Hampton County has stellar first season under Joshua Jones
By Neill Kirkpatrick
Special to the HSSR
Varnville – The Hampton County Hurricanes won their second consecutive region championship in as many years as they finishes year two and the first year under new Head Coach Joshua James with a 20-6 record and 9-1 in region 5 AA.
They advanced into the third round of the class AA playoffs losing in overtime to Andrew Jackson 59-54.
“My style of play is more up-tempo offense and on defense I want my guys to be in your face. I think the team adjusted to my style of coaching very well and they got better every day. I’m very intense coach and I want my team to play with intensity on both ends of the court. We want to come out and win the first four minutes of the game,” said coach Jones.
The Hurricanes will lose their two senior captains in Andre Williams and Joe Gittings but they will return their entire starting five. Williams and Gittings provided leadership and depth to the Hurricane lineup.
Coach James returning five starter are Darius Brooks, Jaylen Singletary, Jaquan Solomon, and Desmond Mathis and forward Tyler Davis. Brooks was named to the AA all state team after averaging 17.7 points per game to lead the Hurricanes. He was second the team from behind the arc with 31 made threes.
“Darius has been tremendous all year in leading the team. He can play the 1,2 or 3. He is one of the best guards in the state in my opinion,” coach Jones said.
Solomon and Davis also averaged in double figures for the Hurricanes at 11.9 and 11 points per game, respectively. Solomon led the team in three’s with 50 while Davis did his damage in the paint. Davis led the team in rebounding with 93.
Singletary and Mathis were demons on the defensive end for coach James as they combined for 74 steals. Singletary led the team in blocks with 8.
“We are ahead of schedule with this team and we had a good year. I am excited for next year with the group I have returning but we’ll see if they are ready to put in the work to get better,” coach Jones said.
