By Grant Miller

The following story was posted on December 18, 2023. Here is the original link.

“You gotta take that personal. Stop giving that up!”

Coach Brandon Plummer said that to one of his players during their game against Northampton on December 16th after an opposing guard scored a baseline layup. After that statement, Northampton did not score a baseline layup the rest of the game and the Commodores won 72–50.

The Maury Commodores boys basketball team is off to a 4–2 start, and the main reason is the defensive mindset emphasized by their head coach.

Plummer is a born and raised Norfolk, Virginia basketball figure. He won a state title as a player for Booker T. Washington in 2006, and when he became the head coach of Maury’s basketball team, they won the state title in 2019. That was Maury’s first title since 1927.

Defense is the reason for each successful season. Maury’s state title victory was a 57–49 victory over Freedom South Riding, and this season, Maury’s opponents have averaged 48 points per game.

Coach Plummer sat down for a brief conversation about his team and Norfolk basketball culture. It has been edited for clarity:

GM: If you could describe the basketball culture of the 757, how would you describe it?

BP: Hard-nosed. Competitive. There’s not one person in this area who just flat-out dominates because we always are trying to compete. Norfolk is just hard-nosed competition.

GM: Is Norfolk different from other cities in the 757 region? Is there a difference between Norfolk or Chesapeake or Hampton?

BP: Yeah, for sure. Norfolk is more so playing to let you know we’re tough. You might have some guys in the Chesapeake area or the Virginia Beach area that may have that toughness to them, but collectively we will always say that they’re not tougher than us. They might have a little bit more skill because they have more outlets to be able to work on their game and train with individuals who made it to the next level, but overall Norfolk is that city that’s tough.

GM: You told me before [during a pre-interview] that your identity for your team was “competitive.” I’m going to ask for something a little more specific. On which side of the court would you want to be the most competitive, offense or defense?

BP: Defense because that’s what we predicate ourselves on. I’m one of those coaches that preaches defense a lot because a lot of kids don’t want to play it today, and if they do play it, they don’t really understand. We know defense is all about effort between you and you. How much effort are you going to give? But as far as understanding defense, help side rotations and understanding what your opponent likes to do and what you can take away from him, they don’t see it from that side of the game. That comes from watching the game and studying the game. My big thing with my team is defense, but the biggest thing is rebounding. You have to be able to rebound that ball. I tell them if we don’t rebound the ball, how are you going to get on offense if you can’t get a possession? I challenge those guys daily on rebounding. We have good size, but size means nothing if you’re not trying to get in there and get your hands dirty.

GM: Would you say your strength is perimeter or interior defense so far?

BP: Perimeter defense. We do a very good job on the perimeter. Tyler [Bell] is not healthy right now, but Tyler plays very good defense. For a big his size, he can move his feet very well. He can actually check people on the perimeter. But perimeter defense has always been good when it comes to my guards. I really push them and make sure they can sit down and check people because this area is mostly guard-oriented. You’ve got to be able to stop some guards. We’re not walking around with [a lot of] bigs at 6-foot-7, strong, playing with their back to the basket. So you grow up checking guards.

GM: Speaking of guards, I noticed very strong play from Adrean Newton. On Twitter, Zach Gotham says “Newton Jr. has a chance to stake his claim as the best floor general, not just in the 757 but also in Virginia.” Would you say that’s an accurate assessment of his game?

BP: For sure. Hands down. I don’t question anything about his mentality, and he approaches the game from an upper level like a real veteran. Adrean has been our point guard since his freshman year. He was my point guard when we went to the state championship. He came back last year, [and] I added more responsibility. He stepped up. He took everything in that I told him to. We may have come short last year, but he led us to the state tournament again. I told him, “This is your year. You had other guys around you that you can feed off of in previous years, but now this is your time.” Now it’s time to be a killer. That’s what I tell him. Straight like that. It’s time to be a killer.

GM: He sounds like the embodiment of what you just told me about the Norfolk style of play plus your team’s emphasis on perimeter defense. Obviously it did at one point since you got a state championship, but does it [still] translate well when you play outside of this region, like guys in Richmond or guys in D.C.?

DP: Yeah, the thing about the Richmond area, love playing against those guys, you can see certain areas of Richmond have the same mentality we have here. Skill play, probably about the same. So it’s kind of like evenly matched when we go in that Richmond area. D.C. area, they probably more so have bigger guys than what we have. But as far as the guard play from here to the Peninsula District to Richmond and D.C., guard play is guard play. You got that skill with you, you got that will with you, or you don’t. I’ve seen it all over the place. You have some guys who have better moves than others, but if you’re a guard, you’re a guard, and if you can get it, you can get it. Adrean is one of those. He’s got that old school mentality. Wherever you take him, people love him.

GM: Has anything changed from last season that will help you this season?

BP: Yeah, I have everybody committed. You know, last year was one of my toughest years coaching because you will have a guy or two not committed all the way, and that can really hurt a team, you know? So I had to approach my season last year from a different standpoint of getting to really understand my team and what makes them go and how I keep everybody together. Now this year, I have a lot of guys returning who have experience. This group here has been with me for three years. Some of them for four. They know what it takes to get to a state title. There isn’t too much I have to say to get them up and ready to work. They’re all committed, they’re all dedicated, and they’re ready to compete.

The Maury Commodores play Granby High School on December 20th.