When the 2015-16 boys basketball season began, the biggest question surrounding Doss High School wasn’t whether the Dragons could repeat as the Sixth Region champions. Rather, it was who was going to play for them.
The Dragons entered the season having to replace 10 players and half the coaching staff, but coach Tony Williams didn’t buckle from the challenge. As a result, Doss finds itself in the same place it was this time last year – Lexington in the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 – even though the team was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the preseason.
The key, Williams said, was using that preseason ranking to fuel the new kids.
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“Obviously, I knew that everyone didn’t know what we had, but it was a blessing because I was able to motivate my guys to a higher level,” Williams said.
Just as they relied on three key players to lead the team last season, the Dragons once again have relied on three players to lead them this year. Two of those players transferred into the school before the season started.
Senior swingman Kenyi Bryant, who played previously for Cincinnati’s Mt. Healthy High School, leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. Bryant said he was eager to join the team because he had heard about last year’s success and wanted to replicate it.
Along with Bryant, forward Kel’Shawn Knight-Goff transferred from Christian Academy of Indiana, and the senior leads the team in rebounds (7.2 per game) and is second in scoring (13.1). Junior guard Jaylon Hall, one of the five returning players from last year’s team, averages 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while making 74.4 percent of his free throws.
Williams knew the new players brought talent, but the biggest challenge was whether he could get them to come together as a team in a short time.
“Having only five months or less to complete and create a bond is a really big challenge,” Williams said. “Luckily, the guys that I have took to each other quickly.”
Bryant said the perceptions about this year’s team helped bring the players closer.
“We weren’t really worried about all the rankings and stuff,” he said. “We were just trying to prove everybody wrong. We were just trying to get back to Lexington, and we did that.”
Doss plays Lawrence County in the opening game of Thursday’s first-round matchups. The Bulldogs, who have fielded the same starting lineup for the past four seasons, lead the state in scoring. Williams said he likes the opportunity for his team to go up and down the court.
“To me, that’s a lot better than playing a team that continues to slow it down and play in the halfcourt,” Williams said. “We’ve shown that we can play either way, but I think I have guys who have good motors and really good conditioning.”
The Dragons may have another player available to them come Thursday. Cam Maddox, who last played in a Jan. 5 win over Valley, has had a cast taken off his left hand. He hadn’t been cleared as of Monday, Williams said, but he might play some if he’s available. In 13 games this season, the 6-3 junior averaged 9.2 points and shot a team-best 41.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.