From pg 6 10-8-20


Prep Basketball
From Woodstock
to … Woodstock
Whenever Virginia native Dominic Strothers would mention that he was going to attend prep school in Woodstock, everybody immediately assumed he meant Massanutten Military Academy.
The school has a prep basketball team of its own in Woodstock, Va.
“Everybody thought I was going there,” said the 6-foot, 10-inch projected Class of 2022 graduate.
What Strothers meant was that he was headed to Woodstock Academy in Connecticut.
Strothers hails from Woodstock, Va. and went to Woodstock High School before he made a decision to go prep and head north.
Outside of the 475-plus miles between the two, there is little difference between the two Woodstocks.
Woodstock, CT. is actually a little larger, population-wise, with 7,964 residents compared to Woodstock, Va. which boasts 5,212.
“It’s kind of rural, like it is here,” Strothers said. “I’m pretty used to it already.”
He said that common denominator had little to do with his decision to don a Centaur uniform.
 “I like it a lot here,” Strothers said. “We’re bonding well as a team. The first day I moved in, I didn’t know anyone. By the second day, we all came together.”
Woodstock Academy prep basketball coach Jacque Rivera said Strothers “has a world of opportunity” in front of him.
 “I didn’t know what I was walking into, but I see the level of competition here and we’re all going to compete against one another and make each other the best we can be,” Strothers said.
The youngster not only stands 6-10, but also sports a 7-1 wingspan and is only 16-years-old with two years of high school remaining.
 “He is nowhere near a finished product. He has a high floor and a high ceiling,” Rivera said with a laugh. “He can step out and shoot it; he can put the ball on the floor and can get out in front of the play and dunk it. He has a plethora of potential. He has a chance to be very good.”
Rivera said he doesn’t like to compare players but he feels that if Strothers stays for two years and his maturation process follows those of others, such as UMass sophomore Tre Mitchell, he could be “unbelievable” when he decides to head to the collegiate level.
“It makes it really fun,” Rivera said of having the, sometimes, rare occasion of having a player for two years in prep basketball. “It’s fun both ways (1 or 2-year players) if you enjoy young people and watching them develop. You can space out the goals for a 2-year player and move at a slower pace. It’s a bit more rapid for the guys you have for seven or eight months. Slow and steady usually wins but, truthfully, hard work and persistence wins.”
Where does Strothers fit in? He feels like he is a small forward.
“He probably had a dream about that,” Rivera said with a smile. “The reality is; we expect everyone to be able to dribble, pass and shoot. I expected the same from (6-10 center) Chad (Venning) as I did from (guard) Noel Scott a year ago. If he can step out, shoot the ball and make it – shoot it. If you don’t work at it, don’t shoot it. I expect him to be able to rebound and I expect (guard) Julien Soumaoro (5-10) to rebound.”
Seeing as how he is a 2022 product, Strothers said he is not looking at any specific colleges as of yet with the possible exception of one.
Strother’s dream is to one day return to Woodstock…Virginia that is. Just two hours down the road is the city of Blacksburg.
“I would like to go to Virginia Tech,” Strothers said. “It’s near my hometown.”

Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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