Girls basketball coach of the year

By Ted Allen

Published: May 3, 2008

It was a bittersweet season for Brookville girls basketball coach Warner Dyke.

After suffering the loss of his sister in December, losing a game, even a Group AA state playoff quarterfinal, might seem trivial in comparison.

But Dyke and the Bees — who had won their first 26 games before suffering a loss to Waynesboro in the Region III final — took the season-ending defeat against Hidden Valley hard.

That’s not only because Brookville had beaten the Titans in the second game of the season, but it had poured everything it had into repeating the feat in the postseason.

“We didn’t go as far as we wanted to,” said Dyke, The News & Advance girls basketball coach of the year. “All of us would have liked to have been playing in that state title game.”

Hidden Valley went on to defend its state title with a win over Waynesboro.

Still, Brookville’s season was the best in school history, returning to the state tournament for the second year in a row, and second time ever.

“It was a great year to start your season with 26 consecutive wins,” Dyke said. “As the repeating district champ, every team you play was going to bring their best shot every night.”

He kept the Bees focused on their long-range goals, even as they waltzed their way through another undefeated Seminole District season.

“We talked about working hard in practice and getting better every day,” Dyke said. “The motivation of getting to the state was motivation enough. With great leaders like Brittany (Campbell) and Joyous (Tharrington), they came to work every day. Those girls were pretty self-motivated. Sometimes, they needed a little push, but not too often.”

Besides great players, Dyke was also surrounded by a circle of supportive coaches. Former Liberty University men’s basketball coach Randy Dunton, father of Brookville point guard Emilee, developed the team’s talent on the weekends at the YMCA and assistants Heather Brown and Paul Baldwin filled in for Dyke when he was unavailable.

“They took over and did a wonderful job when I had a death in the family and missed some time,” Dyke said. “They both know how to coach and how to lead. When I was gone, the kids didn’t miss a beat.”

Dyke also delegated head coaching responsibilities to Brown during a Seminole District tournament semifinal win over Jefferson Forest, when both he and Emilee Dunton were sidelined with the flu.

“I was there in body, but that was about it,” Dyke said. “I was still pretty sick. That was the first time I’d been out of bed in four days.”

He returned to the bench to guide the Bees to their third Seminole District tournament title in four seasons, when they beat a strong Staunton River squad for the fourth time in as many tries.