On Dec. 11, the Fluco boys’ basketball team lost to Albemarle, 61-41.  The Flucos were without senior Goddience Flannagan, as well as junior Talavious Hughes and junior Hunter Deforge, who is out for the season following a knee injury.  “It’s hard to just sit on the bench and not be able to play.  It’s frustrating, but I’ll come back stronger,” said Deforge, who would have been the starting point guard.  The young Flucos have been competitive, but with the recent loss their record falls to 1-2, their lone win coming against Amherst County.

Fluvanna started out slow, as Albemarle was able to force turnovers and capitalize on them.  Things didn’t get much better as freshman center Aamir Simms exited the game with a hip injury in the second quarter.  The team trailed 32-14 at halftime, and they weren’t able to come back without Simms’ inside presence.  “We’re still learning how to play as a team and knowing what our strengths are.  It’s a long season, so we’ll figure it out,” said junior Julian Bonner.  Simms led the Flucos with eight points, and freshman Jameel Wilson and junior Jake Mooney had six points each.  You can watch highlights of the game at the link below: http://www.nbc29.com/story/24198970/wednesday-hs-basketball-scores-highlights-121113

This season will be a learning process for the Flucos, as they have no returning varsity players and are a team largely composed of juniors and freshman.  The majority of the junior varsity team from last season has moved up, so they must learn to adjust to playing against tougher competition.  The only two seniors are Flannagan and Michael Tammony, both newcomers to the team.

“We are a young team this year, but we have a lot of talent.  I think we’ll only get better as the season progresses, and we should, once Talavious and Goddy get back,” said Mooney.  This team may be young, but that doesn’t mean they won’t surprise people.