Senior point guard Donavin Thompson dishes an alley-oop to fellow senior guard Jaquan Dowdy. “This year’s team is definitely a team that really wants to win. I see it in everybody’s eyes. Every time we hit the court I just see that we want to win,” Thompson said. Photo by Chad Rhym.
By HENRY SCOTT – Staff Writer
The varsity basketball seniors have played together nearly all their lives. With bonds so strong, it seems like the …
With a 16-0 region record, the Clarke Central High School varsity boys basketball team was one win away from clinching the No. 1 seed in the 8-AAAAA Region Tournament.
Their opponent on Jan. 31: Loganville High School, the same team that prematurely ended CCHS’ 2012-13 season with a 54-51 defeat in the first round of the region tournament.
“I think everybody remembers that game,” forward and co-captain Cameron Johnson said. “We didn’t want that same feeling.”
This night, the feeling was different.
Every time the Gladiators began their attack, the ball was in point guard Donavin Thompson’s hands. From there, the ball flowed. Donavin found Cameron, who quickly passed it back to Donavin, who then spread it to guard Austin Johnson, who then passed it to forward Dequan Ellison for an easy lay-up. A minute in, 7-5 Gladiators.
In a scrappy, hard-fought game, the Gladiators at times connected up to 13 passes in a row before eventually finding an open player for a lay-up. The highlight came when, on a fast break, Donavin found Austin inside with a no-look pass from near half court. With one minute remaining in the third quarter, 52-45 Gladiators.
The game finished 65-59 in favor of CCHS. The Gladiators had clinched the number one seed.
“It’s always nice to get back at someone who beat you. It’s like getting a chip off your shoulder,” Dequan said. “Especially with what this game meant. Back in the locker room, it was like we had won the championship.”
Bottom, from left: Dequan Ellison, Donavin Thompson and Leroy Legette. Middle, from left: Austin Johnson and Cameron Johnson. Top: Jaquan Dowdy. Not pictured: Jamonte Smith. The seniors on the boys varsity basketball team share a bond that began much before high school. Photo by Porter McLeod.
Throughout the game, the team’s chemistry is what set them apart. The bonds on the team go much farther back than the start of the current season.
The basketball team’s success this year did not even start in high school — or middle school, for that matter. Seniors Austin, Cameron, Donavin and Jamonte Smith have been playing sports together since they were in kindergarten.
“I’ve been playing with these teammates since I was three,” Cameron said. “So I’ve known them (as long as) I could remember.”
These basketball standouts began building their camaraderie on the football field.
“We started playing football with CYA (Clarke Youth Association),” Donavin said. “We started out playing football first, then basketball.”
It was not until fourth grade that Austin, Cameron, Donavin and Jamonte joined Team Athens, an independent basketball team that plays in the Georgia Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the same league where NBA standouts Dwight Howard and Josh Smith got their start.
Jamonte, who is a guard, believes his teammates’ long history together is what makes them unique.
“The main reason why our team chemistry is so much better than other teams is because we started at an early age,” Jamonte said. “That’s a long time to be growing up and playing ball with a person. We almost read each other on the court — we know each other, every move.”
At the start of eighth grade, guard Dequan Ellison and forward Leroy Legette joined Team Athens. A year later, guard Jaquan Dowdy moved from Covington, Ga., rounding out the team.
In their ninth grade year, the 2010-11 season, the Team Athens boys tried out for the CCHS basketball team for the first time. Of the group, only Austin, Cameron and Leroy made the varsity roster.
“At the time, they weren’t ready to be varsity ball players,” CCHS basketball head coach Andre McIntyre said. “They weren’t strong enough, and they weren’t physically or mentally ready, but there was a need to have them there. We struggled the first year.”
The seniors sit on the sideline before their game against Flowery Branch High School. “This year’s team is definitely a team that really wants to win. I see it in everybody’s eyes. Every time we hit the court I just see that we want to win,” Thompson said. Photo by Chad Rhym.
The team ended the season with an 8-16 record and did not make the state tournament. However, things would get worse before they would get any better.
The 2011-12 season was the hardest.
“Our 10th grade season was not good,” Dequan, who moved up to the varsity team that season, said. “We got dogged around by everybody. We had a losing record and for the first few games we didn’t even have a win.”
That year, half of the players on the varsity team roster were underclassmen, and all seven of the Team Athens boys made the team. While they did not have a winning record, this was the first time that this group of players were all brought together wearing the CCHS uniform.
With a year of varsity play under their belts, the seven felt ready to make a splash at the regional and state levels for the first time in their junior year, the 2012-2013 season.
“Last year we thought we had something good,” co-captain Leroy said. “We were more mature and finally had a winning record.”
However, after a promising regular season where they went 20-6, the team suffered the heart-breaking loss to Loganville in the first round of the region tournament, immediately ending their season and dreams of a state tournament run.
“It was a big, big, big disappointment,” Jaquan said. “It hurt us and we just didn’t want to lose.”
Senior guard Jaquan Dowdy passes the ball to senior guard Austin Johnson as he cuts to the basket. After years of playing together, the varsity seniors feel the game is intuitive at this point. “The experience we all have together is amazing,” co-captain Cameron Johnson said. “It’s just a great feeling knowing where each other is going to be on the court without having to necessarily say it.” Photo by Chad Rhym.
The disappointment stung, but it helped shift the players’ attention toward their senior season.
With seven seniors on the team, expectations were high; and, having won their first 17 games before a showcase tournament loss to Morgan County High School, they were living up to the hype.
“We’re making a major statement (this season) because ninth, 10th and 11th grade it wasn’t as good as we wanted,” Austin said. “But this year we really think we can go all the way. State Championship: that’s the only goal we really want.”
McIntyre credits the change in his team’s fortunes to the players’ collective experience and maturity gained during the past four seasons.
“I knew we had a good team coming back this year,” McIntyre said. “They’re battle-tested, they know what to expect. You can just see the confidence has definitely changed from when they were sophomores, even junior year. Now they just have a presence about themselves. There is a presence about this team.”
The players have also noticed the new team mentality.
“This year’s team is definitely a team that really wants to win. I see it in everybody’s eyes,” Jaquan said. “Every time we hit the court I just see that we want to win.”
The understanding of each others’ playing styles has also gotten better with time.
“I think that we have better chemistry than we had last year,” Leroy said. “It seems like something amazing happens every game.”
Additionally, this being their last year playing together provides an extra incentive to do well.
“Just being seniors, you know there’s no time to play around,” Cameron said. “You don’t have an extra year any more.”
With the physical and mental maturity also comes the knowledge that, after 14 years for some of them, this will be their last year playing together.
“It kind of hurts (to think that this will be our last season together), but it also feels good because I know that we’re going to go out strong,” Dequan said. “This last year has been great on the team. Every time we touch the court, we get closer and closer. It just feels good.”
No matter how this season ends, or what happens next year, the players are enjoying the last chapter in their extraordinary basketball story.
“It’s going to hurt to be split up and go to different schools and whatnot,” Jamonte said. “Hopefully, this will be a season to remember; that’s what we’re trying to make it.”
