GREENE COUNTY
After a long offseason, the Greene County boys’ basketball team finally got to step foot on the court and turn its practice into progress this past Tuesday.
First, the Tigers seemed to like the new gym floor that was recently put into their home gymnasium and put up a whopping 89 points in the team’s season-opener against Taliaferro County.
First-year head coach Mark Wright believes his team worked hard at all of their summer practices, and that’s why they got to see the results Tuesday night.
“We’ve got some size, some athleticism, and they’ve been surprisingly dialed in since some of them came off of the football season,” Wright said. “It’s a culture shock for some of them, having to be held accountable, but they’re adapting to it in a good way.”
The main reason for the Tigers’ domination in the first game was their defense.
Greene County gave up only two points in the first quarter and kept Taliaferro County in the single digits heading into the locker room at halftime.
Sophomore guard Steve Miller controlled the ball most of the time on the offensive end of the court, but everyone was able to find opportunities.
With on-and-off-ball screens being set every time down the court, multiple Tiger players were able to get easy baskets close to the rim.
Greene County was also able to turn defense into offense by running a full-court press for most of the game. Every player, whether they started or came off the bench, was aggressive at the point of attack.
The Tigers led 46-9 at halftime but didn’t let up in the second half. The team would go on to score 43 more points in the final two quarters to outscore the Jaguars 89-21.
After having an underwhelming season last year, Greene County has gotten off to a good start in 2022.
Wright believes the success will continue into the later parts of the season as the players learn the system more.
“Because we run a pro-style offense, all five guys are moving, and it’s a learning curve for them. We also predicate our game off of defense,” Wright said. “Defense is more important than offense to me, and I don’t want one guy scoring all the points. I’d rather have four to five guys in double-digits.”
With some momentum after grabbing its first win, Greene County now shifts its focus to Putnam County this Friday night. The Tigers lost both contests to the War Eagles in 2021 but will hope to get a different outcome this time around.