Varsity boys basketball dominates Clarke Central once again
With their second game against Central on Feb. 7, the Cedar Shoals Jaguars boys basketball team swept the Classic City Championship 61-40.
Playing the crosstown rival significantly increases the crowd size. Senior shooting and point guard Deston Foote, who scored 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block, notices the difference for these games.
“The atmosphere is different because when we play a team like Flowery Branch you really don’t know who is in the crowd. But when you play a crosstown rival you’ll see a whole bunch of family and friends to see you play,” Foote said.
In this game, senior point and shooting guard DJ Hubbard scored 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Assistant coach Grant Moro attributes a big part of the win to Hubbard and the way that he plays.
“DJ always gives us great performances, whether the shots are falling or not. He still helps the team in so many different ways with his ball handling and his rebounding and defense. He was a big part of why we got the win and a big part of our success,” Moro said.
Hubbard believes that he helps out the team by communicating with them and making sure that everybody understands what is happening.
“I was being vocal, being a leader, making sure everybody knows what is going on. So when the buzzer finally buzzed I was happy and excited that we won,” Hubbard said.
Even though they have a winning record of 17-9, Moro thinks the Jags still have multiple things they need to improve on.
“We just need to continue to just get better overall. Staying locked in for all four quarters and making sure everybody, the guys who are out on the court, are on the same page both offensively and defensively. We do those things, we should be fine,” Moro said.
Even though they have things to work on, Foote believes that they have improved a lot since the beginning of the season both individually and as a team.
“I think I have improved with defense such as stealing, deflecting, rebounding and scoring. The team has overall improved on rebounds, deflection and steals since the last game,” Foote said.
Foote isn’t the only one that points out their good qualities. Moro believes that they have been able to knock balls down at a better rate the past several games.
“When we do get fouled and get to the free throw line and make the teams pay, we’re knocking those down at a better rate and we’re also turning the ball over unless we’re cutting down our turnovers and making our free throws, and that’s helped us these last several games,” Moro said.
