Bruce Allsup has seen success from one season bleed into another.
The Starkville Academy boys basketball coach watched with great interest in the fall as the school’s football team overcame a loss to Indianola Academy in the third week of the season and marched to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA State title game. The Volunteers completed the journey with a 21-14 victory in overtime at Jackson Academy to win the program’s seventh state championship.
Allsup hopes the same chemistry, camaraderie, and unselfishness that epitomized the football team’s success carries over to his squad.
“The first thing I told them is, ‘Guys, we’re not worried about wins and losses right now. We are just worried about getting to where we can play together and click on offense and defense,’ ” Allsup said. “We’re just trying to build a little bit each day.”
On Friday, Starkville Academy offered encouraging signs that is happening in a 61-39 victory against Columbus Christian Academy in the Heritage Academy Shootout.
On Saturday, Starkville Academy (3-2) built on that victory with a against Lamar School.
Against CCA, Raegan Richardson led Starkville Academy with 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field. He also had four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Trey Tyler (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Noah Methvin (14 points, seven rebounds) also scored in double figures.
Brady Richardson added seven points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
“There is definitely chemistry,” Raegan Richardson said. “Once we all get together and play, it just flows naturally.”
In all, the Volunteers received significant contributions from six players who played integral roles in the football team’s state title. Raegan Richardson said many of the members of the boys basketball team have played together for years. He said that familiarity has eased the transition from football to basketball.
Still, after winning the state championship on Nov. 18, Richardson said the Volunteers had basketball practice Nov. 19. He said his game and the Volunteers are still rounding into shape after a few weeks of being together on the basketball court.
“It takes a little bit to come to a different sport because you can’t just pick it up and start playing perfectly,” Raegan Richardson said. “You have to build on it every week, every game, every practice, so it takes a little time, but we’re getting there.”
Richardson said he didn’t have much time to shoot or to do anything basketball wise during football season. He admitted it “felt a little odd” transitioning from football film sessions and weightlifting to shooting basketball and running half-court sets. Richardson said it was hard to find his shot in the first few days, but he said he and his teammates have gotten into a rhythm.
Richardson found that rhythm in the third quarter when he scored 10 points. He opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, took a handoff from Kyle Faver for a layup on the left block, and closed the quarter with another 3-pointer.
“Once you get in a rhythm, it is like the hole in the basket gets bigger and everything you shoot up you think it is going to go in,” Richardson said. “I think we have a chance to win a state championship and make it to overall if we play our best and come together.”
Allsup is confident chemistry will be a key component of the team’s success. It was on display in the fourth quarter, when Raegan Richardson came off the bench to help teammate Willie Latham up after he had been fouled. Later in the quarter, Richardson found Latham with a pass from the right corner to the left block for a layup. Brady Richardson shared the love with less than two minutes remaining when he used a quick pass to the left corner to find Raegan for a 3-pointer.
“The bottom line is they went through a great football season and they know how to win, so we’re hoping those kids are going to carry that mentality from football to basketball,” Allsup said. “Our kids have a lot of character. It is going to be into January before we are playing where we need to play at the level we need to be at.”
Allsup said the contributions of Tyler, who played up front on the football team, will be an important piece. Tyler showed an ability to knock down shots from the 3-point line and to work in the paint, which could help the Volunteers diversify their attack.
“He is a great perimeter player,” Allsup said. “He can shoot the ball with the best of them. He can post up as well. If they try to put a post player on him, we like our chances out there on the perimeter with him.”
Allsup said the Richardsons, Methvin, and Faver have been with him since they were freshmen when he took over as coach at Starkville Academy. He said the Volunteers won’t need a lot of time to make sure they understand the importance of sharing the basketball and playing together on both ends of the floor.
“They really understand the game and know how to pass the basketball,” Allsup said. “They hit the open man. They have been at it a while with me and understand what I want and do a good job executing what we try to do.”
CCA beat Oak Hill Academy 60-31 on Tuesday in a game coach Greg Watkins said his team “played great defense and executed its game plan to almost perfection.”
Lawson Studdard led the Rams with 17 points in the victory, while Nate Parker contributed to a balanced scoring attack with 15. Will Teague added nine, Isaiah Cooper had eight, and Stephen Russell had seven.
Unfortunately, Watkins said CCA didn’t play the same kind of defense Thursday in a loss at Marshall Academy. He said the Rams fell into a similar trap Friday after leading 14-12 after one quarter. The Volunteers used a 19-4 second quarter to gain control.
“It starts with us with defense,” Watkins said. “(Against Marshall), I thought we played as good as we could in the first half (and trailed 24-21 at halftime). It seemed like we came out in the third quarter with no energy and not the focus we needed to. It seemed like a snowball effect came in the second half, and against good teams — just like today against Starkville — you have to play every possession, offense and defense. It only takes a couple of possessions either way for the game to kind of get away from you.”
Cooper led the Rams (3-5) with 14 points, while Russell and Studdard had 10.
Watkins acknowledged the Rams likely were fatigued from a long Thursday night and a quick turnaround for a 2:45 p.m. start time Friday. He said the game is another sign of the adversity his team will have to fight through if it wants to make a run at a state title in Class A of the MAIS. Watkins feels matchups against higher classification teams will prepare his team to make that run.
“Fighting through adversity. Right now that is the biggest thing we have to work on,” Watkins said. “When things go bad, how are we going to fight through that?
“We have to have our identity. We have not yet really had an identity. As soon as we get that identity and the leadership steps forward and we fight through some of this adversity, I think we have a chance of making a run because I think we are as talented as anybody in Class A.”
n On Friday, the Starkville Academy girls beat CCA 55-15. Mari Laci Archer had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Mary Peyton Passons had 11 points and eight rebounds. Lillee Alpe had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Rush Brown had eight points and five rebounds, and Milla Davis had six points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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