Whenever you see Jerry Hunter standing stoically on the Westside sidelines, arms crossed and expressionless, no matter the activity on the court, just know you’re watching an exercise in supreme self-control.
The seemingly always unflappable coach of the top-ranked and two-time defending Class AA state champion Westside Patriots has a lot more going on internally than what he expresses, though.
“A lot of times, I’m screaming on the inside,” Hunter said when asked about his stone-faced demeanor, whether one of his players executes a windmill dunk or a boneheaded turnover.
“I think in practice I do enough ‘coaching hard’ as they would call it, so in games, sometimes you gotta allow them room to grow.”
So how’s that working for him? Pretty good, considering Westside is looking to become just the 11th boys basketball team in the GHSA’s 102-year history of tracking state championships to achieve a three-peat.
And what’s really wild is the fact that Hunter is doing it with guys who largely weren’t even sniffing the action last year.
Take, for example, sophomore point guard Dontrell Jackson — the potential heir apparent to the backcourt duties that will be vacated when Demarco Middleton and Lavonta Ivery play their last high school game Thursday at 3 p.m. against Toombs County in the Class AA state championship game in Macon.
Jackson finished with 13 points, a pair of rebounds and a steal and made some clutch buckets, free throws and solid defensive stops down the stretch in Westside’s 70-59 Final Four win over Columbia Saturday — a game that often felt a little closer than the final score.
But the sophomore also made some miscues — the kind that may have triggered some of Hunter’s aforementioned internal screaming.
After the game, the coach raved about his young point guard’s resilience on the biggest stage he’s ever played on, as well as the level of trust displayed by Jackson’s senior mentors.
“Dontrell’s mental toughness impressed me,” Hunter said. “He made a few mistakes, but who you are is seen after you make the mistakes. To see him perform, take care of the ball was good. But this is the most impressive thing. When I saw Lavonta and Demarco trust him — they let him handle the ball in those moments. We’ve gotta work on the decision making, but I’m glad to see him be tough enough to maintain composure and make those big free throws he made at the end.”
Thursday will be another “biggest stage of their career” moment when Westside (28-4) and Toombs County (29-2) meet at the Macon Coliseum for ultimate Class AA bragging rights, and a chance for Hunter’s bunch to make history.
Toombs County’s 47-42 win over Butler Saturday in the other Class AA semifinal game prevented the second all-Richmond County state championship game in the last three years. Westside defeated Butler for its first title two seasons ago.
But it also sets up an intriguing matchup between the best team in Class AA (Westside) and arguably the best overall player in Class AA in Toombs County’s 6-foot-5 guard Dominic Eason.
Eason was impressive, particularly in the first half of the Butler win, as he scored 17 of the Bulldogs’ 30 first-half points. But once Butler clamped down on defense, Eason only managed four points the rest of the way as Toombs barely held off Butler’s late-game comeback attempt.
Hunter knows there will be some nerves and jitters for his team in Macon, but he’s not about to change up his approach of trusting his young guns in high pressure situations.
“Some of those guys were on the team last year,” Hunter said. “They just didn’t have the opportunity [to play]. We always practice the same way. We practice hard. We want to make our younger guys feel like we can trust them, but at the same time, you also have to know when to pull back a bit so you don’t hurt their confidence.”
Win or lose, Hunter says the opportunity to play for three consecutive state championships is, alone, worth being grateful for — especially since he didn’t lead off this season with immediate talks of state championship goals.
“It’s unreal to be here,” he said. “It’s surreal. To be here last year and back this year, knowing we have an opportunity. One of our goals this season was to simply make it to the state playoffs. Didn’t matter the seed. We just wanted to have an opportunity. And once we had an opportunity, now let’s see if we can go and defend the title.”
Part of that is working to help his young squad get — and keep —a “hunter’s mentality” with each game. It’s the reason why the team’s practice the night before Saturday’s Final Four win was particularly grueling.
“We had a rough night of practice,” he said. “Very rough. In their minds, they thought this was a field trip going to Macon and playing. But I’m telling them, no. This is a business trip. What I try to do at times is practice like we lost. Intense. Because that’s where they tend to make the bad habits. A lot of these guys are still young.”
Hence Hunter’s even-keeled, straight-faced approach to in-game coaching.
“I always say, they’re gonna take on the actions of me, their coach and leader,” he said. “If I stay composed, they can stay composed. Sometimes you over-coach the game, thinking you’ll get more from yelling. But when you’re just talking to them, they’re listening to the message.”
Now, the message for Hunter to his team ahead of Thursday is clear: Just show up and simply play the next scheduled game.
“They bought in to the idea that [the Columbia game] was what we need to get to the next game,” Hunter said. “Now we’re here once again at the next game, and we have an opportunity. You hear about three-peats in college and pros, but for us to have the opportunity to do it on the high school level, it’s a blessing.”
Gabriel Stovall is sports editor for The Augusta Press. He can be reached at gabriel@theaugustapress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter), Instagram and Threads: @GabrielCStovall.
