Devils building depth

After finishing the season without scratching out a win, Culpeper High School’s boys basketball team opened the annual summer tournament held at Madison High School with back-to-back victories.

“After a tough season I think we were pretty pumped up after those wins,” CCHS coach James Thompson said. “It was a nice emotional high to cap a difficult season.”

The Blue Devils finished the 12-team tournament 3-3, with wins over Skyline, Page County and Broadway. The Cedar Run District’s Stonewall Jackson beat Madison for the tournament championship and Albemarle finished third.

“This was very valuable for my starters because I’m going to lose most of them to football pretty soon,” Thompson said. “It was really good for the young kids to see some of the area’s top guys too.

They got to see those guy’s work ethic and approach to the game.”

One of the weekend’s most impressive youngsters was Culpeper Middle School eighth-grader Nick Stewart, according to Thompson.

“He (Stewart) is very versatile and a pretty big kid,” said Thompson, who is heading into his third year as the Blue Devils’ coach. “He admitted to me that he was nervous in the beginning, but he came into his own after a couple games.”

Stewart — who stands 6-feet-2-inches — finished Culpeper’s 70-68 win over Page County with 15 points and averaged around six points a game.

The Blue Devils also got valuable playing time out of sophomore Nick Zajkowski — who averaged around five points a game — and freshman Chris Miller, who impressed Thompson with his athleticism and size — 6-3, 220-pounds.

“I tried to put the young players in situations that would give them an opportunity to build some confidence,” Thompson said. “But I also wanted them to get in some tough spots so they know the game isn’t going to come easy.”

Junior Richard Carpenter — a role player from last year’s varsity squad — and junior varsity standout Andre White impressed Thompson with their willingness to battle for rebounds and block shots.

It wasn’t only the young guns that led the Blue Devils to a trio of wins and close losses to Louisa (52-51) and Skyline (47-45) in a rematch, though.

Freshman sensation Josh Majors led the team, averaging 20 points a game, while junior Cortez Rollins added 12 points a game. Sophomore Bobby Zajkowski averaged 10 points a game and the Blue Devils’ best post player from a year ago, Larry Ralph, finished the tournament averaging right around eight points a game.

“I saw some of the chemistry we have been looking for between our starters,” Thompson said. “We shot the ball pretty well even though we had to play pretty soon after a couple hardcore games.”

Culpeper’s final season in the Cedar Run can only be described as brutal, but a big spike in interested players and the sparks he saw from some of his future players during this past weekend’s tournament has Thompson feeling pretty good about the future of Blue Devil basketball.

“More and more kids are coming up to me eager to play,” he said. “They’re asking when they can get in the gym and work out. There’s still a lot of enthusiasm around here and that feels good.”

Devils’ young leaders

Nick Stewart » Averaged almost six points a game. Scored 15 in win over Page County.

Nick Zajkowski » Averaged five points a game.

Chris Miller » 6-3,
220-pounds as a freshman

Andre White » JV player who is a force in the paint.

Blue Devils Leaderboard

Josh Majors » Averaged 20 points a game. Led the Blue Devils in scoreing during all three wins. Scored 23 in Culpeper’s win over Broadway and 20 against Page County. 

Cortez Rollins » Averaged 12 points a game. Finished the win over Broadway with 16 points and scored 15 against Skyline.

Bobby Zajkowski » Averaged 10 points a game. Scored 15 against Broadway and added 14 against Page County.

Larry Ralph » Averaged eight points a game and was the Blue Devils’ leading rebounder. Scored 12 points against Broadway and added 10 against Page County.