Hoops Notebook – Titans Hanging Tough

Titan’s Coach Troy Wells.

After a rocky 0-3 start, the Hidden Valley Titans have rallied nicely during the past month, winning four of their past seven games, including 2 of 3 at the Holiday Hoopla Tournament.

Considering his team is basically starting from scratch, head coach Troy Wells is encouraged.

“We’re still a work in progress,” Wells said. “The boys have been working hard and playing hard, but we still have to be more consistent. We still struggle with some lapses from time to time.”

Indeed, the Titans have shown a streakiness that is indicative of such an inexperienced group. For example, after an impressive three-game winning streak (which included wins against William Byrd and William Fleming), the Titans promptly fell back to earth with two frustrating losses to Blacksburg and Bassett. On the positive side, Hidden Valley was competitive in both defeats. On the down side, the Titans players committed many of the minor mistakes that young players make – careless turnovers, missed free throws, etc.

“In the Bassett game, for example, that’s a one possession game with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter,” Wells explained “but we had four or five turnovers at the end and it cost us the game.”

Still, the team’s winning record over the past month is proof that Wells’ message is starting to take root. While admittedly not focused on wins and losses this season, the Titan’s coach is instead focusing on something else to gauge his team’s progress: intensity.

“We tell our kids every day that you can do three things at any level of basketball and have success: play hard, play smart, and play physical. If we play hard, good things are going to happen. But in our league, if you don’t do those things, you’re going to have problems.”

While effort is crucial to success, talent is imperative as well, and the Titans have some of that, too. Kevin Draudt, a forward who joined the team late after the end of the football season, has come on strong in recent weeks, leading the team in scoring in wins against Eastern Montgomery and William Fleming. Guard Taylor Walker has also stepped up recently, pouring in 19 points in the Titans’ loss to the Bengals.

Hidden Valley travels to Pulaski to take on the Cougars Saturday.

By Matt Reeve
[email protected]

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