Statesboro has taken its fair share of beatings over the last month.
No, not necessarily on the court, but off the court.
Just after the academic winter break, Statesboro coach Lee Hill was forced to make a decision about six members of his team who had broken team rules. That decision was to hand those young men their dismissals.
“We’ve been through a lot of things,” said Hill after Friday’s win over the Academy of Richmond County. “You’ve got to realize that this team’s been through a lot of things with losing a lot of players. But they’re growing up, too.”
The dismissals left SHS (7-8, 2-0 Region 3-AAAA) with just 11 players on the roster. Even Class A Portal, who defeated the Blue Devils last week, dresses out 13.
Hill has also been forced to start two sophomores — guard Xavier Tolliver and forward Theo Rich.
Tolliver looks as though he’s out there to do nothing more than pass the rock around the perimeter and not make any foolish turnovers. He’s done more than that, draining key 3s from anywhere on the floor with an unconventional delivery and release.
Rich has been more than a big body down low, scoring eight in the loss to PHS and nine in the 74-49 win over ARC. His presence on the offensive glass has been more than a problem for the opposition.
“You can see the difference in how they’re going,” Hill said. “Tolliver (is coming in) hitting 3s. Theo’s coming in — rebounding, making shots. You know Eric (Ferguson) and Mario (Jackson) are going to do their thing. But these other kids is what I’m pleased with, too. They’re coming in and playing good sound defense and offense.”
Ferguson, a senior, and Jackson, a junior, are no doubt the leaders of the young Devil squad. Ferguson leads the team in points while Jackson picks steals, dishes assists and sprawls for rebounds, playing almost the entire game.
With a thin bench, all six reserves have got playing time in the last month, most notably Edwin Harvey, JaQwan Raymond and Lamar Lundy. The aforementioned three probably expected nothing more than to get some work in with the junior varsity back when the season started in November.
“We lost a couple of players — but it’s all good,” said Ferguson. “I just come out here (every game) and try to show leadership to these boys and they play hard.”
The Blue Devils host Lakeside (9-7, 0-1) tonight with a chance to move to 3-0 in region play. With just six region games left, SHS has put itself in position to make a run at an improbable region title after a pounding of ARC on Friday.
“Richmond came in at 2-0. They beat Evans and I think Evans and Richmond were two of the top teams in the region,” Hill added. “Richmond beat Evans in overtime the other night and beat Lakeside by 40. (Richmond) is the region champs from last year and anytime you’re playing the region champs they’re going to come out and play hard. This is a good statement.”
The girls tip at 5 p.m. tonight with the boys to follow at 6:30.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
No, not necessarily on the court, but off the court.
Just after the academic winter break, Statesboro coach Lee Hill was forced to make a decision about six members of his team who had broken team rules. That decision was to hand those young men their dismissals.
“We’ve been through a lot of things,” said Hill after Friday’s win over the Academy of Richmond County. “You’ve got to realize that this team’s been through a lot of things with losing a lot of players. But they’re growing up, too.”
The dismissals left SHS (7-8, 2-0 Region 3-AAAA) with just 11 players on the roster. Even Class A Portal, who defeated the Blue Devils last week, dresses out 13.
Hill has also been forced to start two sophomores — guard Xavier Tolliver and forward Theo Rich.
Tolliver looks as though he’s out there to do nothing more than pass the rock around the perimeter and not make any foolish turnovers. He’s done more than that, draining key 3s from anywhere on the floor with an unconventional delivery and release.
Rich has been more than a big body down low, scoring eight in the loss to PHS and nine in the 74-49 win over ARC. His presence on the offensive glass has been more than a problem for the opposition.
“You can see the difference in how they’re going,” Hill said. “Tolliver (is coming in) hitting 3s. Theo’s coming in — rebounding, making shots. You know Eric (Ferguson) and Mario (Jackson) are going to do their thing. But these other kids is what I’m pleased with, too. They’re coming in and playing good sound defense and offense.”
Ferguson, a senior, and Jackson, a junior, are no doubt the leaders of the young Devil squad. Ferguson leads the team in points while Jackson picks steals, dishes assists and sprawls for rebounds, playing almost the entire game.
With a thin bench, all six reserves have got playing time in the last month, most notably Edwin Harvey, JaQwan Raymond and Lamar Lundy. The aforementioned three probably expected nothing more than to get some work in with the junior varsity back when the season started in November.
“We lost a couple of players — but it’s all good,” said Ferguson. “I just come out here (every game) and try to show leadership to these boys and they play hard.”
The Blue Devils host Lakeside (9-7, 0-1) tonight with a chance to move to 3-0 in region play. With just six region games left, SHS has put itself in position to make a run at an improbable region title after a pounding of ARC on Friday.
“Richmond came in at 2-0. They beat Evans and I think Evans and Richmond were two of the top teams in the region,” Hill added. “Richmond beat Evans in overtime the other night and beat Lakeside by 40. (Richmond) is the region champs from last year and anytime you’re playing the region champs they’re going to come out and play hard. This is a good statement.”
The girls tip at 5 p.m. tonight with the boys to follow at 6:30.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
