Saluda Boys Basketball Team Still Developing
By Dennis Brunson
hssr.com Associate Editor
Saluda – The Saluda High School boys basketball team won three of its first four games, but head coach Jimmy Kinard knows it is far from a finished product. In fact, it can be argued that the Tigers aren’t really a basketball team yet.
“All but two of the team members played football so we are still transitioning into basketball mode,” Kinard said.
Saluda has just two returning starters from last year’s team that went 15-9 overall and 7-4 in Region 2-AA. The Tigers advanced to the state playoffs and went on the road in the first round and lost to Clinton 54-49.
Saluda has only two seniors on the roster, but both of them are starters in CJ Springs and Jamiyias Myers. Springs was a member of the South Carolina Basketball Coaches
Association AA All-State team last year.
They are joined in the starting lineup by sophomore Sandy Springs, junior Jahmeer Myers and junior Jayden Myers.
Junior Mekhi Linton is a returning starter but has not been cleared to participate due to an injury he suffered back during the football season.
The Tigers will not begin region play until the second week of January, so that offers some leeway in the development of the squad.
“The team is developing basically the way I would have expected it to,” Kinard said. “The key to our success moving forward is to continue to play hard and be coachable. Though we have a young team, many of them have played valuable minutes in the past, so there remains a good deal of experience on the roster.”
ERICSON VASQUEZ WINS REGION FOOTBALL AWARD
Saluda placekicker Ericson Vasquez was selected as the Region 2-AA Special Teams Player of the Year.
Seven other Tigers were named to the All-Region 2 team. They were senior quarterback Brayden Williams, junior running back Tristan Daniels, senior wide receiver CJ Springs, senior offensive left tackle Bryan Gomez, junior center Sid Shaw, junior tight end Jahmeer Myers and sophomore defensive back Ceddion Springs.
Saluda finished 6-6 in its first season under head coach Greg Woerner. The Tigers were 2-3 in region play, but they were 11 points from an undefeated region season.
They lost the region games in succession, falling to Ninety Six 28-27, to eventual state champion Strom Thurmond 20-14 and to Batesburg-Leesville 35-34 in overtime.
That gave the Tigers the No. 3 seed from the region in the state playoffs. They went on the road and beat Mid-Carolina 33-13 in the first round. They had to go on the road in the second round against then defending state champion Clinton and didn’t fare as well, losing by a 35-25 score.
The Tigers led 25-21 entering the fourth quarter before being outscored 14-0.
Williams closed out his career on a high note, completing 13 of 24 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 96 yards and another touchdown on 14 carries.
CJ Springs caught all three of the touchdown passes, finishing with five catches for 137 yards. Daniels had 19 carries for 74 yards.
