In a 2005 release, former Nirvana drummer, current Foo Fighters front man and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Grohl sang the opening two lines of the song ‘Best of You’: “I’ve got another confession to make, I’m your fool.”
Well, funny enough, I’ve got a confession to make: I’ve been fooled.
You see, coming out of football season, my first basketball game to cover this season was Friday, Dec. 1, against Flowery Branch. Walking into the game and just before the start of the girls’ game, I was asked by a few different people if I’d seen them play yet. My response, obviously, was “no.”
What followed was a lot of the same: “It’s going to be a long season.” “I’ve heard they might go 0-for.” “They’re young and it’s going to take a few years before they’re where they need to be.”
What followed was a lot of the same: “It’s going to be a long season.” “I’ve heard they might go 0-for.” “They’re young and it’s going to take a few years before they’re where they need to be.”
Those might not be exact quotes, but it’s the gist of what was said. The gist of the warning I received about what I was about to witness.
It’s understandable those were the messages I was given. The Lady Raiders were 0-4 and had lost by a combined score of 247-88, a deficit of nearly 40 points per game, at that point.
But, it was the first game back for senior Kyia Barrett, inarguably the best player on the team and a huge missing piece that had returned.
What I witnessed that night was far from desperate, far from hopeless, far from the things I was warned about.
To give you a glimpse of what we’re working with here, we’ve got three seniors, three sophomores and six freshmen.
Let me say that last bit again just a little bit louder for the people in the back: SIX FRESHMEN!
The Lady Raiders took the Lady Falcons to overtime that night, falling four points shy at the final buzzer.
Fast forward a month to New Year’s Day 2024. The girls are now 3-8 with two wins over Stephens County, both at home and on the road, and a win over Powdersville (SC).
Here comes the region schedule.
The first time through, the Lady Raiders finished with a 3-3 record. The biggest loss came on the road to now-20-0 North Forsyth, whose closest region games were Habersham and Lanier – both of which lost by 33 points. North Forsyth beat Shiloh by 56 and Gainesville by 51, a game in which they held the Lady Red Elephants to six points.
I say all that to say this: take away the North Forsyth loss (because it’s an anomaly) and the Lady Raiders have losses by nine and seven points in region play the first time through.
That’s not far off.
Last Friday night (Jan. 19), the halfway point of the region schedule concluded with a 47-40 win over Jackson County at home. After the game, I was just about as excited to talk to head coach Bill Bradley as I’ve been all season. Because, to me, that win was his team’s best win so far.
Now, the Lady Raiders have better wins in terms of score, such as a 17-point win over Apalachee, sure. But not a better win for the team.
The usual post-game stat line shows up with Anderson University-bound senior Kyia Barrett scoring half of the team’s points. Barrett is averaging 18.3 points per game this season.
Then it’s either freshman Daytona Underwood, who is averaging 9.2 points per game, or senior Sophie Bramlett, who has averaged 4.6 per contest.
It’s like clockwork.
So what was the difference Friday night? Why was it the best win of the season? The two stars of the game, in my humble opinion, belong to the class of 2027.
So what was the difference Friday night? Why was it the best win of the season? The two stars of the game, in my humble opinion, belong to the class of 2027.
Freshmen. Both are guards. Both averaging over 24 minutes per game out of the 32 possible.
Karah Dean led the scoresheet with 15 points, hitting 5-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc. That 35.7 percent 3-point shooting nearly doubled her season average of 18.1 percent from deep. Coming into the contest, Dean averaged 3.8 points per game, so she quadrupled that mark.
Makenzie Gosnell shot almost 43 percent from 3-point land, hitting on 3-of-7 shots for nine points in the game. She also added nine rebounds to her stat line.
Where Gosnell was most effective won’t show up in the stat sheet, but it was definitely noticed by those who truly enjoy the game of basketball. It was the hustle points. The plays where the ball is on the floor and you’re wondering if somebody is going to jump on it, Gosnell was there. The plays where the Lady Raiders had a Lady Panther trapped with nowhere to go and somebody needed to go for the ball, Gosnell was there.
Multiple times throughout the night, Gosnell forced a tie-up for a jump ball or went to the floor for a loose ball. After the game, Bradley characterized it as her just looking for other ways to help her team win and he’s absolutely right.
Barrett still showed up on the stat sheet. She scored 11 points and picked up eight rebounds. To me, this was Barrett’s best game thus far. Without a doubt. Did she shoot it well? Not at all. She was 3-of-18 from the floor, almost 17 percent.
Kyia has been put in a tough spot this season. It’s not her fault and it’s not the fault of her teammates. Honestly, there’s nobody at fault here. But she’s the only one on the floor with true varsity experience. In my opinion, she feels pressure to do it all. It’s an understandable thing for her to feel, given the circumstances.
So, again, why, if she wasn’t the top scorer and didn’t shoot it well, was this Kyia’s best game in my opinion?
She had 11 assists.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “So?” And that would be a valid response were we talking about this in person, but we’re not, so let me explain.
Look back at everything above: a senior, signed to play in college, relying on A LOT of inexperience on the court with her.
Coming into the game, the next closest teammate was averaging 9.2 points per game. Half of Barrett’s averaged points. Barrett herself was averaging just over four assists per contest in the previous 16 games.
What reason has she been given to believe she should dish the ball that much?
Tuesday night, the Lady Raiders took a trip to Snellville to start the second run of the region schedule, the final six games of the season. They picked up a 48-40 win over Shiloh, moving them to 4-3 in region play.
Once again, Barrett was at the top of the scoresheet with 15 points. She tacked on six rebounds.
So was Dean, hitting 5-of-16 3-point shots for her second-straight 15-point performance.
Bramlett picked up a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling 12 rebounds. Underwood also contributed six rebounds. Gosnell was right back in the mix with three points, five assists and three rebounds.
After the Jackson County game, my first comment to Bradley for my post-game interview was, “I initially wrote down the word ‘aggressive’ after the first half, but after the game, I changed that word to ‘attitude.’ I think your team played with an attitude tonight they hadn’t played with before.”
After the Jackson County game, my first comment to Bradley for my post-game interview was, “I initially wrote down the word ‘aggressive’ after the first half, but after the game, I changed that word to ‘attitude.’ I think your team played with an attitude tonight they hadn’t played with before.”
He agreed with that assessment.
I didn’t get to cover the Shiloh game in Snellville Tuesday, but judging by the fact the team totaled 22 fouls after averaging just over 13 fouls in the previous 17 games, it seems like the attitude was present.
Coming into that Dec. 1 game against Flowery Branch, Barrett might have been the physical piece that was missing for the Lady Raiders, but she wasn’t the missing piece. This team is getting more and more confidence as the days pass and now they all have true varsity experience. This time of year, that makes them dangerous.
They’re clearly not going 0-for. It’s clearly not been a “long season.” Yes, they’re still young, but they’re getting where they need to be.
With five games left, Barrett showing a little more trust in her teammates, her teammates giving her reason to trust them, and that attitude coming through gives us all reason to take note of this team down the stretch.
And I’m certainly no longer playing the fool.
