has done what few could've imagined.  The

unimaginable was turning a basketball program without a history of winning on

the big stage into a Champion not once, but twice.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>A graduate of Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania,

John was appointed Head Basketball Coach at Colonial Forge in July of

2011.  His first two seasons were far

from easy, going 20-26 overall.  The

third season was better, 15-8 overall, though the Eagles missed the regional

playoffs.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In 2013-14, Colonial Forge rose from #10 in the Group

6A preseason rankings to the very top with 25 consecutive wins, culminating in

the school's first ever State Championship and a 27-1 overall record.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  What was in store for an encore?

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Entering the season ranked #1 in the state in Group

class=GramE>6A, Colonial Forge won 17 in a row at one point with 16 of

those victories by double-digits. 

Following a late loss in the regular season, the Eagles won nine in a

row.  For the second straight year, they

turned a deficit with under a minute to play in the State Championship into a

victory, edging Westfield 47-46 for the crown and ended the Bulldogs' 25-game

winning streak.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In this Exclusive Q

& A with VirginiaPreps.com, Coach John discusses his team's

Championship journey, key players in-depth and outlook for next season.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  See the full transcript from our conversation

below . . .

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>What has the week after

the State Championship been like for you and how is winning the Championship a second

time different from the first?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The past week has been

spent dealing with the guys' recruiting, fielding a lot of calls for Marco,

Winston and T.J.  We've just been trying

to find a place for those guys to play next year.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"This year was very different from last year in that

there was an expectation to be back on that stage at VCU and have an

opportunity to win another State Championship. 

It was a little bit more of a sense of relief accomplishing that as

opposed to last year when it was a little more unexpected."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It seemed like when you

won it the first time, you sort of did it under the radar, not ranked high with

the bull's-eye on you and playing the type of schedule you guys did this past

season.  Speak on that pressure you guys

embraced and faced with that target on your back as the defending State Champs?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"To be honest with you, it

started last season.  You guys had us

ranked in the Top Ten and it kind of frustrated me that a lot of people thought

it sounded amusing that a Stafford County school was in the Top Ten in the

state.  Our kids did a great job last

year of progressing through the season.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"When I set up last year's schedule, I wasn't sure if

Marco was going to be back and didn't know if Gary would be playing, so I tried

to put together a middle-of-the-row schedule where we played in the Westfield

Holiday Tournament, played Battlefield and our other out-of-conference games

were middle-of-the-row games.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"This year, we tried to put together a schedule that

would allow our guys to get out and compete against some of the best in the

state.  Obviously, getting the

opportunity to play Norcom in your event was great

for our team.  Putting us in the Henrico

Tournament, I knew they were going to be one of the best in the state.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  That whole tournament, we talked about the

whole reason we're here is to get to the Championship and have an opportunity

to play against one of the best teams in the state in Henrico.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It was very different in the two schedules and how we

took the approach to the season.  They

knew coming into the year that we were going to have a target on our back being

the defending State Champions.  The other

thing that bothered our kids was that after last year's Championship, there was

a lot of talk of, 'well, you guys are State Champions, but it's only because

there's six classifications.  You would've

never beat Henrico or Norcom,' so on and so

forth. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think our kids really took that to heart.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  That's something we talked about a lot this

season, proving that they are deserving of the title of State Champions.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They had the opportunity to do something very

special by winning it twice."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>I know you're very

confident in your kids' resiliency. 

Having said that, given what you lost, all the obstacles you had to go

through, things on or off the court, who you faced and

other aspects, was there ever a point, maybe specific moment that sticks out,

where you wondered about whether this team could repeat?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "When we opened the season, we just realized

Gary wasn't going to play after football, Jaylen had transferred out and we

were reeling a little bit looking for an on-court leader to step up and do the

little things for us with the loss of Damen through

graduation.  After that triple-overtime

game with Stafford and then going down and losing to John Marshall, I kind of

looked at our schedule ahead and was frankly a little concerned.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I was concerned who was going to fill those roles,

how  we were going to come together as a

team and group, who was going to be our leading defender, our leader and who

was going to do all the intangible stuff you need to be successful.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It didn't take long for our kids to figure

out those roles, guys stepped up and with every win came more and more

confidence.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"While we did lose that game to John Marshall, it was

kind of eye-opening for us that we played one of the better teams talent-wise

in the state, only played a good half of basketball and still were in a

position in the fourth quarter to potentially win that game.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They continued to improve and get better.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"As far as the postseason, I felt our kids were locked

in ever since the Henrico Tournament.  Going

down to Virginia Beach, playing Norcom and winning

that game like we did was a huge shot in the arm for our boys.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The great thing about our group is, those

five kids that are on the court, when they take a shot it's never a mindset of,

'oh, I'm going to miss that shot.'  They

all know that they can and will make a shot, and they don't rattle.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It doesn't matter if they're down or up.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They're going to play hard, put themselves in

a position to be successful and have a chance to win."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>After two games, you sit

at 1-1 overall.  From that point on, you

win 17 straight and only one of those victories, the 67-66 triumph over

Henrico, was by single-digits in that stretch. 

Clearly that was a lot of progress made, so where was it made at in your

opinion?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think being that our

kids, and myself included, have never been in that

situation where you've had a season as successful as the previous year, everybody

was feeling very good about where we were. 

Even with the losses we had, we knew we had a good team and should win a

lot of games. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"After those first two games, it really re-focused the

group and gave us an opportunity to harp on things in practice, on film and in

pre-game that, 'listen, what we did last year is behind us.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  This is a different group and we all have to

do better, myself included, at who needs to do what and who needs to step up

for us.'  Those two early games really

re-focused our group, got our attention and put the previous year to bed for

us.  It really made us focus on the year

at hand and what we needed to do to be successful."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>How did you guys manage to

continue to win with so many road games, six straight I believe to close the

season, and would last year's team be able to pull that off?

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Did the experience of last year's group make

that process easier?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Our Conference 4

Tournament Championship, the entire 6A-South Region Tournament and the entire

State Tournament were all on the road. 

Obviously, those last two were at a neutral site, but you add those

miles up and you're looking at 1000 miles your last six games in roughly two

weeks.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"You can certainly see the largest jump in development and

confidence or progress in a player between their junior and senior year.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I've noticed that in every group I've had and

noticed it with the groups when I was an assistant at Mountain View.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It's hard to say whether or not last year's

group would've been able to overcome the challenges that we faced with

traveling, playing in other people's gyms, having to go to Virginia Beach twice

in three days to play a regional semi and Final.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"But our kids had a ton of confidence.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They are talented players.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We had a lot of guys who stepped up and were

good leaders for us.  Marco did a great

job of being an on-court leader.  He does

subtle things on the court when somebody makes a mistake, gets a little rattled

or shoots an air-ball or commits a turnover, you'll see him - and I see it all

the time on film - walk over to him and say something to him, and then they get

right back in the game.  They pick each

other up and do a great job from that standpoint."

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It's interesting to me how

James Shellington, arguably your fifth offensive

option on the floor, scores the game-winning put-back with under a minute to go

in the 6A State Championship vs. Westfield one year after a similar thing

happened when Damen Daniel, perhaps your fifth

offensive option there, scored the go-ahead basket with under a minute to go

vs. Landstown in the State Championship.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  You also have T.J. Flood, who rose to the

occasion with big scoring nights vs. Henrico and Norcom,

go scoreless vs. Westfield, but lead the team in rebounds with 10 from the

guard position.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Does that embody what this team was about?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Yeah, I really think it

does.  Throughout the year in different

games, it would be different players.  When

one or two guys has an off night or doesn't shine, the

other guys always step up.  You look at

the State Semifinal game vs. W.T. Woodson, when we needed a shot in the arm in

the third quarter, Carion dropped 3 3's.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"While T.J. didn't score in the State Championship, he

did a tremendous job guarding [Blake] Francis. 

Like you said, 10 rebounds, good assists, handled the ball for us when

class=SpellE>Carion was in foul trouble at times.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  As far as James, he and Isiah at that

position at the '4,' they averaged almost a double-double combined.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They pretty much split time.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Isiah usually does a better job on the

defensive glass and James generally does a job on the offensive glass.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's invaluable to have a '4' man who's willing to do

the dirty work, maybe not be one of your top options offensively, but will run

your sets, set a screen, box out, get stick-backs, defend and do all the little

things, which we have a lot of guys willing to do, and that makes them such a

good team collectively."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  There was some sentiment that you guys weren't

as deep as last year, but you got really timely contributions from the likes of

Shellington, Clarence Miles and Eric Washington off

the bench.  Did that motivate them as

well as your senior leaders, such as Haskins, Burgess and Flood, some of those whispers

that you might not be as deep due to the departures of Daniel, Jennings and

Franklin?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Yeah, there was

definitely a chip on their shoulder.  Like

I told you before, this group doesn't lack for confidence.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  They're not a cocky group, but they're a

confident group.  They feel like they can

play with anyone in the state, public or private.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  In our biggest games, our guys really shined

against the best competition.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"T.J. goes off against Henrico and Norcom.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Marco had the big State Tournament; he played

great against Woodson and Oscar Smith. 

Winston absolutely kills it in our Conference Tournament, and has a few

really solid games in regionals as well as does some positives in the State's.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I think there definitely was a chip on our

guy's shoulders.  They heard a lot of the

rumblings, and I bet you a lot of those kids were asking that same question

before the season.  Do we have enough

with Gary, Damen and Jaylen?

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think they answered their own questions, and everybody

else's questions, by finishing the mission this year by winning another State

Championship."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I look at all the State Champions at the

public school and private school level in Virginia for 2015.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Your team, to my knowledge, is the only one

without a single Division I prospect, being someone that has committed or holds

an offer from that level which also includes football when you throw in

class=SpellE>Altavista's State Player of the Year.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>I know Marco Haskins has recently picked up his first

D-2 offer and Winston Burgess holds some D-2 offers as well, but has that

served as a motivation for your leaders?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We talk to our guys

obviously about recruitment.  I think

everyone in the state is pretty baffled about Marco.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I know he had the off spring not playing a

whole lot for Boo Williams, but the kid is a D-1 talent in my estimation at

6-4, 195.  He has a Division I body, can

shoot the ball, does so many intangibles on the court, the kid's record is

54-3, led his team to back-to-back State Championships in the largest

classification in the state, is qualified and doesn't have a single D-1

offer.  And it's certainly not from a

lack of trying.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The game we run into with Division I's, a lot of these

guys I talk to it's, 'Well, who's offered him? 

Who's looking at him?'  You would

like for them to come out and do their own evaluation.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It has picked up.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Longwood is moving along with him.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I talked to Wagner, Presbyterian,

class=GramE>Central Connecticut. 

There has been some D-I interest pick up since the State Championship.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"You look at a kid like Winston, if he was two inches

taller there's no doubt in my mind he would have a Division I scholarship.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  But so many people are looking for that

6-8-plus for a Division I forward.  He

doesn't meet that criteria.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's unfortunate and the other thing I think we're

working to change is our area is under recruited frankly.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Part of it is the history of the area.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We haven't had a lot of teams go out in the

postseason and do what this group has done. 

We don't have local colleges at the Division I level like you would in

the Richmond area where you have VCU and the University of Richmond who can

slide on over and check out a practice, or you've put kids in that university

before.  We don't have that tradition in

our area.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We're going to find a home.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Those three guys in particular in Marco,

Winston and T.J. all are going to play College Basketball somewhere.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Two of them will be able to play College Basketball

for free, there's no doubt in my mind about that.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It's just a matter of moving forward and

hopefully this group has put our area on the map for recruitment.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I've been in the area for about 12 years and

seen a lot of kids who I thought would have a chance to play Division II or

even low-level Division I ball slide to D-3 or not go to college to play

basketball at all."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We touched on the games with Henrico, the

eventual 5A State Champ, and Norcom, the two-time 4A

State Champ, that you won.  One game we

haven't that I'd like to is Landstown,

who you beat for the 2014 State Championship and many thought you might see

them again in the title game. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>You did go down to Virginia Beach to play

class=SpellE>Landstown in a double-overtime classic, 59-56, for the

6A-South Region Championship that you won over them for a second straight

year.  Take me through that game as far

as how much you feel it helped propel you and is it one that will stick out in

your memory from this run?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"When we looked at

class=SpellE>Landstown, I really felt that our teams were mirror images

of each other.  I have a ton of respect

for Dwight [Robinson].  I think he does a

wonderful job with his team and he has very talented players.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  As a staff when we're putting together a

scouting report and talking about personnel, one of the things we kept coming

back to was everything we take pride in and think we do well, they take pride

in and do well also. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They're a defensive-oriented team, rebound the

basketball, they're physical, don't settle for jump shots, have quality

possessions, attack the basket.  Those

are all cornerstones of our program and what we preach to our kids on a daily

basis.  We had an opportunity to put that

game away in the fourth quarter; I think we were up 7-8 points with two or

three minutes to go and missed some free-throws.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Marco got hit with a Technical that in my

estimation was questionable at best; I watched it on film about a dozen times

and thought that was an avoidable call.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"But it comes down to making free-throws, taking care

of the little things, and to Landstown's

credit they fought back and pushed that game into overtime.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Marco was out most of the first

overtime.  At the final possession of

regulation, he went for a half-court shot, landed on his head and was out of

the game for almost the entire first overtime. 

It's unsettling when you're on the road in the Regional Championship

game in overtime and your best player is not on the court.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"He was able to come back and play the second overtime,

where we were able to attack the basket, get a couple buckets and put that game

away.  Winning games like that on the

road, going to Oscar Smith and playing a team with as much talent as they have,

just winning every single one of those games on the road that we were in was

meaningful.  Those kids believed they

could beat anybody and it's not a matter of them coming from a place of

arrogance.  They just have that belief in

themselves, what we've taught them, they trust us, we trust them and they

almost always found a way to get it done."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>I'll be completely honest

with you, I thought in my head with less than two minutes to go that Westfield

was about to win the State Championship. 

Now that you've had time to think back on it, what sticks out about the

comeback? 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"With every Championship

comes a certain amount of luck, too. 

That's not taking anything away from our kids and their

accomplishment.  So many things have to

fall your way to win a Championship.  If

Westfield hits their free-throws down the stretch, we don't win that game.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  That was a fortunate break for us.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Carion had an opportunity to

tie the game and when you're standing on that line in the State Championship

game, I can imagine how unnerving that is. 

Carion is one of the most confident kids we

have and we were needling him after the game, saying, 'What happened, man?

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  You could've tied that game.'

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He told me after the game, 'Coach, I was

nervous.  I've never been nervous on a

basketball court in my life, and I was nervous.'

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He made 1-of-2, but he was 11-for-11 in the

regional semis against Oscar Smith and like 10-for-12 in the State Semis.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I never felt rattled for myself in the Westfield game

or even when Woodson stormed back and cut it to one.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I always felt like the kids were going to

find a way, and they did."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>What was the strength of this

basketball team and identity over the last two years?

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Every season we start a

season with five points of emphasis and things we as a staff decide to harp

on.  All five of those years, the two at

the top of the list have been defense and rebounding.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We take a lot of pride in defending the

basketball and winning the battle on the glass. 

I think we were only out-rebounded one or two times the entire season,

and not surprising at least one of those games we lost.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I would also be remised if I didn't say I have a

phenomenal staff.  You don't get to win

back-to-back State Championships without talented players and a very capable

staff.  The guys I have on staff are

phenomenal, and all three assistant coaches are very capable leaders who could

be Head Coaches if they ever decide to make that jump in Tony Howard, Bryan Lewis and

Phil Brown.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They do a great job with defense, Bryan Lewis

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> in particular.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I'll pretty much turn my defensive reigns

over to him.  He leads a lot of our

defensive drills.  Rebounding is

something I take a lot of pride in and we do a lot of competitive rebounding

drills every single day in practice and just hammer it out.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Our kids really take pride in that and the

physical nature of the game.  To the kids'

credit, they bought into it and what we were selling."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Q:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Was there a specific turning point you recall

in this second State Championship journey?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>John:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "Similar to the previous season, the Holiday

Tournament is one of the most crucial times in a season.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  You're usually turning the corner into

conference play, usually have reached about the midway mark in your season and

if you can get yourself into a competitive holiday tournament and come out

successful by winning a Championship against a team like Henrico, that will

always propel you forward with the right group of kids.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I knew that after they saw they could beat Henrico

with as much as they've read about Henrico and understand how good of a program

they are as well as how talented their players are and the history and

tradition of that school, I felt that would propel us forward in a big

way.  It just confirmed their mindset of,

'hey, we can play with anyone in the state.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I don't care what anyone says.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We're good enough to get back to where we

need to get back to.'" 

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Q:

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Did those wins over a 5A

State Champ in Henrico and 4A State Champ in Norcom

validate the Championship even more, and did you need any validation?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>John:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "People can say what they want, I didn't vote

to change the classification.  We show up

and play who we're told to play.  At the

end of the day, it comes down to two teams. 

We beat the last team standing. 

For me personally, no I didn't need any validation.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think for the kids, in the Woodson game we came out

and played a little tentative at times. 

I know we came out real hot, then got shaky for

a while.  Before the Westfield game, I

told the kids, 'Listen, you've beat this year's 5A State Champion and this year's

4A State Champion.  There's no reason you

should ever step on the court with anyone and feel inferior.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>   You're good enough to be here, earned the

opportunity to be here and now go out and be the 6A State Champion.'

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Kids respond and stuff like that, but feeling

disrespected as a High School ball player motivates them.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It's something we can harp on, but whether it's

reality or not is all in perception. 

Those kids felt disrespected after last year's State Championship."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Q:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  For you personally, what was the biggest

challenge in this quest to repeat?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>John:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "I had an outside who

came into one of our off-season workouts and saw our kids practice.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He made a comment to me that really rang

true.  He said something to the effect

of, 'Coach, are you going to have enough basketballs for all this talent on the

court?'  Meaning the biggest obstacle was

going to be to get these kids to share the basketball and not have one person

try to do too much. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think when you have a talented group,

the key is to get them to play together. 

You've seen other talented groups around the state get knocked out early

because of internal issues like that. 

The biggest challenge I had was getting them all to understand that this

is a different team from last year, to find new roles and to not press and try

to do too much as an individual.  

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It would've been very easy for a number of our guys to

take bad shots, to force possessions, not share the basketball and to their

credit they rarely do that.  You rarely

see one kid on our team put up 20 shots. 

They look to get the ball inside to Winston, understand the importance

of playing inside-out basketball and making defenses collapse.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I guess like with any group, the biggest challenge is

getting them to play together and buy in to what you're trying to accomplish.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The other challenge I faced was that this was

the first time I've ever been in this situation as a Head Coach, where the

expectation is that you win.  There were

people when we lost that game to Hylton, I hadn't

heard from them all year, then all of the sudden it's, 'Coach, what

happened?  You guys lost.'

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It's different when you're not expected to

win and you go into places expected to win, and that's the way I thought this season

was."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Q:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Any favorite untold story you'd like to share

with the fans and readers out there about this 2014-15 Championship version of

the Colonial Forge Eagles?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>John:

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"There has been so much

written about our guys and talked about that I don't know what stone is left

unturned at this point.  The only thing

that stands out to me is I just thought collectively as a group, we don't have

a marquee Division I player or #1 scorer in the fact that this kid averages 22

and is the leader of this team. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's very strange when you ask me right now who our

best player was this year, I honestly don't know if it's Winston or Marco.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We've played games without Marco and there

have been plenty of times where we've had Winston on the bench due to foul

trouble.  To see a collective group of

kids that work that well together, put individual stats or accolades aside to

be successful as a unit is what I'm most proud of with this team."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Q:

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  What's next for Jason John?

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Would you listen to a college coaching

opportunity if it came calling, and what's next for

the Eagles in 2015-16?

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>John:

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"As far as me personally,

I'm very happy where I am.  I'm excited

about the kids we have coming back.  I'm

sure every coach goes through this. 

There's never an easy time to leave a group of kids.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  With what we have coming back -

class=SpellE>Carion, James, Clarence, Dom, Des, Ro and all those guys

you don't know a lot about, but were with us - it would be very hard for me to

walk away from them this year if another opportunity were to arise.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I'm happy where I am and excited to find my seniors a

home for next year.  It's been my main

focus these past few weeks until all five have a home for next year.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  And then as far as Colonial Forge basketball,

I'm a routine guy and process guy. 

Nothing changes for us. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Last year's off-season was no different than next year's

off-season will be.  It doesn't matter if

you have a group that you think can win a State Championship or one that you think

will struggle to be .500.  We're going to

get back in the gym after spring break and get back to work, and re-define

roles. 

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Every year has been a little bit easier with the success

of the program.  You get more interest

and guys buy in and believe in what you're teaching and selling.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  We want to keep that trend where Colonial

Forge basketball is recognizable in the state. 

If we have a down year, we have a down year.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  But it's not going to be from a lack of

trying.  We're going to keep trying to be

successful with every season."

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:

none'>Matthew Hatfield

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>

serves as State Basketball Analyst for

href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, part of the Rivals.com

Network.  Check out

href="https://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related updates,

and you can also read his work in the

href="http://www.suffolknewsherald.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Suffolk News Herald

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>. 

To contact Matthew, please e-mail

href="mailto:hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, and don't forget to listen to him

every Saturday at 10AM on

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:

none'>ESPN Radio 94.1

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>,

plus watch him on the

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:

none'>Cox 11 Sports Report

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>