By Adam Minichino
Reid Huskison isn’t familiar with the term “whirling dervish,” even though he plays like a Tasmanian Devil.
Adam Koussih plays a lot like Huskison, even though he doesn’t have one specific role on the Heritage Academy boys basketball team.
Few players on coach Russ Whiteside’s team are called on to do only one thing, which is part of the reason the Patriots are off to a strong start in the 2018-19 season.
On Friday night, Huskison and Koussih showed again why the sum of Heritage Academy’s parts — even on a night when all of the pieces weren’t there — can be tough to overcome.
Carter Putt had 19 points and Jared Long added 17 to lead Heritage Academy to a 56-46 victory against Leake Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 game.
In the girls game, Leake Academy defeated Heritage Academy 74-49.
Huskison added eight points and Koussih had six to help push the Patriots to 14-2 and 2-0 in the district. The win came on a night Heritage Academy played without junior center Eli Acker, who was selected to participate in a football combine for some of the nation’s top underclassmen that was held in conjunction with the All-American Bowl on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas.
Heritage Academy, the reigning Class AAA State champion, had stretches where it missed Acker, its leading scorer, and his ability to attract attention and to direct an inside-outside attack.
The Patriots also played without senior Moak Griffin and junior Steele Altmyer, who are out with injures. But they regrouped after losing their rhythm in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth quarter.
“We lost our composure a little bit,” Whiteside said. “We had some things that didn’t go our way (in the third quarter) — some turnovers — and instead of having the mentality of go play the next play, we kind of let it get to us a little bit and lost our composure. They regained it in the fourth quarter, and I am super proud of them. I thought we played really hard and got some great minutes out of a lot of different guys.”
Huskison, the team’s point guard, led the attack on a night when he didn’t need to provide a big scoring punch. Even though he wasn’t scoring at a high rate, Huskison played at 78 RPMs every minute he was on the court. He routinely dribbled through pressure and delivered steady play in the fourth quarter after the Patriots committed six turnovers in the third quarter and squandered a 10-point lead.
“I have always played basketball that way,” Huskison said. “I just play fast and with a tone of energy, as much energy as I need to to help my team.”
Huskison said he “turns it down” when he needs to, but he also can pick his sports to pick up the pace and provide a burst of momentum.
Whiteside said Huskison is in pretty good shape, which allows him to play with so much energy. He said Huskison is important to the team because he finds ways to get his teammates involved and sees the floor really well.
If Huskison is the Patriots’ “energy” player, Koussih is their “hustle” guy. In fact, he might be one of the few players in the state who follows his shot in an effort to get the rebound. That is just one way Koussih tries to take advantage of his 6-foot-1 frame.
“He loves to play, and he has since he got here,” Whiteside said. “He worked extremely hard in the summer getting faster. Carter Holmes was so good with him and the rest of the guys during the offseason. Last year, he played hard but with not much confidence. This year, his confidence has improved and he is getting so many quality minutes because of that.”
Koussih said he needed to contribute more in a new role after the injuries hit the team. He said he averaged about eight minutes per game and is now logging at least double that. Koussih said he is willing to “do whatever coach needs me to do” to help the team. Against Leake Academy, Koussih rebounded, handled the basketball, and made a few clutch shots in the fourth quarter. Those shots were even more important considering he missed a 3-pointer late in the third quarter, but he didn’t let it affect him. With Heritage Academy leading 35-34 after a bank layup by Putt, Koussih drained a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 55 seconds remaining. He followed it with a left-handed drive from the right corner that pushed the lead to 40-34.
“I have no type of memory. I move on to the next one,” Koussih said when asked if he remembered coming up short on the 3-pointer in the third quarter. “I feel like I am a versatile player given the time I have put in and all of the practices and workouts me and my teammates have done.”
Koussih said the training he and his teammates did in the offseason at the school bolstered his confidence. He said everyone worked through shooting and ballhandling drills to make their games more polished.
“The work has boosted everybody’s confidence to know that we know what we can do and we know how special this team is,” Koussih said.
Leake Academy cut the deficit to 42-39 and had a chance to tie, but Putt scored on a layup off a back cut thanks to a nice pass by Huskison and Long added a drive to extend the lead to seven and provide a cushion that the Patriots preserved.
Koussih said he will continue to do whatever he needs to to help the Patriots in their quest to win another title.
“It’s going to be a show (when Acker and the injured players return),” Koussih said. “It’s going to be really special team.”
Huskison feels Koussih always has had the ability. He said his teammate is playing with “a ton of confidence” and is taking advantage of an opportunity to do more. With players like that, there is no telling how far the Patriots will be able to go this season.
“We’re so close right now,” Huskison said. “Like last year’s team was this year’s team is the same way. We are just encouraging each other.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
