Desert Vista boys basketball coach Dave Williams didn’t envision this type of start to the season, but he is not about to complain.
“We lost some good players – and not just to transfers – but because Jeff (Lowery) and Danny (Powell) graduated,” he said. “We are 4-2 and we pushed two very good teams (in defeat).
“I’m in Candy Land.”
Williams has his players competing hard and playing defense like most teams he has coached since taking over the program.
The only defeats are against Pinnacle and Corona del Sol, top five contenders in Division I, with a defense that held those teams to 67 and 62 points, respectively.
The Thunder enter Friday’s home game against Chandler playing at a high level despite the loss of two scholarship players (Powell and Lowery) and two potential college players (Connor MacDougall and John Marshall) due to transfer.
What was left behind was a group of players – led by Greg Carter, Kyle Pitman and Deonte Harrington – that are playing with a chip on their shoulder because they were basically left for dead with all of the talent walking out the door.
“Everyone expected us to be 2-4 at best right now other than our guys,” Williams said. “They hit the ground running. Our first two years we could smack (their opponent’s) in the mouth because we knew we could win.
“Now we are finding different ways to get it done. We are scrapping, throwing uppercuts and anything else it takes to get it done. Give these guys credit, they are playing their hearts out.”
Contact writer: (480) 898-7915 or JSkoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSkodaAFN.
