Throughout the season, OakHillHoops.com features personal stories from our players.

Congratulations

May 21, 2010 — Congratulations is all I’ve been hearing the last few days because I graduate tomorrow, May 22nd, and I start college May 26th. It’s a fast transition, not giving me too much time to reflect, but the past few days I’ve been thinking about my time on the Hill — 3 years.

I thought about how I’ve wanted to come to Oak Hill since the 5th grade, how my Dad talked to Mrs. Smith and she sent us information on the school but spelled my name wrong, and how I met Coach Smith at the Final Four when UConn beat Georgia Tech.

Then my sophomore year, my Dad talked to Coach Smith about me coming to Oak Hill. The first day on campus I fit right in, and the rest is history.

Now three years later I am one day from being done. It’s happened so fast!

I have so many great memories here of people at school and basketball. I look back and see how much I have grown up and matured. It took me a while, but I’m starting to get it.

So many people have helped me and I want to thank them. First my Dad, who was with me the whole time and made the transition easy. Coach Smith, for putting up with me and helping my game and helping me as a person. BC, B-Rock, Coach Allen and  Taylor – you all helped me on the road, on the court and at school. Mrs. Smith, who kept me in line and helped me mature as a person – and thanks for all the good food. My teachers – Rev, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Goodman, Mr. Dunlap, Ms. Callison, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Finklea, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Hill, Mr. and Mrs. Black, Coach Rodgers, and the teacher I was most scared of -Mrs. Bonham – who I came to love. Thank you all for helping me to prepare for college and life in general. And thanks Twon and Q for being good friends. Thank you to all my teammates for being like my family and making such a big impact on my life. I can’t forget Dr. and Mrs. Groves and Mr. and Mrs. Curran, OHA President and Principal, you made it feel even more like a family, and I appreciate being able to come to you if I needed anything.

Thanks to all of you. I’ll miss the Oak Hill fam!

Pe`Shon

Throughout the 2009-2010 season, OakHillHoops.com will feature personal stories from our players.

Finishing Strong

March 5, 2010 — I’m back! I haven’t written in a while. Sorry for the absence, but now the regular season is over. We ended strong by beating Benedictine HS in Richmond, VA. Roscoe, Juwan & I were all in double figures.

We bused back after the game & got to campus really late and then had Senior night. We beat Oak Ridge Military. The whole team played really well & we are now 29-3.

This also marked Coach Smith’s 25th season as the head coach of Oak Hill, so we got to celebrate that after the game. Also, I would like to thank all the fans that came out to Meet the Team. We enjoyed it.
The team/school goes on spring break tomorrow but the season isn’t over. We have the ESPN Rise Tournament April 1-3, so we still have to stay focused. I’m glad we’ll have about a week or so to practice. After we come back from break we’ll be in our last quarter of school. I know we’ll finish strong both on and off the court. So until then…hope everyone is safe and that we get some warmer weather! Had enough snow!

Pe`Shon

Throughout the 2009-2010 season, OakHillHoops.com will feature personal stories from our players.

We’re Back

January 25, 2010 — We’re back!  Seems like I haven’t written a diary entry in forever.  So I’ll get everyone caught up with what has been going on.

I had a great Christmas break that was really busy.  It started in Ironton, OH where we went 2-0 and the team played well.

Then everyone went home for Christmas for only two days.  We flew to Portland, OR the day after Christmas.  It was a really tough journey, especially for me.  I was delayed at two different airports and didn’t get any sleep.  I arrived the morning of the first game and I’d only slept about five hours.

The Les Shwab Invitational is one of the top holiday tournaments in the country.  We went 3-1, losing to Westchester from L.A. in the finals.  That was a tough one.  It was even tougher for me being from Los Angeles.  We had the game won and in the 4th quarter we turned the ball over and it cost us.  I made the All-Tournament Team and Doron got MVP, even though we didn’t win the tournament.  Everyone went back home from there, arriving in time to celebrate New Years with our family and friends.  We had a nice two weeks at home.

The team returned back to campus on Monday, Jan. 11th.  We didn’t waste any time.  Coach started us off with a two-a-day practice to try and whip us back into shape after the lay off.  We spent the next few days getting ready for our ESPN game vs Northland HS at the MLK Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, and we started second semester classes.

We started off great vs Northland and played fairly well.  Our defense was working and we held Sully to 0 points in the first half.  But we only shot 29% from the field for the game.  We played hard but we could not throw a rock into the ocean.  We lost by 1 point.  It was really disappointing.

We went straight from Massachusetts to Greensboro, NC the next day where we played Greensboro Dudley HS at their MLK Day Classic.  We played pretty good and won by 22.  That game helped us to get back on track.

Last week we were preparing for our game Saturday in Morgantown, WV vs Columbia HS from Georgia, the best team in GA.  We took a charter bus up there after practice Friday, and we came away with the win Saturday night 63-56.  Another close one!

More later…

Pe`Shon

Maintaining Focus

December 19, 2009 — Man, the last week and a half has been crazy. We started it off with four games in four days. It was tough, but we came out with four wins. Coach scheduled the games this way to help us get ready for our after Christmas tournament in Portland, so this helped us realize the type of focus it will take for us to win.

These games led right into finals week, so we had to get our minds back into school right away. (Coach helped a lot by giving us light practices.)

Finally, what made everything even more crazy was the snow storm that came Friday and affected the exam schedule. So Friday morning, we woke up at 6:30 am and started tests at 7 am! We had to take three tests instead of two. Our home game also got canceled because of the snow that night.  The team was upset, but that meant “winter break” officially started.

All the students left campus later Friday, except for us and the girls basketball team. We aren’t leaving until Sunday to go play in Ironton, OH.

So we took a break today and played in the 15 inches of snow – Me, Coach Allen and Coach B, helped keep us from being bored.

We’ve worked out as a team this weekend to make sure we stay sharp with a tough stretch coming up - two games in Ohio, then Portland after Christmas and an ESPN game vs. Northland in Springfield, MA.

‘Til 2010…
Pe`Shon

Throughout the 2009-2010 season, OakHillHoops.com will feature personal stories from our players.

Feeling Better

November 20, 2009 — Hey everyone. I’m back! A lot has happened since my last entry. We’ve had a fast start (8-0). It’s great to be undefeated early in our season.

Thanksgiving Break started Saturday (11/21), and everyone was ready to go home and see their families. I hope everybody comes back to pick up where we left off both on and off the court. We all need some rest to help us get healthy – get over our injuries and sickness. The flu hit our whole school and the team pretty hard. Martins, Marco, Roscoe & myself all missed some practice. The flu definitley hit me the hardest forcing me to miss a game. But the team took care of business anyways.

I hope when I return I maintain my focus in the classroom. The whole team made either the A or B honor roll 1st quarter. When we all get back there will be no time for distractions or goofing off as we have a tough stretch – 3 weekends out of state versus good teams. On the court, I hope there are no let downs.

Last thing here – Congratulations to Juwan Staton & Baye Keita for signing National Letters of Intent to play for the University of Dayton & Syracuse University. I didn’t sign, so looks like I’m waiting until the Spring to be certain. I wish the rest of my teammates good luck with their college choices!

Pe`Shon #21

Throughout the 2009-2010 season, OakHillHoops.com will feature personal stories from our players.

Coming Together

October 28, 2009 — What’s up everyone?!  The season is coming fast.  Everything is starting to pick up. Last week we scrimmaged Bluefield College and won by 22.  The team played well, everyone played hard and had fun.  I love our chemistry and how we interact with each other.

We scrimmaged Hargrave Military last week too.  It was the third time I’ve played against them.  I have a great respect for their team.  I’ve never beaten them.  They have great players and coaching.  As a team they play so hard.  They are all over us and play so physical.  It is the best team we will play all year by far!!!!  We ended up in a tie.  We won the first 20 min half and they won the second.  We competed and played hard.  I thought we all played well.

Everyone stepped up, made big plays and big shots.  Juwan started us off by making tough shot after tough shot.  Then Doron and Roscoe picked us up through the rest of the half.  Baye and Martins played real big in the paint.  Keith came in and made some clutch threes.  The 2nd half was more of the same.  Juwan ran the team. R oscoe and Doron were still getting buckets.  They can both really score.  Marco came in and made plays all over the court, and Devon played smart.  Offensively we were fine.  We just have to pick up the D.  I’m not too worried though because Hargrave doesn’t play like the other schools we play, so we should be good.  This team can do great things.

Our first game is on Halloween this weekend.  Until then…

Pe`Shon #21

Gelling

October 5, 2009 — I’m back!!  We are now in our second month of school.  Workouts are good.  We are going hard in the gym.  The team is coming together really well!  I feel confident about our progress and this season.  The players are starting to get along real well. We are getting used to each other.  I like our players and chemistry.

School is going good. I’m getting adjusted to my classes.  I know I won’t be able to slide through this year.  I will have to work hard, but I’m willing.

Everything else on the Hill is great.  The student body is getting along great as well.  This could be the best year since I’ve been here.

Till next time…

Pe`Shon

Back at the Hill

September 17, 2009 — I am in the second week of my third year at Oak Hill. It has gone by so fast! I remember my first day here. This is like my home. I’m already thinking about how much I’m going to miss it.

My classes are all starting to get past the review & introductions and getting into the real work. I’m really trying to get my time management right this year in prep for college work next fall. My schedule is hard, but I’m ready for the challenge.

Basketball wise – I’m playing well and the team is looking good. We have a lot of work to do, but we are going hard. I think with this team and our schedule we will definitely make a run at a national championship. It won’t be easy at all, but this is why you come to Oak Hill – to get a great education and play the best.