by Andrew Wasik ’13

The transfers are the talk of the season for varsity boys’ basketball. What better way to fill the gap of losing three starters from last season than to add three from other schools. Seniors Alec Wheeler and Daryl Brown, and junior Ellis Dozier are all eager to play basketball for the defending regional champion Sherwood Warriors.

Dozier, who transferred from DeMatha in Hyattsville, will be playing the center position for Sherwood. “Things weren’t really working out at DeMatha, and I remember hearing how far Sherwood made it in playoffs,” said the 6’7 Dozier. “So I felt like I could come and contribute.” For most of his life, Dozier had played the forward position, but now that he is the tallest person on the team, Coach Dondrell Whitmore has made him the team’s center. “It’s not really that much of a transition, Coach knows I’m not always going to be a center in the post; he knows I can handle [the ball] pretty well and shoot pretty well. He lets me play my game,” said Dozier.

Wheeler, who will be playing guard for the team, also had to adjust to public school life after spending his first three years in private schools. The senior transferred from Saint James School, a boarding school in Hagerstown. “Saint James has a top academic program and that as well as basketball was a lot of work,” said Wheeler. “So my family and I decided to try my local high school for my senior year to spend some time at home, experience public school and be around my family for once.”

Brown transferred from Watkins Mill and will be the only new transfer that will be playing his former team this season. “Yes, there will be some bad blood because I transferred, but it’s not only a personal game, I also just like winning.” The new starting point guard for the team is going from a team that hasn’t been to a state tournament since 1991 to a team that won its regional championship game last year. “I feel confident in the team, we have a lot of potential to go far,” said Brown. “We could be playing deep in March.”

The team’s first game on December 7 was against Seneca Valley and turned out to be an absolute blowout with a crushing 81-20 victory for the Warriors. The team held the Screaming Eagles to under 10 points a quarter. Dozier scored 8 points, Brown had 6 and Wheeler had 5 with a few assists. The Warriors looked dominant on both offense and defense, and while Seneca Valley isn’t the biggest test in the county, the Warriors still proved that they can be an efficient and effective team.

The first test of the season came against a scrappy Churchill team who the Warriors beat 48-41 in a much harder game. Wheeler proved how easily he can become one of the top players on the team, taking over late and scoring clutch baskets during an 18-12 run for the Warriors in the fourth quarter. Wheeler had a total of 19 points to lead all players and is now the leading scorer, averaging 12 points per game.