“Dunk City” is coming to Starkville later this month.
But basketball fans received a tasty sample of Florida Gulf Coast University’s up-tempo, rim-shaking style of basketball on a smaller scale Tuesday night at New Hope High School.
With Jaylon Bardley playing the role of choreographer and Shemar Johnson elevating with the greatest of ease, the New Hope boys basketball team rolled to a 70-45 victory against Caledonia.
D.J. Sanders scored a game-high 29 points to lead New Hope to a 63-17 victory against Caledonia in the girls game.
The high-wire act followed in the nightcap, as Johnson had 10 of his team-high 15 points off dunks. At least three of the dunks came off assists from Bardley, who added 12 on a night New Hope (4-2) had four reach double figures and 10 score. Terryonte Thomas (13 points) and Tae Latham (12) also scored in double figures for the Trojans, who broke open a close game with a 16-9 run to end the second quarter to take a 32-23 halftime. The lead didn’t dip below double digits in the second half.
“We preach about it every day. If this team will buy into being tougher than everybody else, they have an opportunity,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said. “We’re working on it. We’re getting there. They are young, really young. We only have two seniors, and we started a freshman and two sophomores tonight.
“It is a growth curve. If you watched us against Starkville and you watched us tonight, it is a difference. Can we get there? Yes. We have a long way to go, but we can get there.”
It remains to be seen whether New Hope can capture the magic and energy the 2012-13 FGCU men’s basketball team. A year ago, coach Andy Enfield’s team, which didn’t win the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title season, came on strong at the end of the season thanks to a fast-breaking, lob-happy attack to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. The performance helped Enfield earn a job a head coach at USC. New coach Joe Dooley will lead FGCU against Mississippi State on Dec. 19 in Starkville.
McBrayer hopes his team comes on like FGCU did at the right time this season. To do that, he knows the Trojans will have to play together and will have to play better defense for longer stretches. New Hope is long enough, quick enough, and deep enough to do it. The Trojans can go at least 10 deep, which could be a troubling thought if they decide to play tighter defense for 32 minutes.
The promising part of the equation is tougher defense can lead to transition baskets and more chances for dunks. That is an exciting possibility for Bardley and Johnson, who both said the Trojans are listening to McBrayer’s preachings about defense. They agree the team can get there if it continues to work hard.
As it stands now, though, Bardley and Johnson, who are both juniors, have a chemistry that doesn’t need a look of the eye or a raised eyebrow. Bardley said he knows what Johnson is going to do based on year of playing together in the parks and on Amateur Athletic Union teams.
“It just comes natural,” Bardley said of his feel for Johnson’s game. “I already know. When he is cutting, I know he is going to be there and he is going to go get it.”
Johnson, who is a slender 6-foot-6, could have had seven dunks, but he couldn’t catch a lob pass from Bardley and then mishandled an inbounds pass later in the game. Still, the left-hander’s elevation brought the New Hope fans to their feet and energized the crowd.
“We feed off each other,” Johnson said. “It has been like this since we were little. We have been doing this for a long time.”
Johnson said he and Bardley had the chemistry in ninth grade, even though he was two or three inches shorter. Now that he and Bardley are on the varsity team, the prospects are limitless. Johnson said the Trojans could have “way more dunks” if they play more of the pressure defense McBrayer wants.
“I am confident in my team. I think they will get the job done,” Johnson said. “I believe we can get (where McBrayer wants) no problem.”
Thomas also worked his way into the higher altitudes with three dunks. At one point, New Hope senior Whyatt Foster could be heard talking to his teammates at the scorer’s table saying, “Let me get one,” as if to say he wanted someone to set him up so he could show he could be a high-flyer, too.
That assist never came, but McBrayer knows dunks are just a small part of what his team can do. He said New Hope has shown significant growth since a season-opening loss to Starkville last month. He said the team still has a lot of progress to make, but he evoked the names of Trojans past like Raymond Walters, who was in attendance, and Jonathan Brandon to highlight a toughness he wants his current team to find.
In the girls game, New Hope (6-0) built a 22-0 lead after one quarter and extended it to 32-0 before Quashun Betts hit two free throws to break Caledonia’s drought.
New Hope’s smallest margin of victory this season has been 19 points. Coach Laura Lee Holman knows her team will face much stronger competition once it gets into the heart of its Class 5A schedule, so she is striving to get the most out of her players.
With eight seniors, including exchange student Silvia Sartori, Holman believes her team can take the next step and get to Jackson, the site of the state championship. Last year, New Hope lost to Lanier 62-59 in overtime to cap a 25-5 season.
This season, Holman is using the word “melting” to highlight the toughness and focus she needs. Looking back, she feels the Lady Trojans “melted” at key junctures, which is why she is trying to hold players accountable so they are in the right frame of mind to make a postseason push to help the team compete for a state title.
“It has been a struggle keeping them humbled,” Holman said. “My freshmen and sophomores are working extremely hard, so it is always good to reward them with some playing time. They deserve it. Every minute of it. When you are scrimmaging against these kids every day, they are going to get better, but they really have committed to the work ethic we have every day in practice. I think we’re going to lead them a lot sooner than we think we’re going to need them.”
Taylor Baudoin (13 points) was the only other player in double figures for New Hope.
n Starkville Academy girls 46, Washington School 31: At Greenville, Sallie Kate Richardson scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Lady Volunteers improve to 9-3.
Richardson also had four assists, six steals, and two blocked shots.
Nora Kathryn Carroll had 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Anna McKell added six points and four rebounds.
Follow Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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