On day 1 of MTSU’s annual basketball camp we got out first look at this upcoming seasons Lady Cougar Basketball squad.
“We are just glad to be here. We missed out on this last year” said head coach Erin Webb during a live interview between games. She is referencing, of course, at the fact that there really was no offseason for this program last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Having this camp and others like it could benefit the Lady Cougars greatly as despite going 0-3 on the day Coach Webb was ecstatic about the progress she was seeing on day 1 of summer ball both as a team and from indivdual players.
Speaking specifically on the game against Stewarts Creek to start the day, a game that Dickson County had locked up in a tie enterting the 4th quarter Coach Webb stated, “The way they came out, they were doing things that we have tried to get them to do for years, and they are doing them today.” She was referencing the teams tenacity and desire to never quit. Talking about playing hard defence, diving after balls on the floor, grabbing offesive rebounds, etc. and according to Coach Webb that “excites me because it tells me they’re willing to grow, they’re willing to learn, they’re working so hard.”
The games throughtout the day got tougher as Varsity would have to face off with an old district rival in Page and then Lebanon team that, I will just be honest, may be the biggest team top to bottom in the state interms of height and strength.
That being said this team never gave up and showed some real promise, especially beyond their two rising junior stars in Jenna Russell and AC Milam.
When I prompted Coach Webb on what the development of pieces like Riley Moore, Jada Davidson, and Jada Fann she had alot to say. She spoke on how Moore got in the gym to complete transform herself into a much more athletic and tenacious defender. Moore could always shoot but now according to Coach Webb “she is able to get low and play defense and actually stop a girl.”
As for Jada Davidson Coach Webb was adamant about how the rising senior was unsatisfied with her performance and seemed to have a real fire under her after game one.
Jada Fann however, according to Coach Webb, has improved the most. “[She] needed to do the most work. Her and I had a lot of tough conversations last year.” Fann seemingly heard her coaches answers to things like taking care of the ball and has worked very hard on things like a jump stop to avoid getting called for a walk each time she touches the ball.
Now that is all well and good, and develpment of upperclassmen is crucial. However, as we all know you are really only as good as your bench is deep and right now the Dickson County bench is seemingly non existent.
“I played 6 of them” Coach Webb stated, “6 girls played for 40 minutes, that is alot to ask” and she is correct. As good as say AC Milam is, or as good as Riley Moore showed she could be yesterday when she is on her game, 6 girls for 40 minutes is a tough pill to swallow.
JV is a part of the camp as well and we got a look at them in two games, in which they went 2-0, and a few young players certainly looked to earn some varsity time off the bench.
Two rising sophmores like Emma Rollins and Mia Bobian will almost certainly get some time in varsity games according to Coach Webb.
When speaking on both girls Coach Webb said “They’re almost still thinking, we are still building the fundamentals so that that becomes habit as opposed to something they have to think about.” However, both certainly showed flashes of why they are very young names to keep an eye on off the bench.
Rollins “has a great move, you give her the ball in the post she is going to do everything in her power to put a good shot up, and she does a great job of it.” Later in the day in speaking with Coach Webb she elaborated talking about how well Rollins adjusts to what the defense gives her and does not seem to force anything even at such a young and inexperienced age.
For Bobian on the other hand, it was her court vision that impressed Coach Webb.
“As soon as she catches the ball she is looking up the court, she made a couple of great passes up the court. To Emma, Rollins was one of them. Just a beautiful long pass and Emma was able to finish the lay-up” Coach Webb told me.
Look, it was day one of summer ball for a team that has barely seen the court together so far this summer. Take everything with a grain of salt and let the optimism rain, because there are plenty of reasons to be positive and optimistic about this upcoming year on the hardwood for the Lady Cougars.
Hear the full facebook live interview here: https://fb.watch/62a-PPNYyW/ and check out photos from the day on our FB: https://www.facebook.com/WDKNDickson
Coming up around the County in Sports
- Charles Taylor and Creek Wood host a K-8 basketball camp June 14th-16th
- Creek Wood is also hosting a Middle School team camp currently if anyone would like to check that out
- Cameron Tankersley is competing in a tournament at Greystone Golf Course
- We are 9 weeks away from everyone’s favorite cross county football rivalry being renewed between Dickson County and Creek Wood on August 20th.
