2008 Central Virginia Boys Basketball COY Brandon Garrett

What a difference a year can make.
In his second year at the helm as Nelson County’s boys basketball coach, Brandon Garrett led his team on an historical ride, which culminated with the school’s first state championship.
All that came after his first year, when the Governors finished below .500 and did not even reach the playoffs.
Armed with a core group of senior leaders, Nelson completed the turnaround and the trifecta, winning the Dogwood District, Region B and state titles.
The performance was good enough to earn Garrett this year’s Central Virginia Coach of the Year award.
According to Garrett, his team reaped the rewards of countless hours of preparation in the off-season.
“They wanted to play all summer and stay in the gym,” Garrett recalled. “They would actually call me and ask to get in the gym and usually it’s the other way around. I’ve coached some good players, but as a group I haven’t been with a group like that.
Of course, there were other factors, too.
“The kids had a year under their belt with me, and learning a new offense,” Garrett continued. “The offense I wanted to run was complex but I wanted to run it with the type of players I had. Also, I brought another coach in (Travis Rogers) who I had worked with in the past, and he knew exactly what I wanted to do and that made it easier. And we just put it all together.”
In putting it all together, the Governors also set a school record for wins as they went 30-1 on the year — their only blemish was a loss to Altavista (43-39) in January. In fact, the team ended the season the way it started – on a 15-game win streak.
“I think we got a little overconfident, but it inspired us to go harder,” said Garrett of the mid-season loss. “I had four senior starters [Thomas Brown, TJ Martin, Mike Jones and Chris Jones] who were all four captains and all played for me last year. They really started it, and the other guys stepped in. And then everything fell in place for us.”
Nelson rolled through district and regional play before posting wins over Chesterfield Community and Twin Valley in Group A tournament play. The Governors went on to beat Surry to capture the state crown at Virginia Commonwealth’s Siegel Center.
And under Garrett’s guidance, the Governors were the best team they could possibly be.
“It’s almost like you can never say the coaches want it more than the players, because it was kind of equal,” Brown said. “He knew it was going to be a special season the whole season and even before the season started. And he pushed us on offense and defense. He knew what we were capable of and he helped us achieve it.”