James Monroe has been on the cusp of the state tournament the last three years, falling in the regional round each time.
With a new coach at the helm they’re hoping to get over the hump and return to Charleston. Leading the way this year is Angel Mann, the former principal at the school who served as an assistant the last time the Mavs won a state championship. After taking a job at the board office her availability opened up and with the job vacant she threw her hat in the ring.
“It started with being a player and then trickled over into being a coach and then being an administrator,” Mann said. “I feel like part of learning to be an administrator was being a coach and vice versa. I was talking to a mom the other day, and I was like, ‘It’s gonna be interesting to see how I handle this so much older and wiser.’ Like I’ve actually been in charge of the whole school now so it’s a little different. You definitely look at things differently and do things differently, but i don’t know, I’ve just always had a love for the game of basketball. And the intensity with which those championship teams played with needs to come back alive and I feel like we can get that going.”
The Mavericks lost three key starters from last year team but return important pieces in Maggie Boroski and Mary Beth Meadows.
“Maggie is definitely a solid player for us as a junior,” Mann said. “She can shoot, she can dribble and she’s quick. Mary Beth is definitely in control of the game at all times. She’s a great point guard. She scored a career-high against PikeView. She’s one of those kids that works so hard year round. So I feel confident with her and the other kids listen to her. She’s a religious leader on the team. And then our only other kid returning besides that is Ava Dunlap.
“Last year about midway through I watched her kind of come into her own and gain confidence. And again, she’s one of those quick players that can shoot, dribble and pass – whatever she needs to do, but she’s a large contributor as well. One thing I like about all of them is for the most part, we’re pretty long or tall. We have long arms, and we’re quick. But those are the three returners and then we’ve got some that didn’t come back out, but there was a couple that popped up out of nowhere.”
Mann and the Lady Mavs would love to get over the hump and get back to Charleston. Their cause is aided by a region in transition. Tucker County graduated Sydney Baird, the player that made it a contender and River View is reloading as well. Greenbrier West is the only established team in the region and the Mavs handled them with ease in their season opener.
Still Mann doesn’t want to skip December, January and February to think about March.
“I feel like the bar for us still has to be set on regrouping and figuring out how to play together with a new dynamic because we lost those seniors,” Mann said. “You know, Addison (Hines) was a powerhouse last year. And it’s kind of a brand new team, but I don’t think it’s necessarily any worse off or better off. I think it’s just getting used to each other I’ve said it about 100 times already. You know, you really aren’t used to each other, feeding off of each other or stuff like that. But they’re coming along good with it. They’re learning each other’s little nuances and that kind of thing.”
