We had the chance on Saturday afternoon to catch up with James B. Dudley High School seniors, Ayden Gamble, Frank Stockton and Jahree Braswell…
All three of these young men played key roles in the Dudley Panthers’ win over the Smith Golden Eagles, back on Friday night, at Dudley….
Ayden Gamble, the senior point guard for Dudley knocked down 19 points, Frank Stockton chipped in 15 and Jahree Braswell added 10 points to the Panthers’ cause…That’s 44 of Dudley’s 55 total team points…
A very big win for Dudley over Smith, after Smith claimed the first game win in the two-game season series, with game one being played at Smith, back in early January….
Let’s get back to Friday night’s game and here are those questions for Ayden, Frank and Jahree…
How big was that win for you last night, over Smith???
Ayden Gamble:Really big, we needed that win to build up our team confidence…We got it done through watching film and doing the proper game prep…Gamble said his 38-point game at Reidsville was something special…I was able to get set and I got the hot hand, and there for a while, I couldn’t miss…I have added to my shot on the move this season, and it is helping me get ready for the next level…The Smith game was so big, since we lost to them, at their place…We just had to win this game…
Frank Stockton:It was huge…We had to hold off Smith, and get the win…We got the stops and steals, we did a better job rebounding the ball last night…We were super-hyped and we knew we should have beat them at Smith…We missed having our fans there at the game, and I missed having my Dudley Boys from last year there, like Darien Wynn, Jeremiah Dickerson and Coleman Wood…We had to have that win and we got it…
Jahree Braswell:We should have won the first game over at Smith….That was our game too, and we let it get away…It was our game last night and we got the job done…I am a senior, and me and the other seniors have to be ready to step up in big games, like the Smith game…We knew we had to be aggressive and we were…
In what way were you able to help your team get the victory???
Ayden Gamble:Sharing the ball…I was able to share the ball with my teammates and they came up big…We got big rebounds inside by Frank(Stockton) and Jahree(Braswell)…They both gave all of us second and third chance shots…Cam Flippen is a special young player and he had a great game for us last night too….Our focus is on basketball right now, but I hope to give football a try this year, once basketball is over…Looking at receiver and defensive back spots/positions…
Frank Stockton:I was able to help the team by scoring at the right times and some of my big dunks got our team fired up, and you have to be able to finish your shots when you are shooting close to the basket, and I was able to to do that last night, versus Smith….I was demanding the ball and I was getting tough on the boards…
Jahree Braswell:I played my role and we, as a team, were able to keep our heads up, all night long…Once we got it rolling, we knew it was our night and I was getting strong against Smith, and it paid off to the tune of “W”…A “Big W”…After basketball is over, I will turn my attention full-time to football(defensive back)…I am going to try and do both, once football gets started, and I think I can do them both at the same time…There has been some interest, but no concrete college football offers just yet…
How have you gotten better as a basketball player, since you joined the Dudley basketball program???
Ayden Gamble:I have become a complete point guard…I have become a guard that can lead the offense and the defense…I have come a long way, since the days when I was playing point guard at Aycock Middle School…I have to round into becoming the total point guard, because at 6’1, I will pretty well be locked in, as a point guard in college…
Frank Stockton:I have really improved since my freshman year on the JV team here at Dudley…From my junior to senior year, I have put in some long hard hours of work….I have been working on my jump shots and I have been working on becoming a complete basketball player…I am not satisfied yet, but I am proud of the way my game has improved since I have been at Dudley High School…I want to continue to keep getting better, and if I keep putting the work in, my game will keep on getting better…
Jahree Braswell:I have been able to work on my craft and play the game I love and know how to play, and this is why I do what I do…Because I love this game…My strengths are playing down in the post and playing “D”…I am working on my weaknesses and I continue to work on my free throw shooting…I have had a sprained wrist, but I am still working on my FT shooting…Our biggest game is our next game on Tuesday, at Mount Tabor…
Your new head coach, Josh Prince, what does he bring to this team that makes Dudley a 3-A State Championship contender???
Ayden Gamble:He lets up play our game…He is a player’s coach…He let’s us play to our strengths…We can contend for titles, because Coach Prince has the right people in the right places/positions and he knows what we can do…As far as colleges go right now, I have been hearing from Ferrum College, in Virginia…
Frank Stockton:I love the man…He has the energy and he brings the energy every day….We are focused and we are focused on being the best team in the city….He makes sure that we stay focused and Coach Prince has us primed to contend for championships…He has us ready…When we got down early in the season, we never lost our focus on the game, and what is in front of us…I am headed to college, I am just not sure right now, which college I will attend…
Jahree Braswell:Coach Prince makes sure we all get involved…He lets us play our game and he makes sure we are all on the same path…He was my math teacher and he is a great teacher at Dudley…As good at teaching, as he is at coaching….I learned a lot from Coach Prince in the classroom…For college, it will be for football, and I may go the JUCO route, until I find the college that is right for me…In basketball, we have stayed together thorough the ups and downs…You have to be able to execute in both basketball and football, if you want to succeed…Coach Prince turns you loose on the court, and he lets you go…
Jahree Braswell, no relation to Junior Braswell and Tonya Braswell, from Page High School basketball…Braswell did play for Coach Curtis Hunter, at Northeast Guilford High School, back when Jahree was in the 9th grade…
**********We thank these Dudley High School senior basketball players for their time today, and I hope you enjoy the interviews…**********