Lawrence Kelly, himself, will tell you that the 2022-23 season for his Cross Creek boys basketball team ended short of his, and the program’s, expectations.
For the casual on-looker, such a proclamation may seem a bit nit-picky, considering the Razorbacks finished last season with a 20-11 record overall, an unblemished 10-0 mark in Region 4-AAA, complete with a region crown and a trip to the Class AAA Final Four round of the Georgia High School Association state tournament.
You could probably rattle off the names of a dozen programs off the top of your head who would gladly take such results and consider it a success.
Cross Creek’s built a little differently, though.
“Any time you put on a Cross Creek jersey, the expectation is to play for a state title,” Kelly said after Tuesday night’s season opening, 64-57 win against Grovetown. “Three of the last four years, we played for a state title. We lost the first one, but went back to back. That’s the expectation.”
Expectations Won’t Change
Fast forward to this year’s squad, and gone are consummate playmakers like four-year starter Antoine Lorick and De’Kel Hobbs — both 6-foot-7 impact players from last year’s bunch. In all, four seniors graduated from a team that not only had state championship expectations, but state title pedigree.
In comes a fresh crop of Razorbacks mixing with some who now are tasked with stepping out of supporting cast roles and into the lime light, and that “e” word for Kelly is still in play.
“We don’t change what we tell each group each year,” Kelly said. “The big thing is, the culture is intact here at Cross Creek. The kids know what the expectations are every year — to play for a state title. We fell short with the group we had last year, but the expectations are there. I think the sky is the limit with this group we have now, but it’s early on. So we’ll keep working, keep our heads down and keep getting better.”
Tuesday night was a good start for Cross Creek’s new crew. Four players scored double figures, including senior Kylen Clark who led with 14 points. Jaden Priester and Ja’Kell Dowdy each chipped in 10 while freshman Derrick Shine scored 11 in his first-ever high school varsity action.
Shine’s sweet spot Tuesday night was from behind the arc as sank three 3-pointers in the first half that helped Cross Creek build a lead as big as 11 points early. He also scored a crucial bucket in the fourth quarter to help stave off a Grovetown run.
The Razorbacks were particularly hot from behind 3-point land with five different players burying treys in the win.
As it was happening, Kelly never flinched nor raised an eyebrow in surprise. Instead, he made mention, once again, of the predominant word that’s guided his tenure at the school.
“My expectation of those guys is that what you see on the floor is pretty much how they perform in practice,” he said. “I’m proud of those guys and how they shot the ball. But we’ve gotta get back in the gym and put up more shots.”
He mentioned Shine specifically, speaking in glowing terms about the freshman’s continuous and contagious work ethic.
“(Derrick Shine) puts in work while we’re in the gym, and he puts in work while we’re out of the gym,” Keel said. “And for him to step in like that — and, he was my first sub coming off the bench — but to step into a game like that against that kind of opponent and perform the way he did, it was great to see. We’re excited about how he plays now as a freshman, but there’s a lot of room for growth there.”
Emerging Razorback Leadership
Kelly also said he expects Clark and Priester to emerge as leaders on a relatively young team. Both players, he said, have contrasting but effective leadership styles.
“Kylen is just that dog on the court,” Kelly said. “He’s the voice in the locker room. He keeps the team together. He’s a player-coach on the floor basically. Jaiden, he leads more by how he plays rather than vocally.”
Cross Creek will have a few days to relish the win and work out the kinks before stepping on the court again win it travels to play Dutch Fork (S.C.) Monday. The Razorbacks will then return home to host Butler on Tuesday, Nov. 28 before what should be another marquee matchup of local powerhouses when they travel to play two-time defending Class AA state champion Westside on Friday, Dec. 1.
The first win for Cross Creek put the first loss for Grovetown on its record in the young season. Like Cross Creek, the Warriors are a bit of a new-look bunch, as they’re learning to live life without state championship caliber players Markel Freeman, Vashon Ferguson, Frankquon Sherman and Derrion Reid.
All four of those players helped Grovetown win its first-ever state championship during the 2021-22 season, and three of the four — Ferguson, Sherman and Freeman — graduated after last season, while Reid, a consensus 5-star prospect, now plays for Prolific Prep in California.
Still, Kelly says the win was a major step in the right direction for a young team in a young season.
“I think we performed pretty well,” Kelly said. “The biggest thing I want to say is that [Grovetown] has a good, good program. They’re always coached very well. So anytime you can get a win against a quality opponent like that, it’s tremendous.”
For Grovetown, it was Zay Howard leading the way with a game-high 18 points, while Marques Fobbs added 11 and Lathen Mitchell chipped in 10.
The loss for the Warriors came after an impressive season opening 59-52 win against last season’s Class AAAAAAA state runner up Norcross. Grovetown’s next action will be at Cedar Grove and at Westlake on Nov. 24 and 25 respectively before coming closer to home to take on Butler on Dec. 2.
