No. 1 ranked Westside, the defending Georgia High School Association Class 2A champ, will visit Butler tonight to face the Bulldogs for the first time since last March’s state championship game, when the Patriots knocked off their Richmond County rival 64-55 in the Macon Coliseum in the fourth meeting between the teams last season.
Westside (11-5, 5-0), which returns four of the five starters from last year’s title team, has ripped through its first five games of region play, winning by an average margin of 33 points and knocking off the No. 4 team (Thomson) and the No. 9 team (Putnam County) in the state in the process.
Butler (7-7, 3-2) is only two games behind the Patriots and one behind region four’s second place team, Putnam County. With a home game Tuesday against Thomson and another against Putnam County seven days later, it’s time for Butler’s young but capable bunch to make a move to ensure favorable seeding in the coming region tournament.
Westside is threatening to run away from the pack
It’s tempting to predict Westside will run away with the crown in what is supposed to be one of Georgia’s most competitive regions, with three top ten teams and two more (Washington County and Butler) who reached the quarterfinals and the finals, respectively, of last season’s playoffs. But an insightful question and answer session with Westside senior AuMauri Tillman last month during the Richmond County Board of Education Basketball Media Day event help explain why Tillman and his teammates aren’t likely to get overconfident as a result of their recent success.
Tillman also shared the purpose fourth year head coach Jerry Hunter has imbued in the Patriots as they have navigated a regular season schedule that is loaded with top notch opponents. And he shared what it’s like to play with teammates who have so much experience together. I thought Tillman and fellow seniors Jalexs Ewing and Khalon Hudson had been teammates since their playing days at Tutt Middle School. But we learned on December 21 at Westside High School during Westside’s time at the press table that the four returnees, including junior Marco Middleton, have been playing together so long that Tillman couldn’t pinpoint exactly when their relationship began.
“We’ve been playing together since like the first grade,” Tillman said in a series of answers from representatives of Augusta’s various media outlets.
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“The biggest target on our back”
Whether the ten top ten ranked opponents Westside has faced already this season, or its nemesis Butler, who swept Westside in the teams’ two regular season games last year before the Patriots paid them back in the region and state championship games, every team Westside faces will be hungry to knock off the No. 1 team in the state. But Tillman and his teammates don’t focus on what the other team is thinking.
“Every team that we play, no matter who it is, they’re going to automatically be out for us,” Tillman explained. “Because they want that win. Like Coach Hunter says, that’s a good win on their resume.
“So as the season’s progressed… Be honest, y’all (media members) look at some of our games and the way we’ve been playing recently. We kinda don’t worry about that. We’ve figured out that the biggest target on our back right now is the one we put on ourselves. So once we figure out how not to beat ourselves, it’s going to be very, very hard to beat us.”
At the time Tillman made his comments, Westside held an overall record of 5-4. And when he shared that what matters to his teammates and him is not what media members or fans think about their performance, but how the players themselves judge their progress, the Patriots had yet to start its current hot streak during which they’ve won 6 of 7 games, including 3 of 4 against top 10 opponents.
“Putting together five games”
But even that seemingly successful stretch doesn’t exactly meet the benchmark Coach Hunter set for his team after lining up the most difficult schedule in class 2A. Tillman shared the real reason Hunter scheduled nine top ten teams, including three that are currently ranked No. 1 in their class, to test his aspiring repeat state champions.
“Coach Hunter has been mentioning a lot after the games that we play, win or lose, he always mentions putting together five games,” Tillman said. “And so far we haven’t been able to put together those five games. Down the stretch at the end of the season we’re going to have to end it with five games (in the playoffs). That’s the biggest step right now.”
A Decade Or So Together
All four of Westside’s returning starters average double figures in points. Tillman, one of the area’s sharpest shooters during his entire four-year varsity run, scores 13.6 points per game while shooting 43% from three and 94% from the free throw line.
Khalon Hudson averages 18.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and shoots 52% from the field. Hudson scored 30 points in Westside’s 90-68 win over No. 9 Putnam County last week, and he turned in 17 points and 20 rebounds in a 66-50 win over No. 4 Thomson last month.
Jalexs Ewing, an electric athlete and fierce competitor, averages 15.5 points and makes 55% of his field goal attempts. His play above the rim is breathtaking.
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Finally, junior Marco Middleton scores 10.6 points per game on 51% shooting, and he leads the team in assists with 5.4 dimes per game. Middleton dished 11 assists in last week’s win over Putnam County.
Tillman described what it’s like for the four veterans to work together in pursuit of the common goal of repeating as state champions after a decade or so together on the court.
“It’s about our relationships. We’ve learned how each other plays,” Tillman explained. “We’ve played with each other since like the first grade. So we know each other’s playing styles and all that. It’s just a matter of getting personalities to come together. So when we’re on the court and we get in tough spots, we’ll be able to get ourselves out of those situations mentally.
“We don’t really have to talk that much, other than like on defense. Like when somebody makes a mistake, we just give them a look and we’re good, you know. We keep it rolling because the chemistry is there.”
Game Time
No. 1 Westside and Butler will battle (at Butler) Friday immediately after the girls game, which is set to tip off at 6:00 P.M. Butler’s girls are ranked No. 10 in class 2A.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
