Matt wrote this to recap the season this year and I thought he did such a great job... and I knew some of you :) would love to read it!!!- always proud of the coach-nat
The Sherwood Christian Academy Varsity Boys’ Basketball team accomplished much during the 2008 – 2009 season. With a record of 20-6, this team became first Sherwood basketball team to win 20 games since 1996.
In the season opener, Wesley Pittman’s 6 threes and 25 points lead Sherwood to an exciting 27 point home victory over Citizens Christian Academy. The Eagles continued to have success through the first half of the season and posted a 7-3 record going into Christmas vacation.
After Christmas, the Eagles cruised to a 30 point victory of Crisp Academy and then began Region play. Region play began with a huge 11 point win over Tiftarea, the third ranked team in the state. That night the boys were lead by Cameron Williams and Dequan Green, who scored 31 and 26 respectively. After this game, the Eagles were ranked fifth in the State for the next two weeks. The rest of the regular season and region play saw Sherwood only lose one more game finishing with a regular season record of 18-4 (7-1 in the region). With the region record of 7-1 the Eagles earned the #1 seed in the Region Tournament.
In the region tournament, Sherwood earned the right to play for the Region Championship by defeating Southwest Georgia Academy 70 – 42 in the semi-final game. Despite a 37 point effort by Cameron Williams in the Region Final, the Eagles fell short of a Championship by loosing to Tiftarea Academy by seven points. Even though it was a loss, this marked the first time since 2004 that a Sherwood Boy’s Basketball team made it to a Region Champion Game.
A second place finish in the Region Tournament gave the Eagles a #2 seed in the State Tournament. Despite the favorable seed, Sherwood was forced to play the fifth ranked team in the state, Memorial Day, because of an upset in their region tournament. However, the Eagles were up for the challenge, opening the game vs. Memorial with a 20 – 0 lead. Even though Memorial cut the lead to three in the fourth quarter, Sherwood held off Memorial’s late charge and won the game 72 – 66. The Eagles were led by Cameron Williams’ 40 points and 22 Rebounds. Dequan Green added 15 points. This marked the first playoff win by a boys’ Sherwood Basketball team since 2002.
The Eagles were now in the Elite Eight and only 32 minutes away from a Final Four appearance. But the Eagles would have to face the #1 ranked team in the state, Arlington Christian Academy. Sherwood played their best defensive game of the season, and led most of the first half before going into the intermission tied at 23. Arlington led most of the second half before Sherwood climbed back to take a two point lead. The lead flip flopped down the stretch as both teams fought hard to make it to a Final Four. Arlington took a two point lead with 30 seconds, and despite having the ball two different times down 2, Sherwood was not able to regain the lead. Sherwood fell to the eventual State Champions by a score of 44-46. It was a disappointing loss but the final 2008-2009 record of 20-6 was a tremendous improvement for the 4-19 record posted in 2007-2008.
Individual awards were given to numerous members of this team. All-Region Honors were given to Wesley Pittman (12.5 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.2 spg, 40% 3-point percentage, 81.6% free percentage), Brannan Anthony (8.9 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.5 spg), Dequan Green (13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.0 spg), and Cameron Williams (24.3 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 1.7 bpg). All-State Honor (GISA Class AA) was given to Cameron Williams. Cameron was also named to the GISA Class A/AA All-Star Team; which consists of only 12 players from both A and AA classifications.
Individual school records were set by three members of the 2008-2009 team. Freshman Dequan Green set the single season and career assist record with 102 assists. Dequan will look to add to that total over the next three years. Wesley Pittman set the single season record for 3-point field goals made with 88 this year. He also holds the record for most 3-point field goals made in a career with 116. Wesley will likely add to that mark next year as a senior. Cameron Williams set the single season and career record for rebounds in only one season as an Eagle with 371 rebounds in his senior campaign. Cameron also set the single game scoring mark with 41 points vs. Tiftarea Acamdemy.
This was truly a memorial season for the boys and for me personally. As a team we grew in our love for each other and our love for our Lord. Our team theme was “Selfless”, which was taken from Philippians 2. The players, myself, and the rest of the coaching staff grew in selflessness towards one another and will strive to continue to grow in this area of our lives individually and collectively.
Eagle Nation, I can’t wait until next year.
Coach Ruta
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