Head coach William Simon and Carver Academy reflect proudly on last year’s successes, but are hungry for more. A 21-win season culminated in the state quarterfinals loss to the Rappahannock Raiders, 68-60. Simon has some key returners, as well as some depth from last season that could star this year.
Departures: Travis Williams, Ryan Johnson, Corey Atkins, Michael McQuinn, Damian Mosher, and Mikael Jaaber.
Williams and Johnson both decided to transfer to new schools coming into the new year. Mosher will be playing basketball at Patrick Henry Community College while Jaaber will be suiting up for Carolina Basketball Academy.
Returning players: Brandon Seay, Earl Hill, Roger Powell, Zyaire Muhammad, and Rome Hudson.
Backcourt: In Carver’s guard unit will be Powell, Hill, and Darius Johnson. The main strength of their backcourt will most notably be offensive with their athleticism and abundance of capable scorers. Pushing the pace of their offense will be Powell, who uses his agility, speed, and athleticism on both ends. Hill brings both finishing at the rim and perimeter shooting to the Carver offense. Their other capable scorer would be Johnson, who is used to scoring at every level and being a versatile option in the backcourt.
Frontcourt: Down low for Carver will be Hudson, Jacob Fink, and Aaron Wilson. Despite having problems rebounding collectively as a team, Hudson is a dominant force on the glass, having grabbed 21 rebounds in the 1A region at championship game last season. Fink will be used as a “stretch four” for Carver, but his length and rebounding will be other key strengths of his game. Rounding out the frontcourt is Wilson, a versatile and lengthy scorer.
Despite coming off a great season last year, Carver will continue to strive for greatness and improvement, including their intangibles.
“Our lack of communication on defense hurt us last season,” said coach Simon. “We’re working collectively as a team to become better communicators, take better charges, and play better defensively as a whole,” he continued. “Our rebounding as a whole and our turnover problems need to be fixed, too.”
Carver Academy and coach Simon will try to duplicate last year’s success, maybe go even farther, and try to make it back to the state tournament.
