STARKVILLE — Jontavius Baker felt like he could be a part of a pretty good Starkville High School basketball team.
Baker’s feeling is proving to be true for the senior-laden Yellow Jackets.
Starkville won all three games it played last week in the Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at The Hump tournament at Humphrey Coliseum. Helping lead the way was the 6-foot-3 Baker, who averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game in the tournament.
For his efforts, Baker is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“Last season, we didn’t play really well,” Baker said. “The motivation during the offseason was to prove we are a lot better than we showed. Every team wants to play for the state championship. That is our goal, too. But really the No. 1 goal for this season was to prove that last year was behind us and we are ready to play a lot better.”
After making the Mississippi High School Activities Association North State playoffs and the Mississippi Coliseum regular postseason destinations, the Yellow Jackets slipped to an atypical losing record last season.
This season, Starkville enters the New Year 12-2. The only blemishes are a 38-33 setback to region rival Columbus and a 76-62 loss to Midfield (Ala.) on the final day of the Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Classic.
“We have played a very demanding schedule,” said Starkville coach Greg Carter, after Baker scored a team-high 17 points in a 63-52 victory against Parkview (Ark.) on Thursday night. “The thing is the players have recommitted themselves on the defensive end.
“If you look at a player like Jontavius. He has good speed and good size. You know he is going to make plays. His commitment and effort on the defensive end is what help separates him. The aspect of teamwork is understood by this group, and they play really hard and well together.”
Baker said the Yellow Jackets have all of the pieces on the offensive end. For example, a different player led them in scoring in each victory in the Humphrey Coliseum.
“When we guard hard we have a chance to beat anybody,” Baker said. “We have enough really great players that somebody on offense is going to find a way to score some baskets, so the main thing for us to play defense for four quarters.
“We feel like we are really good at applying defensive pressure. We can get some steals and turnovers, and that can lead to some easy baskets.”
Even after its early season struggles last year, Starkville was playing some of its best basketball when the season ended.
“The way we finished the year really gave us a lot of confidence,” Baker said. “It felt good to come back out here and start over with a clean slate.”
The clean slate included a return to the Humphrey Coliseum. After losing all three games in its tournament last season, Starkville felt a whole lot better winning three times this year.
“Playing at the coliseum was a lot of fun,” Baker said. “It is a big arena, and it will be similar to the situation we might be facing in the state tournament. Hopefully, we can keep playing well and have a chance to find out.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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