A new chapter to open for Potomac boys

By Joe Conroy

Published: February 28, 2008

A perennial state power for years, Potomac’s boys basketball team missed the region tournament in 2007 for the first time since the 2000-01 season in Keith Honore’s first year leading the squad.

Taking over for Kendall Hayes last year, Honore has a tough legacy to live up to. With the annual expectations for the Panthers’ program, Potomac is ready to open a new chapter to the school’s hoops story.

The Panthers reached tonight’s Northwest Region semifinal game hosting George Washington-Danville after dispatching North Stafford with relative ease Tuesday, 62-46.

“We’re excited [about tonight], but in the same breath the kids that are seniors remember being freshmen and making states,” Honore said Wednesday before practice. “We expect to be here in regionals and we expect to be in states.”

Those weighty expectations may seem daunting, perhaps dripping with self-confidence, but they are well earned. The Panthers have made the state tournament five out of the past eight seasons, reaching the title match once.

GW-Danville (25-0) was an obstacle several times during that run, creating a bit of a region rivalry between the two. That the teams are built similarly does not help ease that rivalry.

“These are two teams that like to pressure, get up and down court,” Honore said. “When we face GW, it’s like looking at ourselves in a mirror. They play the same way we play and have some of the same type of players.”

Potomac (14-7) can play a quick, run-and-gun game with fastbreaks almost every possession, forcing defenses to be constantly running up and down the court. They can also slow things down to a glacial pace with Bobby Mott controlling the Panthers at the point.

Mott, a senior, uses sharp, crisp passing and convincing ball fakes to keep defenses on their toes and create holes for the Panthers to exploit.

Donald Vaughn, another senior that remembers the powerhouse years, is the Panthers’ main threat along the baseline and in the key, blocking several shots as well as intercepting passes in Potomac’s win Tuesday.

Two more seniors, Roger Lassiter and Mulku Kalokoh, provide a spark off the bench in the front court and back court respectively.

The Panthers will have to be prepared to deal with GW-Danville’s dual threat of forward Nick Barbour and wingman Terrance Townes.

“Barbour is a very good player and then they have a wing in Townes. He’s a very good mid-range player,” Honore said. “They all do different things well. We’ll have our hands full all the way around. They don’t have a player that we can look at and say we can slack off on him to help somewhere else.”

One of the positives for Potomac is that, because of the region bracket format, the Panthers host this semifinal despite the Eagles’ superior record. Playing in Danville’s gym can be a difficult task as can dealing with the extended travel time.

“That’s always a plus to play at your home court and it’s an added bonus not having to travel five hours and they do,” Honore said. “Playing at home is the most comfortable and the more comfortable you can be the better off you are against a team like Danville.”

Should Potomac hold off the offensive onslaught of GW or submit the Eagles to their own offense prowess, the Panthers would earn a berth in the state tournament for the first time since 2005.

“We’re blessed and pleased with being here,” Honore said. “But we’re not content with being here. We want to win the entire region and go far in states.”