Moncks Corner – Year two of the Matthew Mullins coaching era at Berkeley High School is off to a good start.
Mullins took over as the boys basketball coach at Berkeley prior to last season. The program he inherited had struggled mightily since playing for the AAAAA state championship in 2019. But Mullins guided the Stags to a respectable 9-14 record last season.
As of Dec. 16, the 2023-24 Stags are on a much better win pace. Berkeley won seven of their first nine games of this season and entered the Class AAAAA top 10 as the holidays approached.
Mullins, who came to Berkeley from Colleton County, is pleased with the way his team has started but also understands there is work to be done.
“I’m glad the guys have experienced some success early. That helps in terms of confidence,” the coach said. “But we have to understand that we can’t make the playoffs with what we do in December. The region games are when we have to be playing our best. We’re on the right track and my job is to keep them focused and improving. I am excited to see what this group can do.”
Mullins lost five seniors from last year’s team but returned a solid cast that saw considerable playing time a year ago. The top two players this season are sophomore Deuce Kinloch and freshman John Cleveland. One or the other is often the team’s leading scorer and both are regulars in double figures. Cleveland averaged 9.5 points per game as an eighth-grader.
“Those two are often among the top scorers but we have had a lot of different guys contributing so far,” Mullins said. “We encourage guys who get hot to shoot. We want other teams to have to defend all five guys on the floor. It doesn’t matter who scores the most as long as the team wins.”
Seniors John Hazelton has been a regular starter and a solid contributor as a small forward. Seniors Lonnie Harrison and Jove Rouse, along with juniors Cam Palmer and Jehoava Williams have performed well in their roles. Harrison is the ‘glue” as the starting point guard, according to Mullins.
“This team has good chemistry and they play well together,” Mullins said. “They want to win and they are unselfish. What I need to see more of is consistency. We have to be more disciplined at playing to our standard for four quarters. We have yet to put a full game together. We have had issues coming out in the third quarter and we have to focus on being better after halftime.”
Berkeley will stay busy during the holiday break. The Stags will play in a pre-Christmas tournament at West Ashley High and will participate in the Carolina Invitational in the days after Christmas.
“Lot of opportunity to get better over the next few weeks,” the coach concluded.
As for region 6-AAAAA, early returns show that the league could be wide open for the taking. Goose Creek remains a solid favorite but Mullins feels Cane Bay, Wando and Stratford are solid clubs as well.
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