November 7, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
DCHS Basketball Coaches Joey Agee and Brandy Alley are about to embark on their second year at the helm of the boys’ and girls’ programs with high hopes for a successful season.
The 2022-23 season for the Tigers ended in February with a loss to White County in the District 7AAA Tournament. The Tigers finished with an overall record of 12-15. The Lady Tigers wrapped up their season at 14-15 after losing to White County in the district tournament in February.
The 2023-24 season begins Tuesday, November 14 as the Tigers and Lady Tigers host Wilson Central in the annual Hall of Fame competition. Action begins with the girls’ game at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ game. WJLE will have LIVE coverage with John Pryor.
“This season has been very fun starting off with this group of girls. They have all been very hardnosed about wanting to get work in and put in the extra effort, so I am very excited to see where this season takes us,” said Coach Alley.
“We’re ready to get going,” added Coach Agee. “We’re getting our football players back and we have a little catching up to do with them. That’ll give us about five good days of practice. We have a scrimmage game Saturday, November 11 at Watertown and then next week we’ll get started so we are excited to get going,” said Agee.
This year’s Tiger squad is made up of four seniors, Alex Antoniak, Conner Close, Ian Colwell, and Kaleb Spears along with four Juniors, Seth Fuson, Dallas Kirby, Jordan Parker, and Owen Snipes. The sophomores are Wyatt Carter, Logan Duke, Jon Hendrix, Aidan Turner, and David Wheeler and the four freshmen are Ben Driver, Ryan Lyons, Kiece Hannah, and Chase Young, The managers are Nick Daw, Brayden Summers, and Jackson Mathis.
“I think our depth is going to be one of our strengths. We’ll have eight or nine kids that will be able to play for us during varsity games and hopefully some of these younger kids will come on too and if they do we’ll be even deeper, but I believe we’ll be able to play multiple people at multiple positions this year,” said Coach Agee.
“I really like the way these kids play. They play really hard on the defensive end and get after you so I believe we’ll be a little bit better defensively this year. We’ll do some things different. We’re probably not as big as we were last year so we’ll have to figure out some ways to create turnovers. Of course we still have Conner Close so a lot of our offense will run through him with him being the kind of athlete and scorer that he has been,” Coach Agee said.
“We have Jordan Parker back this year. Last year he missed all the season except for one game at the end of the year because of elbow surgery but he is healthy now”.
“Dallas Kirby is another kid we will rely on heavily. He missed all last year with a broken leg so he is back this year.”
“Of course, we have some guys like Seth Fuson and Jon Hendrix who saw playing time last year so I think we’ll be okay”,” said Coach Agee.
As for the district race, Coach Agee said the consensus right now is Upperman and Stone Memorial are probably the teams to beat but it’s always a challenge for all programs in the league.
“Its tough year end and out and you probably won’t find teams, both boys and girls, in any other district more competitive than this one about getting to the state tournament. We have scheduled some games early this year against some bigger schools so hopefully that will help us out later on,” added Coach Agee.
The Lady Tigers will be led by four seniors, Makayla Scales, Tess Barton, Camryn Branin, and Ella VanVranken, a member of the 1,000-point club.
“Our strength is going to be on the offensive end creating looks for us from different people. Defensively we have to be willing to fight every second. Another strength is how we have been able to work together in getting things done. We want to continue to be unified and having each other’s back in pushing through so that if one player gets hot in one game the next player may be hot in another,” said Coach Alley.
“Makayla is one of the most encouraging kids I have seen. She is a hard worker. We call her the mama duck of the team because she takes everybody under her wings and that was great this past summer with us having several new kids come in,” Coach Alley continued.
“Tess has worked really hard over the summer on creating her leadership role. We look for her to be a little more offensive this year than she was last year. That has been a goal of hers over the summer and she has worked her tail off for it”.
“At the end of last season, Camryn started making a huge change and impact on the court. She is a very vocal leader and tough kid. She is one of those who would run through a brick wall for you and she has taken on a leadership role”.
“We expect Ella to continue to be who she is offensively, and she has put in a ton of work recently on making sure she is a great team player and getting lots of shots up. She is putting in all this extra work for her senior season to be a good one for the group,” Coach Alley continued.
Averie Agee is the lone Junior on the team.
“Averie is a really good shooter for us and works really hard defensively. She has spent a lot of time getting quicker so that will be a big impact”.
The three sophomores are Bella Rackley, Allie Melton, and Chloe VanVranken.
“Chloe is a returner from last year. She has been working really hard in putting in extra work and being a vocal point guard and taking care of business for us there”.
“Allie Melton is a transfer sophomore who will have an impact for us. She has started fitting in right away. Allie is a quick little guard who gets stuff done on the court especially defensively. She is really fast and gets after it”.
“Another sophomore is Bella Rackley who has been a very fun person and has bought into our team”.
“Our freshmen are Katie Bechtel, Brooklyn Fuson, Lillie Young, and Hannah Brown”.
“Katie has moved in here to be with us this year. She is new but will be able to come in as a guard and make an impact offensively for us”.
“Brooklyn Fuson will be doing a lot of cleanup work. She reminds me of a baby Cam Branin”.
“Lillie Young will be a post player. She has put in a lot of work over the summer trying to fit into the high school realm of basketball by getting quicker and tougher”.
“Hannah Brown is a quick little guard who wants to get after it and be a great teammate”.
The managers are Gracie Randolph, Phoebe Martin, Rowan Miller, and Alyssa Hendrix.
As always, Coach Alley expects a tough and competitive road to the regular season district title among the seven teams that make up District 7AAA.
“All of them have amazing strengths. Of course, Livingston Academy and Upperman made a state tournament run last year. White County still has some talented kids on their roster and Stone Memorial is returning most of their players, so every game is going to be tough”.
Meanwhile, members of the DCHS Basketball Cheerleaders are:
Elaina Turner (Captain)
2023-24 DCHS Tigers and Lady Tigers Basketball Schedule
*District – 7AAA Games
Date -Time -Opponent- Home/Away
NOVEMBER
Tues, 11/14- 6:00pm- Wilson Central-HOF Home • Non-District
Sat, 11/18- TBA- Gordonsville- (HOF Play Day-2 games each) • Non-District
Fri, 11/24- 6:00pm –Providence Christian Academy (Girls Only)- Away • Non-District
Tues, 11/28- 6:00pm- Cannon County- Home • Non-District
DECEMBER
Fri, 12/1-6:00pm-Watertown- Away • Non-District
Tue, 12/5- 6:00pm- Smith County- Away • Non-District
Fri, 12/8- 6:00pm-Warren County- Home • Non-District
Tue, 12/12 -6:00pm- Smith County- Home • Non-District
Fri, 12/15- 6:00pm- Cannon County- Away • Non-District
Mon, 12/18-6:00 pm- Watertown-Home • Non-District
Wed, 12/20-Fri. 12/22- (BOYS) Adidas Shootout- Riverdale • Non-District-TBA
Wed. 12/27-Fri, 12/29 (BOYS) Watertown Classic- Away • Non-District-TBA
JANUARY
Fri. 1/5-6:00pm-White County*-Home • District
Tues. 1/9-6:00pm-Cumberland County*- Home • District
Fri. 1/12-6:00pm-Upperman*- Away • District
Tue, 1/16-6:00pm-Livingston Academy*-Away • District
Fri, 1/19-6:00pm-Stone Memorial*-Home • District
Mon. 1/22-6:00 pm- Warren County-Away• Non-District
Tues. 1/23-(OPEN DATE-District Make Up Day)
Fri. 1/26-6:00pm-White County*-Away • District
Tues, 1/30-6:00pm-Cumberland County*-Away • District
FEBRUARY
Fri. 2/2-6:00pm-Upperman*-Home • District
Mon, 2/5-6:00pm-Livingston Academy*-Home • District
Thurs. 2/8- 6:00 pm-Stone Memorial*-Away • District
Mon. 2/12- 2/17- District Tournament-TBA
*District 7AAA Games. Game time listed is the start of the girls contest. Boys contest to follow