MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With 12 wins in their first 13 games, Doddridge County appears well on their way to earning a third consecutive trip to the Class AA boys basketball state tournament. The goal this year for veteran head coach Paul Burnside is a lengthy stay in Charleston in mid-March.
“Two years ago, a lot of these kids that are playing for us now were sophomores and we were blessed to make it to the state tournament in Class A. Last year as juniors, even more stepped up and played for us and we were blessed to make it in Class AA. In both of those cases, we were ousted in the first round,” said Burnside.
“These guys have a hunger and a desire to get back there if it is the Lord’s will and to stay longer than one game.”
Take a look at the season statistics for Doddridge and you’ll see a unique pattern in their point production. Through 13 games, the Bulldogs don’t have a double-digit scorer on their roster. However, they do have seven players that average between five and just under ten points per game.
“We knew that we would have a lot of depth. So we wanted to use it to our advantage. If you have seen us play, you’ll probably notice that we play sometimes 10-12 guys on a regular basis. We just try to keep fresh legs in there. It seems that we have a different leading scorer on just about every night.”
Burnside says a team-first mentality has been an integral part in notable victories over teams like Williamstown, Scott, Charleston Catholic and Ritchie County.
“Credit to the guys for buying into that type of system. Some of these guys, if they got more minutes, they would have more scoring and they would have maybe higher stats. But they have bought into the fact that it is greater for Doddridge to be successful than for me to be successful and for Doddridge to suffer.”
Balance on offense has been complemented by a defense that is yielding just 44 points per game. The Bulldogs own the best scoring defense in Class AA.
“We’ve been blessed to be able to hold teams below 50 points. I think we have given up 50 points or more only three times this season. They have really bought into the defensive end of the floor, which has in turn created a lot for us on the offensive end.”
6-foot-8 senior center Jaden Solomon leads the Bulldogs in scoring (9.3) and rebounding (8.1).
“Jaden has come a long way. When we got Jaden in our program as a freshman, he didn’t have a whole lot of basketball experience. But Jaden has put in a lot of work. He has worked really hard. He is a consistent scorer. Once we get him the ball inside, a lot of times it turns into automatic points for us. He is a big kid, so it is a big mismatch for a lot of teams that we play. Also on the back end of our defense, we’ll maybe gamble a little bit more out front and try to get some steals in transition knowing that we have 6-foot-8 back there protecting the rim.”
Burnside is a veteran assistant coach on the highly-successful Doddridge County football team. DoCo played their way to Thanksgiving weekend before falling to eventual state champion Frankfort in the Class AA semifinals. Many of the ten seniors on the basketball roster had to make a quick transition from football season.
“It is a big, big difference. In football, there’s stops at the end of every play. Even for teams that play with tempo in football, there’s still a little bit of time where you can gather yourself, collect your breath and get your mind right and ready to move on to the next play. Whereas in basketball, unless there is a dead ball, a foul or something like that or someone calls a timeout, we can be playing continuous action for a long period of time. It is a different type of shape. It has taken a little while, but I think our guys are definitely hitting a little stride midseason.”
Burnside is a former Doddridge County hoop standout and he later played collegeiately at Salem International. He says he could maybe be a spot up shooter on the court now, but he embraces the opportunity to lead his alma mater.
“Probably not many unless I am spotted up in the corner for three. My playing days are behind me right now. I occasionally jump out there and joke around with the guys but it doesn’t take me long to move off to the side and let the people that are in good physical shape take care of that.”