GREYHOUND BASKETBALL
Going into the season, the Greyhounds knew that they would be tested straight out of the gate against proven and tradition-rich programs.
But it’s one thing to be tested. It’s another to find success in that environment.
Jones County did both last Friday and Saturday. After Friday night’s 78-65 win in the Ricky Moore Invitational against Augusta powerhouse Laney, Jones County got back at it less than 24 hours later in the Hooping In Middle Georgia Invitational, besting No.7ranked and defending Class A champions Drew Charter, 65-58.
The latter of the two wins came with another challenge – fatigue and having to mentally adjust. As is the case of many tournaments with multiple games, earlier games can gradually cause later games to start later. That was the case on Saturday with the Drew game starting about 90 minutes later, past 9 p.m.
“To come back home, that was mentally tough for our kids, getting back late,” Greyhounds head coach Buck Harris said. “Having to play at 9-something, we were able to put stuff together and get a win.”
Both Daethan Harris and Jaylen Sanford stepped up in a big way in both wins. After Harris scored 25 points on Friday, he followed it up a day later by pouring in 17 points. As for Sanford, a 15-point effort on Friday was backed up by a monstrous 32-point night against Drew.
It also came with the Greyhounds still without a handful of players that’ll supplement their roster, as last weekend occurred with the Greyhounds still in the football playoffs and expected arrivals such as Judd Anderson and Geo Wade still playing football.
“To do it with what we had, that gives us lots of confidence,” Harris said. “We didn’t have any football players with us, to go on the road in front of a pro-Laney crowd and win, that gives you lots of confidence.
And as for how the football players get adapted from one sport to another?
“We’ll kind of leave it up to them,” Harris said of the timetable of football players rejoining the team. “Some may take a day or two to show up or some could show up (the next day). We’ don’t want to rush the issue, it’s a long season for those guys, so we’ll try to give them all the time they need to acclimate.”
The Greyhounds host Houston County on Friday with the Bears, a AAAAAA program that was a postseason team last year, advancing to the state tournament.
“We’ll just prepare for who we are playing. If you don’t show up to play, someone is going to beat you,” Harris said.
