Home > Forums

[Andi]

Bethel ready to live up to expectations
By Jason Jordan

HAMPTON — Bethel High forward Tre Lee has become accustom to the daily barrage of questions about his new teammates — Ali Djim, a 6-foot-8 power forward, David Baroum, a 6-9 center, and Mbai Oliver, a 6-7 swingman, who transferred to Bethel from Ohio this summer.

All originally hail from Chad, located in central Africa, and all have signed with Division I colleges.

How old are they, REALLY? Who’s the best of the three? What classes do they take?

But what Lee can’t get used to is the typical response he gets from students, fans and teachers: "Wow, y’all are gonna be good now!"

"That’s funny to me," Lee said. "We had a strong team anyway, but we don’t care about that stuff, we’re all a family."

Lee, Bill Weaver, Paul Meredith and Jontel Evans would have likely put Bethel in the top tier of the Peninsula District this season. But at 7 p.m. tonight the Bruins will open their season at Gloucester (1-2, 0-2) favored to win the district and possibly the state tournament.

Fans and spectators may have to wait to see two of the three transfers. Oliver has been out nearly two weeks with a groin tear and Baroum came back late last week after sitting out a week with a hamstring injury. Both are questionable for tonight’s game.

"The attention they get is to be expected," Weaver said of the buzz surrounding his three new teammates. "I don’t think people forgot that we were good, they’re just shocked at how much better we can be. Without those guys we had a strong summer."

The Bruins won team camps at Heritage and Old Dominion this past summer. Also, while running with the G.E.S.U.S. Ball AAU team this summer, Lee, who stands 6-4, and Weaver, also 6-4, thrived at their more natural positions on the wing, averaging 10 and 16 points, respectively, against some of the top prep players in the country.

That’s what excites Weaver and Lee the most about the addition of Djim and Baroum. With the addition of Djim and Baroum in the lane, Lee, Weaver and Oliver can strengthen the perimeter game.

"Last year, I would be tired on offense because I would be battling the big guys on defense," Lee said. "That hurt me as a shooter. With our new guys, I’ll be able to play on the wing. That only helps our team."

Weaver added: "We’re all one team and so it all helps Bethel, and that’s all we’re worried about. There’s a lot of outside hype."

Bethel coach Craig Brehon said the level of that hype is unfair to the new players, who had to learn standard things like the concept of boxing out to get rebounds.

"Everybody I’ve come in contact with has put us in the championship game," Brehon said. "With the injuries, we’re relying on the kids that have been here. It’s also unfair because these kids haven’t played structured ball and there has been a learning curve. This has been the toughest coaching job I’ve ever had, but they’re getting there."

Brehon went on to say the thing that would ultimately make Bethel a state title contender would be its guard play. That’s where Meredith and Evans, Bethel’s leading scorer from last year (13.4 points per game), come in.

"The coaches know that I can dominate the game physically," Evans said. "They want me, and I want me, to dominate the game mentally. It’s a challenge, and I have to step up to it. As a team we’re building chemistry."

Added Weaver: "We were gonna be good regardless. But we’ve got new teammates and they have size. We feel like if we work hard and progress like we should we can be a great team."