By Rob Gantt
Special to the HSSR
GOOSE CREEK - Goose Creek’s boys basketball program has a winning tradition and it’s on display again this winter.
Coach Blake Hall’s bunch was hit hard by graduation after playing for the Class 5A title last season but it’s hard to tell by looking at the win column in the 2023-24 campaign. The Gators improved to 8-3 with a 44-32 road victory at Fort Dorchester on Dec. 15. Their three losses have all been by single digits.
As for returners, two productive scorers are back in junior guard Shane Potts and sophomore guard Ja’Quell Brown. Potts averaged 10.4 points and 3.6 rebounds as a sophomore, and Brown tallied 8.4 points and 2.4 steals per game as a freshman. Brown sets the tone with how hard he competes on a nightly basis.
Senior wing Jayden Stevens is the lone other letterman returning for the Gators.
“Those veterans are going to have to take the lion’s share of the scoring duties as the younger guys develop their skills,” Hall said. “They have to grow and raise the level of everybody around them. As they blossom, we’ll be better off for it.”
In the win over Fort Dorchester, Potts powered the Gators in the scorebook with 17 points and Brown added 14 points. Sophomore guard Meliq McGowan chipped in nine points.
Two days earlier, the Gators coasted past Carvers Bay, 53-31, on the road. Potts tallied a team-high 16 points and Brown contributed 11 points. Junior forward Brayden Langworthy tallied nine points and McGowan seven points.
“The potential is there for us to be a good high school basketball team,” Hall said. “Our veterans know what is expected. We’ve got some talent and quickness. We’ve got some guys who can score the ball. We’ve got some guys who can defend and rebound, but they understand we’ve got to improve in all those areas. They’re capable of being successful. It’s up to them to develop the good habits that can help them reach the goals they want to reach.”
Potts has guided the Gators in scoring in most every game this season and topped 30 points in a November game against Riverpointe Christian.
“He’s starting to make that turn into the type of player we think he can become,” Hall said of Potts.
Brown has been the top scorer in a couple games and McGowan has been the high scorer once.
The Gators have five more non-region clashes in December before beginning the Region 6-5A slate on Jan. 5 at home against Berkeley.
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