AWT: Dancy kept Haywood playing at high level
Winning a state championship will bring plenty of accolades, but when 10 players graduate from that level of a team, some coaches would run.
Haywood coach Kendall Dancy got back to basics with a new crop of talent and kept the Tomcats playing at a high level.
Haywood was the No. 1 seed entering the District 15-AA tournament and reached the Region 8-AA semifinals a year after winning the 2015 Class AA state championship to earn Dancy the honor of the All-West Tennessee boys basketball Coach of the Year.
“To be named coach of the year when we were picked fourth and managed to claw our way in a tough district to first is a without a doubt one of the biggest honors that I have ever received,” Dancy said. “A lot of times people don’t realize what it takes to be competitive as a coach. It is a tremendous honor, and I am blessed.”
Haywood boys advance to 15-AA title game
Question: When you first looked at this year’s team with 10 players gone from last year, what were your initial thoughts?
Answer: Losing the seniors that we lost, I knew that it would be a difficult year. A lot of people thought that it would be a rebuild. We worked so hard over the last two years to build a quality program that would be competitive year in and year out. I wasn’t certain how we would fare against other talent, but I knew that we would come out and compete and play a good brand of basketball.
Q: Did you change your coaching style with the new crop of players coming in?
A: Absolutely. The one thing that I have learned as a varsity head coach is that every player is different and every team is different. The team that I had last year, I was the only coach that they had from middle school through high school. I spent a lot of time with the other guys as well, but I spent a lot more time teaching this year because I had four guys that had never started a high school basketball game in their career. Talented, but it is different being put in the forefront from a player that contributes to a player with the spotlight.
Q: Was there a point in the season when you thought this team could fight for a district title?
A: I can’t say there was a certain point in the season that was a turning point. I just kept watching the guys work hard. I give credit to the coaching staff, but more so the guys buying in and working day in and day out to get better. Our goal at Haywood is to get better every practice and every chance we get. LaKendrick Callaway had big shoes to fill coming behind [Jordon] Varnado, and he continued to get better. Callaway was the key to our season. It was a game-to-game maturation process.
Q: Did the state title last season add excitement to the program heading into this season?
A: My heart goes out to kids that want to compete in any varsity sport, especially when things are going well for a program. We probably had 200 kids show up for basketball, and that is a struggle for me because all kids want to be a part of something. I had never seen that many kids at a tryout. It was like a basketball camp. It brought excitement not only to the student body but the community as a whole.
Q: With a majority of this year’s team back, what are your expectations going into next year?
A: One of our foundational principles is to continue to get better every opportunity that we get. A huge part of us getting better and competing will be the guys buying into working on their individual skill sets in the summer months. That will be the opportunity for us to get better as individuals. A lot of times kids use travel ball and AAU to work, but that is not the same thing. The work our guys do on their own during the summer will be a determining factor to what we do next year. That being said we have to stay humble and continue to fight to get better day in and day out.
Michael Odom, 425-9754