Danville coach touts team’s experience, depth

Danville boys coach Dusty Wright said he expects another great year in Little Johns basketball. “I believe we will have another great year. We lost a great group of seniors, but luckily, our greatest strength a year ago was our depth,” he said. “We will still play deep into our bench, and even though some of the faces may look different, we believe that our strength is in our numbers.” Experience is the team’s most valuable strength, Wright said. “This group of seniors has logged a lot of minutes over the years. Four of them have at least started in spots, and two more were rotational guys who have seen minutes. Add to them some fresh faces, and I think our experience, mixed with depth, will lead to us having great confidence to finish off games.” Wright brings experience to his role, too. He is in his 16th year in the Danville School District and his 13th leading the boys team. Coady Church will assist Wright this season. Returning starters include seniors and twin brothers Evan and Eli Lane, as well as senior Quentin Tolbert. Evan averaged 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game last year; Eli averaged 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Tolbert had 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist per game last year. Tolbert “is a very versatile defender and has a great basketball mind,” Wright said. “He does all the little things that coaches love. He will often be undersized, but he will overcome it with great effort and intelligence.” Senior Jarrique Hinton is a big man on the court who could bring results, the coach said. “Jarrique is really going to surprise some folks this year. At 6-3, 290, he is a load to handle. He is very mobile for his size, and he had some stretches this summer where he put the ball in the basket,” Wright said. Outside go-to players include the Lane brothers. “Eli started in spots as a sophomore, then really stepped into a leadership role last year,” Wright said. “He has as good a vision on the court as any kid I have coached. He really gets his teammates involved and has worked hard to improve his individual offense. I expect a big year from him. “Evan was one of our leading scorers as a sophomore, and though his offensive numbers dipped a little last year, his productivity and value certainly did not. Evan is a matchup nightmare because he can cause you problems inside or out, and his motor never slows down on either end. Evan provides whatever we need each night.”

Wright also had praise for two other seniors on the team, Dalton Reagan and Luke Callahan. Reagan is reliable on the outside, the coach said. “Dalton is a great shooter. He really stretches the floor for us, allowing other guys to get easier drives,” Wright said. “He has steadily improved on the defensive end, which will make him even more important than he has been the past two years. “Luke will be another guy who surprises folks. He is a great defender who seems to deflect every pass in his area. His offensive confidence is growing, and if he continues to grow in that area, he could really be a big spark for us this year.” The team’s weakness right now is scoring, Wright said. “We lost the majority of our scoring from a year ago, and the question is, who is going to step up and get us a bucket when we have to have one?” Wright said. “We hope the solution is scoring by committee and spreading the wealth.” The toughest opponent on the schedule will likely be Lavaca, the coach said, but he’s ready for the challenge. “Lavaca has won this district for the past three years so are probably considered the favorite to win it again,” Wright said. “To me, that sets them up as a team to go after. We want to be the team that takes the crown from them.” The coach said he is excited about the team’s potential. “I expect a great season, but it will be a season where we have to play well every night.”