Dominion Basketball Takes Stock

After State Run, Titans Hope They Are Built to Last

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Dominion Coach Steve Douglas sat in the media room on Saturday afternoon at VCU's Siegel Center in Richmond, moments after his team's magical season ended with a 48-36 loss to Brunswick in the Virginia AA Division 3 state quarterfinals and shook his head as a slight grin spread across his face.

"You've got to give credit to Brunswick," Douglas said. "Bryant Stith, he got me again."

Twenty one years earlier, Douglas was a starting guard on Loudoun Valley's basketball team, digesting a loss in the state championship to Brunswick and senior forward Bryant Stith. Neither loss was easy to swallow, but both came with significant silver linings.

The 1988 Vikings team, coached by Douglas's father, Scott, was only the second Loudoun area squad to reach the state title game in boys' basketball. Their success helped make the area a factor in high school sports on the state level.

Until Dominion's 2009 run, no Loudoun team had returned to the state tournament in five years. And although Saturday's defeat closed the curtain on the best season in the Titans' brief history, the accomplishment of reaching the state level has established a sense of fulfillment and progress for a school that had never before experienced this kind of success in athletics.

"Hopefully everybody realizes around our area and in Loudoun County in general - since we're only the fourth team to go to states - that it can be done," senior Greg Smucker said. "We didn't get the job done that we wanted to get done, winning the championship, but it's definitely created a legacy for our area, and hopefully all the kids coming up from middle school and the whole area see what we've done, how hard we've worked and keep it up for the next couple years."

One of 10 seniors on the roster, Smucker was an active participant in the two-year transformation the Titans have undergone with Douglas at the helm. In his first year, Douglas took a 6-17 squad from the 2006-07 season and turned them into a .500 ballclub. One year later, the Titans are 20-game winners, Dulles District champions, Region II Division 3 runners-up and state tournament participants.

"It's kind of like the season of firsts," Douglas said. "The biggest challenge we've had to develop there is that winning mentality. To understand how to win and to understand that once you start to win, the 'X' finally goes on your back and everyone is after you. We've played so hard these past couple years to try to achieve this goal, now we have to figure out how to stay on top."

Staying on top won't be easy for the Titans, who will return only four of their 15 players from this team. Easily the biggest loss will be Region II Player of the Year DeAndre Albritton, Dominion's all-time leading scorer and one of the most dominant players in the Dulles District over his four-year career.

But the Titans took their biggest step this season when the players around Albritton became consistent contributors rather than spectators. More balanced scoring and a team approach on both ends of the floor helped Dominion to a 13-1 league record and the district crown.

"We came together as a family this year," sophomore guard DeAndre Reaves said. "We've learned a lot from each other. Last year we went from just a one-person team to a team. I'm definitely going to miss all (10 seniors) and hopefully we'll have another shot at the state tournament."

Coaching, player continuity and dedication will only help the Titans as they look to establish their young program as one of the region's best. The three-time state champion Bulldogs have already achieved such recognition. But as Stith - who went on to play for UVA and in the NBA - noted, with Douglas at the helm, Dominion isn't too far behind.

"It's good to see that they're keeping the blood within the programs around the state. That's how you build traditional powers," Stith said. "This is a program that's going to be built and it's going to be a very good program for years to come. And I don't want to have to keep seeing them. I hope other teams up there take care of them, because I know what they're all about."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks