Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
When you play basketball for your father, there is sometimes extra pressure. This season, Grace Hutson might have felt just a little as she led the Christiansburg girls’ team to one of their best records in school history. Her coach was Joe Hutson, her dad.
“Playing for my dad is hard but rewarding. He has high expectations for the team and for me. He pushes us in practice which helps us be successful on and off the court,” Grace said.
The Blue Demons finished the 2017-2018 season 18-6 and fell in the state 3A playoffs, but the program looks bright under the first-year coach as they will return all their starting five and a solid nucleus of players next season.
Hutson, the coach, said he was I proud of the kids. “We came in and challenged them to establish higher standards for preparation and success and they responded well to the challenge.”
“I think we have a lot of room to grow and improve. In talking with the kids after the season, you could tell they were hungry to get back in the gym and get back to work. That’s part of the culture we’re trying to create, the kids are developing an understanding of the habits that translate into success on and off the court.”
Hutson took on the job last summer after Christiansburg conducted a six-month long search but is no stranger to area basketball. The Charleston, West Virginia native is a 1991 graduate of Nitro High School where he played both football and basketball and has experience as both an assistant and head coach of several successful AAU programs in the Roanoke area.
It was that passion of teaching and helping young athletes develop their basketball skills that drew him to the Christiansburg opening.
“We’re a young team and we’ve got a group of kids that love to play the game. We’re going to continue to try and outwork the competition and position ourselves to win games while preparing our kids to play at the next level. I’m fortunate to have a fantastic group of assistant coaches, and we’re going to invest some time in the off-season with the younger kids in the community to position ourselves for continued success in the future,” he said.
For his effort, Hutson was named the district coach of year and received the All-County/All-City honor announced today. His daughter was named the player of year for the River Ridge District, along with first team all-region. She is also the All-County/All-City girls’ basketball player of the year.
When Joe Hutson became coach, he brought with him Grace, a 5-10 shooting guard, who is only a sophomore and averaged 19.5 points per game this season. Her father thought she played consistently at a high level this season.
“She’s very versatile offensively, which allows her to contribute with some scoring, rebounding, and ball handling. I think in the off-season she’s planning to put in the work to establish herself as an elite defender, which will help the team and prepare her to compete at the next level,” he said.
Grace like her father is optimistic about the Christiansburg girls program.
“We had a good season, but we still have a lot of work to do. I’m looking forward to 3 more great years and a chance to win more championships,” she said.
Hutson was joined on this year’s all-county/all-city team by: Eastern Montgomery’s Taylor Spence, Auburn’s Rachel Harding, Blacksburg’s Skyler Prosser and Radford’s Charli Deitz.
