Richland Northeast’s Durand Brown
A simple glance at the 2018-2019 Richland Northeast record doesn’t tell the whole story. While the Cavaliers had a losing record and a first round playoff exit, a deeper look shows drastic progress.
Head coach Stephen “JoJo” English sees how a young group, that had gone 1-18 the season before, improved and could have won a couple more ball games.
“The important thing was having the kids do their best,” English said. “We accomplished a lot by making the playoffs.”
Now in year two under English, Richland Northeast is looking for even more progress. Returning for the Richland Northeast 2019-2020 season are Jordan Pratt, Durand Brown, Calvin Hall, Amere Cherry, and Marcus Anderson.
Ernest Johnson and Carey Rich Jr. are two freshmen who may have a big impact on this team.
“This year we had the opportunity to have a summer camp,” English said. “We started in may with summer conditioning. We didn’t touch a basketball until June 1. We had a chance to go to team camp and play together through June and July. They understand the expectations. They have a better sense of chemistry, their rolls, and how hard we expect them to compete in practice and in games.”
So far the experience has paid off with wins over Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin, Blythewood, and Spring Valley. The Cavaliers’ lone loss was a three-point defeat to the Blythewood Bengals.
Team strengths will include chemistry, effort, and playing hard.
English wants to see his team learn from last year’s mistakes and improve on the 18 turnovers a game committed a season ago. Defense and rebounding are two other areas English wants to see improvement.
The schedule will continue to be daunting, especially with a non-region game against Spring Valley and region games against Westwood, Ridge View, South Pointe, Lancaster, and York.
“That’s the best way to gauge where they are at,” English said. “The best way to know if they can play basketball is to play against kids who are definitely going to college. That stage gives them the opportunity to get exposure.”
English wants his team to finish in the top part of the region and return to the playoffs.
Coach: Stephen “JoJo” English Playoffs: First round of the 4A playoffs
2018-2019 record: 8-12
Region 3-4A
Loading Comments