A running account of the Augusta area’s basketball and football scene. This is the blog. Go to @AugBball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live coverage.
One last week of high school summer league remains. Here are links to the posts here at AugBball.com with highlights from the girls games played at Butler in June on Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Hamilton and Williams spur the Lady Wildcats past rival Josey
Sophomore Jaiden Hamilton made three first half threes and senior Jhessyka Williams added several buckets while Laney built a double digit lead over rival Josey before hanging on to win to stay undefeated in Thursday's summer league session at Butler.
The Lady Wildcats, and many of the fans at Butler last night, are now looking forward to Tuesday's 8:00 PM matchup with Cross Creek. Both teams are undefeated in the summer league at Butler. And the two teams have been Richmond County's top two teams for years now.
Aquinas improves to 5-1 with win over Butler
Aquinas defended hard, moved the ball crisply, and made enough shots to cruise past Butler, giving the Fighting Irish a 5-1 summer league record and setting up a showdown with Hephzibah Thursday at 4:00 PM.
The Lady Rebels, who sprinted past Glenn Hills Thursday after edging Josey last week, finish their June schedule with games at 4 PM against Butler Tuesday, and Aquinas Wednesday.
After five years without a summer league loss, Laney has been beaten three times in the first few weeks of June. But the Wildcats made quick work of now region opponent Harlem at Wednesday's summer league at Butler. I watched them come a steal and a dunk away from beating Richmond last week, and they handily beat Glenn Hills on opening night.
Laney has a proud tradition and a deep pipeline of talent. Along with senior Tahj Tanksley, who didn't play Wednesday, PJ Walker, Dejuan Griffin, and Donald Henley are a few of many guards in the Wildcats' system who position Laney nicely come winter time.
The new 8 team class 2A region of interest to Augusta's basketball fans includes the following teams:
Laney, Westside, Butler, Josey, Glenn Hills, Harlem, Jefferson County, and Screven County
Like all teams, Laney will need to earn its way into the top half of that group to have a chance to make an eighth straight run in next season's state tournament. Of course we'll wait many months to know whether they will succeed. But before that long period begins, we can get one more sneak preview Wednesday when the Wildcats face arch rival Josey, who is unbeaten in June, on the last night of June's summer league schedule.
Evans is steadily improving
Fresh off a win over then unbeaten Richmond, Evans again knocked off Hephzibah Wednesday. The Knights have improved steadily all month. The more I learn about the team, the more optimistic I am about its future.
Sophomore Cameron Cabarrus and junior Will Caudill have both drained shots from deep all month. Kyle Driscoll and Duvall Cardwell have patrolled the paint and the glass on both ends, and they both pass, catch, and finish in transition. And two year varsity contributor Serron Spann, a junior point guard, sets a great example by willingly passing the ball ahead in transition, and by generally being a good and reliable teammate.
Coach Kevin Kenny has a deep roster of good players whose names I'm slowly learning. When Evans substitutes in waves of five, each group gives a proper defensive effort and shows a willingness to share the ball, like here:
Lakeside is loaded
After watching Evans and Lakeside put back to back beatings on Hephzibah and Cross Creek, respectively, I look forward to watching the decades long rivals meet possibly several times this winter.
Lakeside is more talented now than ever. Returning seniors Kresean Hall (11 ppg, 7 rpg) and Deon Berrien (15 ppg, 13 rpg) and sophomore Kalen Williams (14 ppg, 3 apg) have all consistently produced. And ready to contribute significantly are juniors Brad Hilley and Tucker Gilbert.
Sheppard and Whitehead lead Glenn Hills to an impressive win
Glenn Hills turned an explosive second half run into a comfortable win over Richmond Wednesday. The Spartans were led by two newcomers who have played inspired basketball this month. Senior transfer Tony Sheppard and freshman John Whitehead were relentless on the glass and disruptive on defense. Sheppard also made a pair of threes and Whitehead dunked one that I didn't get on film.
Without 6'7" junior Timmy Sellers and veteran guard Robert Drew, there was no shortage of contributors, including lefty guards CJ Bowers and Eric Farmer. And 6'5" Jeffrey Cabarrus provides yet another long an active presence in the paint.
Ryan Jolly joined Isaiah Kelly of Pace Academy as the two Augusta raised players given spots in Hoopseen.com 's ranking of the top 20 players of the class of 2018. Jolly, a 6'0' guard, claimed the 15th spot while Kelly, a 6'6" post player who attended Augusta Christian before leaving the area after his freshman season, was tabbed the 5th best rising junior in Georgia.
I have not gotten to see Jolly and his Augusta Prep Cavs play in June, but the shooter with a smooth handle and a great feel for the game has obviously made quite the impression on the "Georgia Cup" circuit, which is hosted by Hoopseen, as a member of the Georgia Bulls AAU squad.
Here are AugBball posts featuring or including Jolly from this past season:
And I agree so much about basketball being one part of a much larger and more important life that I almost forgot to mention it. It's a fun saying and either is or was the name of a great website to see random basketball highlights, but Ball is most definitely Not Life.
My special guest Will Avery was drafted in the 1999 NBA lottery by the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played three seasons of a more than decade long professional career. Before that he played two seasons at Duke after attending Oak Hill and Westside High here in Augusta, where he was a part of a state championship team in 1995.
Will is currently heavily involved in coaching, training, teaching, and mentoring the young and aspiring basketball players in our community. He is my go-to guy for all things basketball. Learn more about his activities at www.willaverybasketballcamps.com/.
I think Will and I say in the interview that this NBA season is the best we've ever seen. I've been blogging and tweeting (@AugBball) about the playoffs as much as possible. First the Thunder-Spurs series. Then the Warriors' comeback against the Thunder. And now right after Lebron James's historic two game stretch and as we are looking forward to game 7 in Golden State, I asked Will to let me record our conversation about this great NBA run and the final game of the season Sunday.
Bonus: During the last few minutes of the interview, Will updates us about a few notable local girls basketball players, which is timely with the high schools in the middle of their summer league schedule and the AAU evaluation period coming.
If you follow @AugBball on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you may have seen my live highlights and updates from Thursday's summer league girls games at Butler. Here are the complete highlights and some thoughts from the three games I watched:
Cross Creek sprints past Butler
Like most of the other times Cross Creek plays an area team, the Lady Razorbacks picked apart Butler with their signature execution. A quick Butler run narrowed Cross Creek's 9 point halftime lead to 2 at 27-25 early in the second half. But the momentum quickly turned and never turned back as the Lady Razorbacks spent little time dribbling aimlessly and much time running the floor, throwing the ball ahead, and finishing fast break opportunities before claiming a 53-27 win.
Hephzibah's Mayo leads Rebels to victory over Josey
Emani Mayo made a three with less than a minute remaining to put Hephzibah ahead of Josey 34-33, and she immediately stole the ball to secure the 39-35 summer league win. Mayo, her sister Nicolette Mayo, and Josey's Brianna Dubose, all return to teams that reached the class 3A state tournament the past two seasons. In November, Hephzibah will move to class 4A and battle preseason region favorite Cross Creek. Josey will move down to class 2A, as will favorite Laney and many other Richmond County schools.
After two spurts, Aquinas tops Josey
Aquinas scored 10 straight points to take a 21-11 lead early in the second half. And after Josey made a run of its own, the Fighting Irish battled back from a three point deficit, scoring 9 points quickly on two buckets each by Erin Rush and Jasmine Sanders, and taking a 33-32 lead before Mary Kate Williamson sealed the 35-32 win with a late field goal.
Links to recent posts about Butler's summer league
If you follow @AugBball on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you may have seen my live highlights and updates from Wednesday's summer league games at Butler. In this post are the FULL highlights from 4 of the games.
Williams brothers connect for game winner
Richmond remains unbeaten in June
Younger brother Isaiah Williams fed older brother Moses Williams, who flushed home a dunk seconds before the final buzzer to break a 38 all tie and preserve the Musketeers' unbeaten streak. Isaiah, a rising sophomore did a great job thwarting Laney's Donald Henley's attack on the defensive possession, which ended in a Henley turnover, that led to the game winning basket. Williams had also made several key baskets in the second half, none bigger than the three he made to tie things at 38, leading to the final play.
Butler's scoring spree propels unbeaten Josey to another win
Josey's depth and experience are difficult to match
Four Josey players have played major roles in the team's back-to-back state tournament runs. Throughout the past two season's, senior Johnathan Butler has been a dangerous scorer on the perimeter. When Lakeside appeared to control the game Wednesday, Butler responded with a pair of threes and a feed that led to a point blank Javen Whitehead dunk, all of which combined to give the Eagles another summer league win, their fourth in as many tries.
Glenn Hills wins third straight
Drew, Farmer, Sheppard have paced the Spartans
Robert Drew, Eric Farmer, and Antonio Sheppard have been dynamite in wins this week over Butler and Harlem. Drew and Farmer have consistently made shots from all over the court, and Sheppard dominated the offensive glass in the second half of Wednesday's 42-36 win over Harlem.
Evans 49, Hephzibah 39
Cardwell and Spann impressed
Junior Serron Spann, who is approaching his third season as a key member of Evans's varsity team, involved his teammates and scored key baskets, and the Knights earned a win over Hephzibah Wednesday. Duvall Cardwell continued his consistent play. And Hephzibah continued to show signs of improvement.
Links to recent posts about Butler's summer league
