ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team spent all of June gearing up for the regular season, which is still over four months away.
Spending dozens of hours on the hardwood this summer, the Raiders played in several jamborees and showcase tournaments. Richmond played a total of 35 games and finished with a 27-8 record.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew, who will enter his sixth season at the helm of the program this winter, said the summer league was all about developing skills and getting players acclimated to each other and the speed of the game.
“We played really good this summer,” Pettigrew said. “We really tried to get some of the new guys to come in and play a lot of minutes to learn the speed of the game.
“It was good to be back in the gym playing together. It was a long summer, and it was tough to play 35 games in a month, but we got out of it what we wanted.”
Richmond started its summer with a home jamboree and played in a showcase tournament in Winston-Salem. The Raiders’ final two events were the East Coast Invitational in Jacksonville and another showcase event at Forest Hills High School.
In the East Coast Invitational, which featured 24 elite teams from North Carolina and Virginia, the Raiders went 6-1 in pool play.
Richmond defeated Coastal Christian 65-22, edged New Life Christian 74-65, cruised past Southwest Onslow 113-49, handed West Caldwell an 80-59 loss, used a late seven-point run to hold off Rocky River 69-64 and ended pool play wit a 62-54 win over Swansboro.
The Raiders’ only loss in pool play came against nationally-ranked Farmville Central, an 85-65 defeat.
Richmond faced off against Independence in the quarterfinal round of the championship bracket. The Raiders held a 13-point lead early in the third quarter and secured a 74-60 win.
The Raiders’ run at the ECI ended in the semifinals against familiar opponent Pine Forest High School. Meeting for the third time in the last eight months, the Trojans edged Richmond 78-75.
Paul McNeil hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 75 points in the closing minute, and attempted a game-tying triple at the buzzer that just missed.
A couple days later at Forest Hills, Pettigrew’s squad went 5-1 and won the tournament against Hickory Ridge to win the championship and end summer play.
With a strong returning cast of seasoned upperclassmen, including senior point guard Dakota Chavis and junior guards JV Drake and Jamarion Wall, Pettigrew also had an influx of young talent to work with in June.
Two of the players are recent junior transfers, Jullien Cole (forward, Pinecrest) and Dylan Lampley (guard, Temple Christian). Newcomers included freshman Jay Hamilton, and rising varsity players Toby McInnis and Keyonta Davis, among others.
“Jullien has been a great addition and JV played hard and a lot of great basketball,” Pettigrew said. “Dakota emerged as a leader and did a great job of distributing the ball as a point guard.
“Jamarion stepped up big in Winston-Salem, Dylan can do things defensively that will really help us out.”
Pettigrew said the best takeaway from the summer was the Raiders’ mental toughness, which he anticipates will carry over into the season.
“To play so many games in a short amount of time, the guys were so tough,” he closed. “They were banged up a little but pushed through it and I was pleased with that.”
