James Monroe Boys
James Monroe Boys
Mavs get their Mann , looking to extend success
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
The James Monroe Mavericks got their Mann .
But in many ways , Kelly Mann was hoping he wouldn ’ t have to answer questions as the new coach for the James Monroe boys basketball job , preferring to remain status quo , because the way things were going had been so good for so long .
Not that the former Peterstown great , who played at Virginia Tech for three years and was later all-conference at Concord , didn ’ t want to coach his pseudo alma mater , replacing Matt Sauvage and his top assistant Cory Miller , who resigned after leading James Monroe to back-toback state titles , including an undefeated season and three straight tournament berths .
Those are large sneakers to fill .
“ Honestly , I hoped I wouldn ’ t have gotten the job and those guys would have just stayed ,” Mann said . “( Sauvage ) did such a great job , Corey and that bunch .”
Sauvage was 141-52 over eight years , 90-9 over the final four seasons .
“ But on the other side of that I ’ m happy to be here . I ’ ve coached in the area ; I have coached many of these kids . And I can ’ t say enough about how helpful Matt has been through the process . We ’ re friends but he gave me a lot of info and how they did things . We aren ’ t going to change anything . We might tweak it to fit our personnel but the way they ran this program was first class and that won ’ t change .”
The Mavericks will have to replace leading scorer and rebounder Ryan Cole ( 16.4 points , 7.3 rebounds ) and two-year starter Cooper Ridgeway ( 9.9 ppg and team-best 4.8 assists ).
18 • WV SOUTH BASKETBALL
Tina Laney / For The Register-Herald
James Monroe ’ s Ryan Mann goes to the basket against Wyoming East ’ s Bryson Huff during the Little General Battle for the Armory .
But three seniors , all with experience , two of them starters , return to lead the team — Layton Dowdy , Brady Baker and Wil Boggess .
Dowdy , 6-foot , 155 pounds , averaged 9.4 points , 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists .
“ He ’ s a really good shooter , a really good rebounder and a defender ,” Mann said . “ He ’ s a tough-minded kid . He is not going to shy away from a challenge . He has played some post , but his natural position is a wing , a guard . For what we want to do , and I would like to be able to run more , I think his talents are better suited at his natural position .”
Brady Baker , the double-double maker , might be one of the nimblest big men in the state and he can dominate inside , with several double-doubles . The 6-2 , 290-pound has committed to WVU football .
“ Brady is very unique ,” Mann said . “ I remember talking to him several years ago . He was playing football . I said , ‘ Brady , Division I coaches love athletes and basketball can help with that .’ He took that , ran with it and he developed into a player who can dominate inside .”
He led the team in shooting at 59 percent .
Boggess averaged 4.0 points after starting the season late with an injury .
“ It took him most of the year to find his footing ,” Mann said . “ He played well after that . I think he can have a big year for us .”
Mann will also get to coach his son Ryan , a junior .
“ He ’ s been in the weight room working hard to get his body where it needs to be ,” Mann said . “ One of his strong points is the ability to guard any position , one through five .”
Mann reiterated his intent to run more and use as many as 10 players .
“ I want to get up and down the floor and use more players if that ’ s what is what works for us ,” Mann said .
Many of the players who can help in that regard , whether starting or contributing minutes off the bench , saw some time last season .
Those include senior Bannon Goodman and sophomores Jayden Miller , Kadyn Hines and Bryce Gardinier .
Also out this year are juniors Lane Taylor and Brock Parker .
The team has been bumped back to Class AA Region 3 after having unprecedented success in Class A .
“ There are some great programs out there , when you look at teams like Bluefield and what they have done , Westside is going to be stacked , Wyoming East has a talented team ,” Mann said . “ You have to go out there and play and compete every night .”
Mann will be assisted by Jim Jackson , a former teammate at Virginia Tech who was on the Mavs ’ staff a year ago , and Kenny Mann , a distant relative .