washington, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, can score for the Little Giants and will also likely play a major role in trying to bottle up Anderson along with Graves. Sophomore point guard Chris Conrad should also play a role for the Little Giants.
Like the quarterfinal win, this one will come down to Anderson’s supporting cast. The junior guard is going to score, but like they did early in the second half, teammates Josh Hinkle and Jamal Tolliver have to take that pressure off Anderson by keeping the Waynesboro defense honest. If they can do that, Fluvanna will likely live to see another day.
Western gets shot at redemption
Nobody on Western’s roster — or coaching staff — was happy when R.E. Lee chased the Warriors out of the gym early this season to the tune of a 59-37 runaway. The Region III runner-up squad only lost three times this year, falling in the region final to Spotswood, in the season opener to Turner Ashby and to a team from New York shortly after beating Western.
But Western has come together in a big way late this season, and that could lead to a different result when they matchup Tuesday morning.
Lee is the rare team that has the size to matchup with Western’s star post player, Ellen Shaffrey. That answer comes in the form of DaQuaa Scott, a 5-foot-10 JMU-bound senior who’ll throw shotput and discus for the Dukes. Scott will do battle with Shaffrey, who hauled in 24 boards, just four off the state tournament single game record in Group AA against Brunswick Saturday, and her running mates underneath, Raven Ward and Carolyn Schneller.
Angela Mickens runs the point for the Leemen, and her speed can create problems, handing Western point guard Kelsey Swanson and, most likely, lockdown defender Mady Baker, a tall task.
With potential big-time scorers in Keoshia Crawford and Jamila Thomas floating around, Western is going to have to be ready defensively. Not that that’ll be a change, Western’s foundation is built on solid defense.
With a little experience taking on the Leemen, Western should have found some ways to adjust to R.E. Lee’s approach, will it be enough to close the gap? The answers start coming in tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.
