Bulldogs get first win, 600th for Coach Husband

Bulldogs get first win, 600th for Coach Husband

The Greenwood Bulldogs got their first win of the season just prior to Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t just any old victory for their new head coach, Donnie Husband. After coaching for over 30 years in Oklahoma, Husband came to Greenwood with 599 career wins under his belt.

The Bulldogs’ 55-29 victory over Two Rivers in a holiday tournament on November 20th was his 600th career win, a significant milestone in the life of any basketball coach. Husband recently talked about the coaching landmark and what it means to him.

“Like all coaches, [I’m] a product of the kids [I’ve] been blessed to coach,” he said. “It’s something like 550 boys wins, and I coached girls for a couple of years and got some wins there.

“It means you’ve been around a while and had some success,” he added. “It means you’ve had a lot of good kids and it’s something you look back on and think about the kids you’ve coached along the way. I got to hear from a lot of them.

“That’s what makes it fun,” said Husband. “There’s nothing better than putting a whistle around your neck. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Asked if he thought that 700 wins was a possibility, the 58-year-old head coach said, “As long as [assistant coach] Matt [Bryant] will hang out with me, we’ll keep plugging along. As long as my health holds out and the Good Lord lets me keep doing it, and somebody wants me to keep doing it, I’ll do it until I can’t do it anymore.”

Bentonville

Last Thursday the Bulldogs hosted the Class 7A Tigers of Bentonville, losing a lopsided battle, 56-20. The visitors led 9-4 after one period and 26-10 at the half before blowing the game open in the third quarter, leading 43-12 after 24 minutes.

The Tigers employed a solid inside game and excellent outside shooting, hitting a number of three-pointers along the way, throwing in an impressive dunk as well.

“There’s no doubt they were more athletic,” said Coach Husband of Bentonville after the game. “They were longer and taller, and they shot the ball better.

“We knew that going in. We knew what an uphill struggle it was going to be for us,” he said. “Their length defensively really gave us trouble and we didn’t make anything from the outside. But they taught us some things to get better at moving forward, and that’s what we will continue to do.”

On the bright side, the coach saw some good things as well. “We didn’t give up a ton of offensive rebounds. It could have been a lot worse there. Except for one stretch there in the third quarter, I thought our effort defensively was tremendous. I think we made it tough for them to score most of the time.

“Most of their [scores] were talent baskets where they just jumped up over us. We were a step late a few times and we had some fundamental breakdowns, but all in all you can’t fault [our] fight and [our] teamwork,” he said.

“How hard we play, and the effort we play with, and how we play together is about all we can control. I’m not much on moral victories, but I thought our guys did that.

“I think it’s really a true mark of a team’s character and a young man’s character when things aren’t going your way, that you can keep your nose in there and keep fighting. I’m not satisfied or happy, but I do think they have to be respected because they competed so hard tonight,” added Husband.

“[Bentonville] went overtime with Northside. They’re a really good team that’s probably going to compete for a conference championship. We held a really good offensive team to 56 points.

“I know we were brutal offensively and we’re probably not much fun to watch, but [our guys] really competed defensively. That’s the biggest positive,” said the coach.

Tournament

The pre-Thanksgiving event was held at Two Rivers High School near Ola, Arkansas, a Class 3A school. Greenwood played three games in three days, going 1-2 overall.

The Bulldogs opened with Clarksville and held their own until the fourth period when they were outscored 13-4 in a 59-43 loss. Greenwood led 12-11 after one period, but trailed 34-28 at the intermission and 46-39 after three periods.

Senior Jack Gaston led the team in scoring with 14 points, followed by Cameron Hampton with 10 points and Dalton Russell with eight.

“The first game with Clarksville was not a good effort,” said Coach Husband. “We did not play very well. We struggled [defensively] to cover their two senior guards. We missed early [scoring] opportunities and we fought uphill all night long.”

Game two against Two Rivers was the Bulldogs’ first win and Husband’s 600th. Greenwood reached double digits in scoring in all four quarters, while giving up just 29 points defensively.

The ‘Dogs led at the end of each period, 18-7, 31-17, and 43-19, respectively, before winning the fourth stanza 10-8 to account for the 53-27 final.

Hampton hit a trio of three-pointers to lead the team in scoring with 13 points. Junior Jayce Garnes had 10 points and Jack Gaston added eight points.

“We had a lot of kids play well,” said Husband of the win over Two Rivers. “They were hungry to get a win. It was the senior’s 25th win in their careers, and they were kind of excited about that.”

That game was played late Tuesday evening and the looming holiday forced Greenwood to come back for an afternoon contest on Wednesday, a narrow 44-41 loss to Drew Central from South Arkansas.

“We played the late game Tuesday night and we’ve had to go back Wednesday afternoon and play an athletic team that was really good, and we gave ourselves a chance to win,” said the coach.

The ‘Dogs got off to a good start, leading 9-4 after eight minutes. But the tables turned in the second period with Drew Central cutting into the Greenwood lead, 17-16 at the break.

The game was then decided in the third period when the Bulldogs were outscored 15-11 and trailed by three points heading into the final quarter, which turned out to be a 13-13 draw.

Garnes led Greenwood in scoring with 14 points, the only Bulldog in double figures. Russell added eight points, while Hampton and Gaston had five points each.

“We’re [still] a work in progress, trying to move forward, gain experience and improve,” said Husband, summing up his team’s status. “They practice so hard. They try and do everything we ask them to do. This bunch is as fun to coach as any team I’ve had.”

Upcoming

The Bulldogs began play in a tournament in Russellville starting on Wednesday of this week. Their first opponent was Sylvan Hills, but results were not available at press time. Their next home game will be next Tuesday against the Farmington Cardinals following the varsity girls’ contest.

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