By TOM BONE Associated Press Fri Jan 27, 2012, 05:00 AM EST

BLUEFIELD — The one-time water girl is now everything else on the basketball court.

Chelsey Dobbs defines “versatile” for the River View High School Raiders, playing any position needed to create mismatches with their opponents on a nightly basis.

The 5-foot-8 junior executed those assignments so well in combination last week that she has earned the Pocahontas Coal Association-Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week honor, even though her team posted an 0-3 record in that span.

For the week, Dobbs contributed 42 points, 40 rebounds, and at least nine blocks and four steals for the Raiders.

Those stats are among the most recent products of a commitment to the sport that stretches to early elementary school.

“Only the fourth and fifth graders could play,” she said. “But the coach [Rebecca Addair] knew me real well. When I was in the second and third grades, she let me come to practices and play, and help out. ... She knew how much I loved the game.”

“When I began I was always called the water girl.”

She learned more when she moved up to middle school, where her aunt, Ella Kelly, was her coach — a position she still holds today. Dobbs’ learning curve continued when, as a freshman, she joined the varsity team at Iaeger High School in its last year of existence.

Dobbs said about that season, “I loved playing with girls who were older. I learned a lot. I learned tons from them.”

River View head coach Gehrig Justice, who made the switch from girls coach at Iaeger to the new Raiders program, said, “She actually played a whole lot as a freshman in that last year at Iaeger. She was our backup post and scored 5 or 6 points [per game] as a freshman.

“She was a role player. She fit in with my seniors.”

Last season, the first for River View, ended with Dobbs and the Raiders posting a 16-8 win-loss mark and reaching the sectional semifinals.

“We had great chemistry,” Dobbs said. “We worked really hard as a team last year — and it showed in the record.”

That team also had Danielle McClanahan, who took her scoring touch and rebounding skills with her when she graduated. Dobbs was among those asked to do more to take up the slack this season.

Dobbs said, “At first I was nervous, because I didn’t shoot that much last year. I kind of had to beat it into my brain that I needed to do more, that my team needed me to step up.”

She said the shooting assignment “wasn’t hard at all I thought; it was an easy transition. Last year I knew we had D.M. [McClanahan] down low and we just had to get them the ball to score. This year, we still have good scorers down low, but I knew I had to take more shots.”

Justice said, “Last year, obviously she was one of our key players. McClanahan got a lot of press, but teams had problems with her and Sam [Matney] as well as Danielle. [Dobbs] and Sam have kept us in every game.”

The coach added, “Obviously, from the start of the year, we talked about someone to step up like Chelsey and Matney. They’ve done a good job, trying to get the new girls involved.”

“What we needed was somebody to step in and take some games over. I can’t complain. They’ve done what’s been asked of them.”

When Dobbs was asked if she had ever had a better stretch of games than last week’s effort, she said, “Probably not. I try every game to match the night before. But probably not.”

Justice said he would like to be able to play Dobbs in the high post more consistently, but tactics dictate a “game-by-game thing” with her assignments. “She’s the person we move around based on what the opponent puts against us.”

“She can play the point; she can play the wing,” he said. “We try to get her where she’s taller than the guard against her, or faster than the big player, or whatever it is. We want to create a matchup problem.”

“She’s versatile. We put her where we can best use her any night. ... It’s her flexibility that makes her successful.”

Dobbs began last week with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 59-51 loss to Mingo Central. Then, in a 55-44 loss to Man, she grabbed 16 rebounds, blocked six shots, generated six assists and four steals, and scored eight points.

She said about that game, “My shots weren’t falling, but that’s OK because I made up for it in rebounding and pitching the ball back to teammates, and playing defense. Other than the shots, I thought it worked pretty well.”

She added three more blocks, plus 15 points and 13 rebounds, to wrap up the week in a 58-42 loss to Tug Valley.

Justice said, “Her blocked shots, probably she takes more pride in that than her other stats. The only drawback is, that can get her into foul trouble, trying to get the extra blocks.”

Without the contributions of players such as Dobbs and Matney, he said, “... things would have been more ugly than they’ve been.”

For Dobbs, the fundamental aspects of the game remain the same no matter where on the court she is playing.

Referring to her teammates, she said, “They get open, I pass them the ball. They shoot, I get in there and rebound. We just work well as a team.”

“I’ve always been taught, if you have great defense that’ll turn into great offense. If you have good defense, the offense will follow.”

None of the games last week were runaways, Justice said. “That’s been the story of our season. We’ve had a couple of scores that look ugly.”

Though the Raiders have been within single digits of a tie late in most of their games, he said, “The score that goes in the paper looks worse than the game actually was. There weren’t many games that we couldn’t have won.”

“That’s a stepping stone we’re trying to fix.”

Dobbs said, “I think we’re doing pretty well. We work really good as a team. We work hard from the first of the first quarter to the end of the fourth.”

Asked about her reaction to River View’s losses, Dobbs said, “I always get frustrated because we didn’t win. We want to win every game. We’ve just got to get in the next game and play harder.”

“We never stop fighting. We always push it to the end.”

— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com

Special Honorable Mention

Candace Brown of Summers County tallied 136 points during a 2-1 week for the Bobcats. Brown, who continues to lead the nation according to Maxpreps.com with 39.3 points per game, tallied 46 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals in a win over Nicholas County, 41 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists in a loss to Princeton, and set a school record with 49 points, along with 15 boards, 13 steals and 4 assists against Valley-Fayette.

Honorable Mention

Bland County (1-1): Jessie Blessing, 31 points; Alyssa Harris, 11 points.

Bluefield (0-1): Khadijah Brown, 16 points; Shelia Hopkins, 12 points.

James Monroe (2-1): Kelsie Mann, 41 points; Melissa Johnston, 34 points (9 points, 13 rebounds vs. Nicholas County); Jordan Page, 37 points (21 points, 9 assists, 3 steals vs. Nicholas County).

Graham (2-0): Liz Workman, 17 points (7 points, 5 assists, 4 steals vs. Fort Chiswell); Karly Morgan, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals vs. Fort Chiswell; Tori Repass, 11 points vs. Grayson County; Kaylan Stanley, 7 points, 5 assists vs. Grayson County.

Grundy (1-1): Hannah Stiltner, 26 points, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists vs. Twin Valley; Morgan Hall, 16 points, 13 rebounds vs. Twin Valley; Loni Webb, 11 points vs. Panthers; Dana Snead, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks in same game.

Honaker (1-0): Brooke Wolford, 18 points.

Montcalm (1-0): Miranda Kendrick, 9 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, game-winner at buzzer to beat Liberty 52-50; Hannah Johnson, 15 points; Leslie Kelley, 14 points, 6 steals, 3 assists; Maranda Crane, 10 points.

Mount View (1-0): Ashley Belfiore, 15 points.

Narrows (0-1): Savanna Burton, 26 points, 12 rebounds vs. Grayson County; Tiffany Perdue, 9 points.

PikeView (3-0): Hope Nester, 55 points; Danielle Compton, 14 points, 13 rebounds vs. James Monroe, 22 points, 10 rebounds vs. Wyoming East; Jennifer Taylor, 14 points, 13 rebounds vs. Mavericks, 12 points, 5 rebounds vs. Bluefield.

Princeton (2-1): McKenzie Akers, 67 points, passed 1,000-point mark in career; Hannah Preservati, 47 points; Marissa Mullins, 22 points vs. Summers County, 15 vs. Riverside; Kendria Perkins, 13 points, 10 rebounds vs. Huntington, 10 points vs. Riverside.

Richlands (2-0): Rachel Alley, 26 points; Cassidy Richardson, 23 points; Brittany Allen, 17 points vs. Marion; Jordyn Cole, 10 points vs. Marion.

River View (0-3): Samantha Matney, 53 points; Tara Bowles, 8 points, 9 rebounds vs. Mingo Central.

Tazewell (1-1): Taylor Catron, 39 points, 29 points, 3 assists, 2 steals vs. Abingdon; Autumn Hash, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks vs. Falcons.

Twin Valley (0-1): Katelyn Jackson, 15 points; Rachel Horn, 13 points; Kara Goodman, 10 points.