By David Shelton
•
25 Dec, 2023
Summerville – If early adversity makes a team stronger in the end, the Cane Bay boys basketball team should be in good shape once region 6-AAAAA play begins in January. The Cobras, runner-ups in region six last season, have battled injury and illness for much of the first three weeks of the 2023-24 season. Cane Bay sat with a 7-5 record entering the Christmas break, taking several losses to quality ranked programs in the process. “It has been tough to put a consistent lineup on the floor so far,” coach Shawn McKeen said. “We have had some injuries and had some guys fighting sickness. We haven’t been at full strength yet and it’s hard to play some of the good teams that we play without our full team.” Among the early losses were defeats to Summerville, Fort Dorchester, West Ashley, Pinewood Prep and Marion. The Cobras opened the season with three straight wins before losing five of their next six games. Senior Jayden Coffey, an impact transfer from Ashley Ridge, has yet to play in a game after an early knee injury. McKeen expects Coffey back in January. Senior Curtrell Dixon, a returning starter from last year, has been a solid contributor, averaging 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Dixon had a season-high 23 points in a loss to Summerville. Sophomore point guard Jarvis Roper is averaging 9.1 points per game and senior Isaac Smalls is adding about 8.8 points per contest. Senior guard Landon Davis averages eight points per game and scored 18 in a six-point loss to Summerville, the top-ranked team in Class AAAAA. Senior Zaiyre Williams and freshman Jahleel Sanders also have provided solid play early on. A positive that comes from the lineup changes has been McKeen’s ability to develop depth. “We’ve been able to give a lot of guys some playing time and that experience is going to help us,” the coach said. “I think it will make us deeper having a good number of kids who have been in game situations. We probably have 14 guys that we can put on the floor and can still compete. “When we’re healthy, fully healthy, I think we have a pretty good team. We just need to continue to work with what we have and build that chemistry as we go.” The only other seniors on the roster are Kenyae Brown and Brayden Ebersole. Austin Seabrook and Tarik Henderson are juniors coming off the bench. Rounding out the roster are sophomores Donovan Green, Tristan Ford, Amare Merrell, Mike Smalls and Elyjah Oler.