Photo Courtesy of SC Athletics
By Julio Rodriguez
Tyrone Shelley had seen enough and had just one question for the men’s basketball team after a less-than-inspiring practice session.
“Are you doing the things that will continue to make us win?”
Silence filled the locker room. He called out all the poor habits he saw, the complaining during the drills, the lack of drive in some players and wasting valuable reps in practice.
Assistant coach Dennis Murphy put it bluntly.
“You are getting your asses kicked.”
Both coaches were hot over the fact that the Jaguars started strong, winning three of their first four games, then backslid with consecutive losses to Irvine Valley and Santiago Canyon.
Champions cannot do that, Shelley said.
Fiery wing Derrius Carter-Hollinger said he received the message loud and clear.
“I (will) pretty much do anything for a win,” he said. “I’ll sacrifice my body. I’ll guard whoever coach tells me to guard. I just want the team to succeed.”
So does the Jaguars’ floor leader and leading scorer, guard Ayden Lockett. The flashy sophomore dominated across a weekend set. He nearly posted a triple double with 29 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists against Copper Mountain. Against Palo Verde he scored 37 points and was perfect from the free throw line. He made dynamic plays, imposed himself on defense and hit crucial baskets.
“In the second game I played all 40 minutes,” he said. “I gave it my all, hustling knowing that I gotta keep playing and working hard.”
In practices the outspoken Lockett leads the team by words and example. He works daily to improve defensively and elevate his scoring. He is California’s #4 scorer.
Shelley said Lockett is a talented player, but he cannot do everything by himself.
“I got to cut his minutes so he’s not tired at the end of games,” Shelley said. “He’s a very unselfish superstar. He’s finding his teammates, but they just have to be able to score when he does defer to them.”
The team bounced back against Cypress as Jartavious Jackson and Julian Soares stepped up alongside Lockett for a 70-64 win.
On the road at Irvine they faced more challenges. The center rotation was limited as Nico Ortega suffered from food poisoning and Tobias Okwii pulled a hamstring in practice, limiting his minutes. Shelley rolled out a small ball lineup of guys he hoped could go out and be quicker than their bigs. Instead they got dominated in the paint. Irvine Valley played Inside Out, started in the paint early then moved to the perimeter. During the third quarter, the Jags made a run, but Irvine Valley answered with a volley of three pointers to close out a 73-48 drubbing.
Turnovers were a nightmare against Santiago Canyon. Southwestern gave up 14 points off turnovers in the first half. The Jaguars never recovered and lost, 93-81.
At 3-3 and 14 games remain on the schedule, the schedule shifts towards division games and more games at home. Shelley said this plays in the team’s favor and provides a chance to make a championship run.
