RICHMOND — How confident was the Woodside High boys basketball team about its chances of winning another state title?
Someone printed up hats that said “Back to Back” on them and handed them out to the players minutes after the game.
The Wolverines (27-1) held up their end of the bargain as they thoroughly dominated L.C. Bird of Chesterfield with a resounding 53-33 victory to win their second consecutive Class 5 state title at VCU’s Siegel Center. The last Hampton Roads boys team to win back-to-back state titles was Norcom, which won four in a row from 2014-17.
“Going back-to-back means everything,” said Woodside senior guard Travis Hamilton. “We had no idea (about the hats), but we knew we were going back to back from the get-go. We know how powerful our team is. We have size down low, our guards are tough, and we bring it on defense. That just helps us win games.”
Woodside back-to-back state champions pic.twitter.com/XuDpFB02O4
— Larry Rubama (@LHRubama) March 10, 2024
Woodside (28-1) was never really challenged throughout. The Wolverines used a 7-0 run in the final 3:44 of the first quarter to grab a 10-5 lead.
L.C. Bird, which looked overmatched all game, struggled during that run as it missed all five field-goal attempts and turned the ball over twice. For the quarter, the Skyhawks were 2 of 13 (15.4%).
The second quarter would be more of the same as the Wolverines pushed their lead to 10 before L.C. Bird scored to make it a 23-15 halftime lead.
The Skyhawks also didn’t have an answer for 6-foot-9 junior Silas Barksdale inside as he had seven points and 10 rebounds in the first half, including six offensive rebounds.
“We were 100% confident that we were going to win this game,” said Barksdale, who finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and a game-ending dunk. “We haven’t done anything like this since Coach Stef did it. So we’re making history.”
And so did coach Stefan Welsh.
After last year’s win, he joined Darren Sanderlin and Brandon Plummer as the only other former Hampton Roads boys basketball players to win state titles as a player and coach.
Now he’s in company all by himself: He became the first player from Hampton Roads to win back-to-back state titles as a player and coach.
The title was especially sweet for the seniors.
“It feels good to complete this goal with my brothers,” said guard Jermaine Detrick. “We’ve been fighting since August working out every day and putting in all this work. It’s finally here, so it’s amazing.”
Guard Jakobe Reed said he had no doubt the Wolverines were going to be victorious.
“We already knew we were going to win it,” he said. “We came in with that mindset.”
It was his 3-pointer with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Wolverines their biggest lead at 23.
“It felt amazing because I had a bad pregame warmup. I couldn’t hit nothing,” said Reed, who finished with 10 points. “So when those back-to-back 3s dropped, I knew I was doing something right. It felt good.
“But we worked hard all year to accomplish this,” he said, “so it means everything.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
