Patrick Henry boys hoopsters claim region title
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Estill – Just as she had hoped, the Patrick Henry boys basketball team has played to the expectations of coach Belinda MCoy during the 2011-12 season.
Patrick Henry entered the final two games of the regular season with a conference title in hand, boasting a 14-3 record overall and a perfect 6-0 mark in league play. While most of the team is still fairly young in terms of age, McCoy felt the team had enough experience and chemistry to be very solid this winter.
“I expected us to be pretty good because we had some experience coming back and a lot of these boys have played a lot together, not only in basketball, but in the other sports as well,” said McCoy, who led the team to a 12-12 record last season. “The biggest thing about these kids is they know how to win. They are a very competitive group overall. Most of them played football and they went to the state championship game so they expect to win at everything they do. That attitude helps a lot.”
Due to the length of the successful football season, the basketball season got off to a slow start, at least for one game.
Patrick Henry lost its season opener to South Aiken Baptist, 64-49, in a game that was played three days after the state championship football game.
“We met on Sunday, handed out uniforms, and I asked if anyone had any questions,” jokes McCoy. “We played that night like a team that had not been practicing. We weren’t prepared at all but you know, it’s the first game and it had no bearing on the season.”
Those who might have thought the season would be a long one quickly changed their minds. Patrick Henry reeled off eight straight wins as they played themselves into basketball shape.
The other two defeats this season were to AA Holly Hilly Academy by five points, and to AA Dorchester Academy in overtime by eight points.
Leading the way this season are two seniors – Kyle Johnson and Jacob Barnes. Johnson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging about 12 points per game. He also averages nearly five rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Barnes has shared a starting role with sophomore Joseph Wilson and he is averaging 3.3 steals and nearly three assists per game.
Wilson is averaging 6.1 points and 4.9 boards per contest at the small forward position.
Junior guard Jesse Peeples is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game while junior post Gibson Wall is averaging 8.3 points per game.
Junior forward Grant Youmans rounds out the starting lineup and contributes 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Sophomore post Aaron Cleland is pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game, which leads the team. Junior Hunter Nix and sophomore Sheldon Swofford see considerable minutes off the bench as well. Swofford recently scored 16 points in the overtime loss to Dorchester.
The offensive numbers might not be overly impressive but McCoy’s team is winning with hustle and defense. Patrick Henry is limited opponents to 39 points per game this season.
“I feel like we can score enough because our kids really believe in playing defense,” said the coach. “We want to play good defense and rebound the basketball. We do it by committee. Every player on the floor can contribute in some way and we ask that every player does something to help the team. It’s a very unselfish group of kids. They play hard and they play together.”
McCoy’s goal for the upcoming playoffs is simple – advance past the first round.
“We haven’t been past the first round since I’ve been the coach but this team has a good chance to do that,” she said. “I know there are some really good teams in class A and I don’t know how we match up with those teams but I would like to think we are good enough to be a contender. Just getting past the first round would be a big deal and get us over the hump. Everything after that is icing on the cake.”
