SACCO: Why not this year? (or the next)

FISHERSVILLE
Nobody has won anything yet. The refs haven’t even tossed the ball in the air at midcourt, fercryingoutloud (at least, not in a real-time game yet).

Oh, and there’s still another practice or two (or three, or four, you get the picture).

So, to summarize, nobody is handing the R.E. Lee girls basketball team any hardware before December even rears its cold, ugly, snowy head.

But, the truth of the matter is, having its first taste of coaching consistency since Dan Bonner left in Jeremy Hartman, and having a roster full of ball players —none of which happen to be seniors — should have Staunton excited when it comes to the Lee Ladies.

The girls don’t look excited, it’s more of a grab-the-lunch-pail-time-to-go-to-work look.

But we’ll chalk that up to quiet confidence — not cockiness, mind you — that they exude like the smell of cooking turkey with all the trimmings.

Trust us, folks. This is a good thing. As are the expectations this young group of girls have set upon themselves.

“We have a lot of [expectations],” Scott says.

They are lofty. Expectations beyond this team’s years, to be honest. Call it youthful exuberance, if you will. Having four juniors, two sophomore and five freshman, well, the only way to describe it is youthful. That and dead serious.

“Why can’t we?” Hartman says, channeling his inner 15-year-old basketball player and echoing his team’s sentiments. “Why can’t we win states? Who cares if we’re only 14? Why can’t we?”

There’s a lot of reasons why Lee can’t. Youth. Will the preseason and summer talent show during the games that count? Will they remain injury free? And, of course, the season hasn’t even started yet.

There are plenty of potential stumbling blocks for this version of the Lee Ladies. Will those freshman and sophomore mistakes rear their heads at the worst of times? And, if there are mistakes, how long will it take for Hartman to get them ironed out?

“We’re still young,” Hartman says. “We’re still learning a lot of things, but they love each other. They get along and they like playing basketball.”

Those are not recipes for regular-season destruction, Hartman’s concerns are more like pre-heating the oven. And if what fans saw during Tuesday night’s scrimmage with Wilson Memorial holds true through the regular season and against Group AA foes, this team won’t need to bake at 350 for a year or two.

Angela Mickens looking nothing like a freshman while running the floor smoother than a cone of soft serve. Scott owning the lane like a bully land lady. And Hartman showing flashes of frustration on the bench at the young mistakes, but quickly catching himself and turning back into nurturing mode.

“The expectations they’ve set for themselves are just as high, if not higher, than I set for them,” Hartman says, flashing smile.

Add that talent in with a touch of family, which the Lee Ladies have both literally and figuratively (“Some of them are related,” Hartman says. “And if we’re going to be together the next few years, we’ll make it a family atmosphere.”), and this season could be a fun ride.

“We want to go all the way to states this year and next year,” Scott says.

Get the popcorn and sodas ready. One way or another, it’s going to be a fun girls basketball season is Staunton. This season is where it all restarts for Lee girls basketball and, like the Lee Ladies say, “Why not?”