1,000 Points and counting

By JIM CUNNINGHAM, Wytheville Enterprise
Published: February 4, 2008

After being named the district’s Player of the Year as a sophomore, what’s left after that?
Plenty, if you ask Ashley Buckhannon, a junior on the George Wythe girls’ basketball team.
For one thing, you can try to score 1,000 points in your varsity career. Buckhannon did that a few weeks ago.
And then you can help the team make a run for first place in the district. On Thursday night, she led the team with 29 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Lady Maroons defeated Chilhowie 62-46. Chilhowie had given George Wythe its only district loss of the season earlier at CHS. On Thursday night at GWHS, Buckhannon and her teammates gave Chilhowie its only district loss, putting both teams in a tie for first place at 5-1.
Winning the district title is high on Buckhannon’s wish list. She’d like to see the team continue its string of successful seasons.
Since joining the varsity squad as a freshman, Buckhannon said scoring 1,000 points was a goal but not an obsession. “I always wanted to get 1,000 points, but I didn’t really think about it,” she said.
It’s like the Player of the Year award she won after last season. She knows she worked very hard last year, but still the honor came as a surprise to her.
In addition to getting the district’s top honor, Buckhannon was selected to the all-region first team and the all-state second team.
Buckhannon has several team goals this season as well. She’d like for the team to win the district and win the regionals.
Buckhannon helped the Lady Maroons advance to the regionals for the past two years. In her freshman year, the team made it to the state quarterfinals before bowing out.
She noted that her freshman year on the varsity was a slightly tough transition for her after playing on the JV team as an eighth grader for one year. Prior to that she played one season as a seventh grader on the Scott Memorial Middle School team. And she also played in the town’s recreation leagues since she was in the third grade.
But Buckhannon said her adjustment to varsity basketball was made a lot easier with the help of her teammates, especially seniors Ashlee Samuels and Felicia Campbell, both of whom went on to play college basketball. “They really helped me out,” she said. “If I made a mistake, they (Samuels and Campbell) would correct me.”
Playing basketball in college is another one of Buckhannon’s goals. Even though she has another year of high school basketball, a couple of colleges (Va. Tech and the University of South Carolina) have already expressed interest in her abilities. Another college that she would like to play at is the University of North Carolina.
The list of colleges knocking on her door will likely increase significantly if she continues to post impressive numbers. She averaged a little over 20 points per game last year. This season she’s leading the district (and the surrounding region) with approximately 24 points per game.
George Wythe Girls’ Basketball Coach Arthur Johnson knew that Buckhannon was ready for varsity competition as a freshman. He saw her skills develop since she was old enough to bounce a ball. After all, she is his niece.
Johnson said he wasn’t surprised that Buckhannon passed the 1,000-point barrier. “I knew it was just a matter of time before she got 1,000 points.”
Scoring points by the ton is just part of Buckhannon’s game. “She’s a good team player,” said Johnson. “That’s what I like about her. She’s averaging about four or five assists per game. If you’re open, she’ll get the ball to you.”
The coach said that Buckhannon is also a good defensive player but not 100 percent of the time. He has been prodding her to be more consistent in that area.
And the coach is confident she’ll continue to improve in every way. “She’s improving every year,” he said. “She’s a student of the game…She’s never out of place on the basketball court.”
Johnson said that Buckhannon regularly plays in scrimmage against members of the high school boys’ team to improve her game. And she and teammate Lacey Price play on AAU basketball teams during the off-season.
Buckhannon said she does put pressure on herself to do better, but she admits she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Another goal in the distant future that has crossed Buckhannon’s mind is scoring 2,000 points. Although only one other girl in GWHS history has done that, the coach thinks that is entirely possible. “If she can have a good year and stay healthy, she could score 2,000,” he said.