FAIRLEA- The Greenbrier East Spartans come into this new high school basketball season with more hype than they have had for quite some time.
That’s because last season, once the schedule rolled into February, they found a rhythm and a play style that just kept working. They finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak and then won their seventh in a row in the first round of the regional tournament. They ran into a hot-shooting Ripley Vikings team that ended their season one game shy of a trip to the state tournament and left them with a 15-8 final record.
The Spartans only lost two seniors from that team, although two key pieces–Donavin Penn and Reed McCraw– but bring back a veteran roster this year with plenty of experience and leadership.
“This year’s varsity roster will consist of five seniors and seven juniors,” Spartan head coach Jared Patton said.
“We have a wide variety of skill sets from players who can shoot the ball at a high percentage to players who finish well around the basket. We have everyone back besides two seniors from last year’s team.”
A couple of those shooters are Nathan Dixon and Brody Hamric who return to lead the squad night in and night out and form one of the better senior class duos that roam the backcourt in Class AAA. Dixon, a second team all-state selection in 2024-25, could be a 20 to 25-point per game scorer this season while Hamric will fill the stat sheet across the board.
“As a coaching staff and team, we feel as though we had a great season last year and are very excited about this upcoming season.
Cai Jones, Darius Burns, Dhani Terry, Dylan Wykle, Gabe Neal, Brodrik Gunter, and Eloi Boldu Castillo are other options that can play out front and take some pressure off Hamric and Dixon. Gunter is a transfer from Virginia and the junior, once he gets fully settled into his new home, could have a huge impact on the program. Jones and Burns are solid, and both showed out in the scrimmage win over Rockbridge County, VA last week. Burns looked noticeably more aggressive and confident which is going to be a key for him moving forward. Neal and Wykle are back for their second seasons as Wykle is primarily a 3-point specialist and Neal is an athletic wing that can get high above the rim and knocked down open shots as well. Also, in that opening scrimmage, Terry showed a defensive prowess and was not afraid to dive on the floor after loose balls, and Castillo, an exchange student, brings a certain finesse and knowledge of the game to the Spartan roster.
“Besides leadership, all the seniors that we have played heavy varsity minutes the last couple of years, so I believe they know what it takes to win in a triple A setting and are ready to compete every time we take the floor. I believe they will provide experience and stability,” said Patton.
The front court will be manned mostly by Braylen Godfrey and Sam Hawver with Dubya Vickers providing depth. Vickers, a two-time first team all-state soccer selection as a goalie is in his first year on the varsity squad as a senior. Godfrey has the opportunity to be one of the better big men in the area. The athletic junior can dunk with ease and sky high for rebounds and provides a nice defensive presence in the painted area. Hawver got a lot of experience last year and provides the Spartans with a taller option with length underneath capable of rebounding at a high level and finishing in close.
Other players can switch up positions too whether the gameplan is to play big or play small.
Patton likes to focus his gameplans on toughness and defense and feels that the Spartans are grasping that mindset well.
“Our motto is the toughest team wins. Once the players understand that fully, we will be the team we need to be when the time is right,” he stated.
Two things that were noticeable last week when observing the team in a live game situation for the first time were how hard the team played on both ends of the court and how there is not one weak player on the entire team, meaning every player on the roster is capable of doing something well that can help the team in some way.
“I think everyone will be surprised at how hard the players play on the team this year. From Nathan Dixon knocking down threes to Brody Hamric finishing strong around the basket, it should be a fun season,” Patton said.
The head coach believes in approaching the season with a process of patience in mind and notes how important it is to have local players headlining the Spartans.
“Although our ultimate team goal is winning a state championship, we won’t win it from the first game we play so it’s important for us to take it one game at a time. I believe that all the players and coaching staff know how good we can potentially be, but nothing will be given to us. When you have most of the teams in our region having players transfer in, it makes it very challenging for us to accomplish our goals. However, if we do make it to states, it will be because of the local players we have,” he explained.
Still, now that the season is almost here, it’s hard for the staff to contain their excitement deep down.
“Us coaches and players are very excited and can’t wait to start our regular season play,” the coach concluded.
Greenbrier East opens the regular season against Virgina Episcopal School on December 12 at home.
