Boys basketball a success
Photo Credit: Justin Perry
Jerrin Morrison goes in for a lay-up in a game against Philip O' Berry
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Derek Zhang, Staff Writer
February 8, 2012
Filed under Sports
Miles Leathers and Jaye Hunt, the two senior captains of the East Mecklenburg Basketball Team have led the Eagles to a 13-9 record thus far. Leathers, the team leader in points, steals, and assists per game, has high expectations for the rest of the season.
“The season is going pretty good so far, but we still have work to do,” said Leathers. “As far as how I can improve, I need to work on limiting turnovers and being more aggressive as a scorer. The team needs to work on starting faster and finishing games.”
Leathers is surrounded by skilled teammates including Jerrin Morrison and Trent Richardson, both of whom average over 10 points per game. The Eagles have earned a reputation among spectators as being one of the most explosive and entertaining teams to watch.
“We are an exciting team. At Myers Park, Trent got two dunks, and Jerrin got back-to-back dunks against Phillip O. Berry. Those were pretty sick,” said Leathers.
While Leathers is focusing on the season at hand, he does acknowledge some of the younger talent on the team.
“We have a few underclassmen who are contributing to the team at a young age and getting experience—Tryle Poindexter, John Rankin, and Ray’quelle Days. They are going to make the team better in the next few years.”
Poindexter and Days are adjusting to the pace of Varisty after playing on the Junior Varsity level last year.
“The game is way faster,” said Poindexter. “On varsity, it’s not just ‘one good player can win a game’. You need the whole team. We have some good talent and some upcoming JV players that should come up and help the team.
For players like Ray’quelle Days, playing varsity has been a humbling experience.
“I’m not living up to my own expectations. I thought I was better than I really was, but I got a lot of work to do,” said Days. “I need to work on my on-ball defense, getting my handles better, and taking players off the bounce. I need to maintain my hard work-ethic so hopefully I can go Division-1 for basketball.”
The Eagles are 8-5 in conference play and hope to earn a conference championship.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Poindexter. “Coach has got a lot of faith in us; we have to deliver.”
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