For any Richmond sports fan paying attention this winter, there are a lot of big things happening on the hardwood for the boys’ basketball team.
Ahead of Friday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference showdown with Lumberton High School, which features two of the top three teams in the standings, I thought it would be worth it to point out how well the Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew are doing.
When Pettigrew took over the program at the beginning of the 2017-2018 season, he wasn’t shy in admitting that there was some work to be done. The Raiders finished his first year 7-18 overall with a 2-12 record against conference opponents and next to last in the standings.
It definitely was not an ideal way to start his head coaching career at his alma mater.
One of the biggest oppositions he faced was getting the team to transition from running a high-tempo offense that saw the Raiders average 100.9 points per game, which led the nation in 2016-17, to a team focused on slowing things down and dominating on defense.
I remember asking him at practice during his first season why he would sacrifice all those points, something the fans would seemingly want, and he smiled and told me that “defense is where everything starts” with him.
Those words are ringing true today as the former Raider player continues to shift the culture change in the Raiders’ locker room.
To compliment his defense-first philosophy, a phrase Pettigrew has used religiously for the last two and a half seasons has been “believe.” He usually throws it into a postgame quote — subconsciously, almost — because he’s a firm advocate for having the Raiders believe in each other and the process of trying to achieve greatness.
Pettigrew comes from an era of Raider basketball in the mid and late 1990s that saw him play for the program’s winningest coach, Tom Baucom. He was a three-year varsity starter who was an integral part of helping Richmond make it to back-to-back state title game appearances in 1996 and 1997.
Pettigrew was used to winning as a player, and now he’s continuing to cultivate his brand of basketball with his dozen varsity players this season. And it’s starting to trickle down to the junior varsity and freshman levels.
There’s always a lot of talk about Raider Magic and it circles mostly around the Raider football program. While there are many reasons why that’s the case, it should be noted that the boys’ basketball program is now churning its own brew of special magic.
Pettigrew instead calls it the “gold status,” noting how the rich history and tradition of Raider basketball is being taught, remembered and implemented into the current program.
To put the last couple of seasons in perspective, at the 12-game mark (which the Raiders are at now), Pettigrew’s team sits at 10-2 overall and a perfect 4-0 mark against SAC opponents.
The past two seasons, Richmond sat at 5-7 and had at least three losses against conference teams. After eventually turning around an 0-4 start against SAC teams last year and make the state playoffs, the Raiders have continued trending in the right direction as we approach the midway point of the regular season.
A big part of the upsurge has been the players buying into Pettigrew’s system and relying on a strong 3-2 defense to coincide with an impressive, flashy offense. Several players, including seniors Jarvis Tillman and Quamir Sivels, juniors Nygie Stroman, PJ McLaughlin and Caleb Hood and sophomore Kellan Hood, are two or three-year starters who are making the gears click.
Stroman and Tillman make one of the best forward duos in the conference, both towering at just over 6-6 and who have an intangible connection from years of playing together as teammates prior to high school. The pair is making basketball fun again for fans with big-time dunks and physical play in the post.
McLaughlin has emerged as one of the better point guards in the SAC, now halfway through his second season at the varsity level. His poise and command of the floor goes unmatched in most games, and he’s got this whimsical way of floating through the paint at just 5-10 that doesn’t seem to be stopped by any defender.
The Hood brothers are also big on both sides of the ball, with Caleb displaying some of the best rebounding skills of any player in the conference the last couple of seasons. Kellan is fresh off an upper body injury but is a threat to shoot the three-ball from the wing, and he showed that during the last game against Hoke County.
Players like Sivels (although currently injured), Jakolbe Baldwin, Dalton Stroman, Dylan Lewis and Jalen David are all formidable pieces in a rotating lineup that’s going for its first conference title since winning a co-championship with Hoke County in 2015-16.
And I really think this is the year the drought ends. There is a lot of talent and heart on the Raiders’ bench.
What Pettigrew has been able to accomplish in just a couple of seasons has been impressive, especially viewing it from the sidelines and in the locker room. Perhaps what’s even more admirable has been Pettigrew’s love and care toward his players, always on the floor during practice helping them succeed, both in games and in the classroom.
When Lumberton comes to town to kickoff the weekend, the Raiders will be looking to maintain first place in a very talented SAC. Although it’s a different kind of Friday night lights, I promise you it’d be worth your time.
Opening tip between Richmond (10-2, 4-0 SAC) and Lumberton (11-2, 2-1 SAC) is expected for 7:30 p.m. following the girls’ varsity game.
