Vince Lemmers and Dalton Ford didn’t look at the responsibility as a burden.
As seniors on the Heritage Academy boys soccer and boys basketball team, Lemmers and Ford knew they were counted on to provide leadership and key on-field contributions to help their squads have success.
The fact that both players were selected to represent the school in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Senior All-Star Soccer and Basketball games shows both players accomplished their goals.
“It felt like I had a lot of responsibility to bring the team up, and I definitely had to step up to the plate and play my best,” said Lemmers, who admitted to feeling “old” on a team made up largely of freshmen and sophomores.
The All-Star Soccer game will be at 3 p.m. Thursday at Jackson Academy, while the All-Star basketball games will run from 10 and 11:30 a.m. Friday (girls and boys, Class A/AA) to 1 and 2:30 p.m. Friday (Class AAA/AAAA) at Jackson Prep. At 4 p.m. Thursday at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, there will be a 3-Point Shoot-out and a Slam Dunk Contest.
Lemmers said he won’t be able to play in the game, but he was proud of his contributions on a team that lost to Starkville Academy in the semifinals of the MAIS Division III tournament. The Patriots went 1-2 this season against the eventual Division III runner-up.
“We had a really good season,” said Lemmers, who helped anchor the defense. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it to go this well. Our defense played remarkably well together.”
Ford learned he had been named an All-Star after Heritage Academy lost to Simpson Academy 65-58 in the opening round of the Class AAA tournament. He said the magnitude of the honor has sunk in since then and he is really excited to take part in the 3-Point Shoot-Out and in the All-Star game.
“I think my team has a large part in me getting recognized,” Ford said. “They made me better, and I tried to make them better. We worked really well together. It is all because of them and how they played that I was able to get recognized. They made me look good.”
Ford’s comment sounds like the perfect way for a point guard to praise his teammates. But Ford said he always wasn’t a point guard who looked to set his teammates up first. He said he used to be a shoot-first player in junior high school, but he said he matured and learned the importance of getting other players involved and how that ability helps the team succeed.
Ford also helped the Patriots with his shooting, which he said has improved throughout the years.
“I used to shoot it a lot and try to score,” Ford said. “If I had an off night, I didn’t really get my teammates involved. I have tried to learn that and grow into that.”
Ford smiled as he said that. When asked why a grin crept across his face, he said he never imagined he would be a “pass-first” point guard. He said he always a “big-time shooter and scorer.” Ford said things changed when he moved up to the varsity level and he had to adjust how he played.
Looking back, Ford said he takes pride in how hard he has worked to change his game and become a player who is willing to get his teammates involved.
“It is a big-time accomplishment to be able to transform my game into what it has become because I became a two-dimensional player instead of a one-dimensional player,” said Ford, who will study biology at Mississippi State. “It is going to be bittersweet (to wear the Heritage Academy uniform for the last time in the 3-Point Shoot-Out). It is good to go out in a Heritage uniform one last time.”
The Heritage Academy boys basketball team finished third in Class AAA, District 2. It beat Central Hinds (64-56) and St. Joseph Catholic School (50-44), lost to Starkville Academy (43-31) and defeated Leake Academy 60-54 in the North AAA Region tournament.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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