Round Ball Round Up Team Camp 2023 (June 22-24)
Each summer The Cottage School Cougars venture off to Americus, GA on the beautiful campus of Georgia Southwestern University to take part in a team basketball camp (RBRU) hosted by various members of GIAA. There were around 30 schools from all over the GIAA and one school from Mississippi. The Cougars who attended were six rising seniors, one rising junior, and two rising sophomores. TCS finished in third place last season but were so close to making it to the AAC final. With that said and having those six rising seniors the team needed to compete at the highest level if they are going to fight back for the AAC crown next year. They played 9 of 12 varsity level teams and though the Cougars came away winless, they had five games within 3-12 points. Coach Briggs spoke on the schedule; “Buster and Ryan (camp directors) do a great job putting the schedule together and they also know about the level each school is on coming into camp. We have only played a varsity schedule four other times here, so this was great for us. We got every experience this team will need for next season and cannot wait to start in October.”
Upon arriving on Thursday, the Cougars could not have had a better team to start against. John Hancock Academy defeated TCS 35-32, but having this close of a contest right off the bat was exactly what the boys were hoping for in the games. TCS took the next two losses to two of the finer teams at camp, which ended the first night. On day two, Cottage had a long day ahead. Six games plus the Cardiac tournament and would not get to bed until close to 2:00 AM. The first three games were all close and could have gone the Cougar way, but still learning how to finish a team off, this did not happen. Thomas Jefferson, Grace Christian, and again John Hancock all pulled away in the final five minutes but again, the guys learned a lot and made some really nice plays. In the nightcap, TCS struggled in the first two games but finished with a tough 31—25 loss to Briarwood. The boys participated in the Cardiac tournament but lost in the first match 1-6 so were able to get back to the dorm to rest up for the final day. Here are two pictures at breakfast before we began day two. On Saturday, the Cougars played back-to-back after breakfast to end camp versus Briarwood’s JV team and a strong Fullington team. The Cougars had their best chance for a victory versus the Briarwood JV team ahead 46-42 with two minutes left in regulation. Fullington scored twice to tie it as TCS missed two bunnies. The Cougars had one last possession but missed another shot and Fullington had a chance to win. They converted on a three pointer at the buzzer for the 49-46 win.The Cougars finished 0-12 (13, if you count the Cardiac game) but improved in so many areas. Notes on each Cougar are below. Here are some pics of the way back to Roswell. A low aired tire to fix about 30 minutes into our drive, a Chick-fi-La lunch stop along with an illness/fatigue scare that turned out to be okay (thanks to an employee-Ms. Paige-who went the extra mile along with the great firemen and EMT team in Griffen, GA, and traffic held us up an extra two hours, but we made it safely! Go Cougars!
Camp individual highlights:
Colin Barlow held his own in the paint. He grabbed several much-needed rebounds and smothered opponents, making it hard for them to score. Colin added a couple baskets per game.
Jackson Barnes led the team in scoring (just under 10 per game) and played well defensively. He also improved his ball handling under pressure.
Gabriel Belden was a defensive machine, gathering several deflections and steals. He also scored a few baskets and made good passes.
Davis Bradley, like Gabe, was all over the court defensively. His hustle was arguably the strongest of any other athlete at camp.
Andrew Dorsey scored about 6-8 points per game and was a menace defensively. Dorsey led the team in minutes played and looks to have a great senior year to come.
Jack Kane was a monster in the middle. Each team did their best to swarm Jack with bodies to prevent easy layups. Kane handled it well and scored about 6-8 points per game and pulled down between 6-10 rebounds in each game. If there had been a most improved player award at camp, Jack may have brought that home for TCS.
Speaking of a most improved player candidate, Weston Kershner learned who to handle the guard position under pressure and to slow the game down so that he can find teammates open, while learning to score. To sum up the camp, in the final game, Weston connected on four three-pointers and led the team with 19 points (easily his career high).
Maxwell Lagan really improved his inside presence. His toughness banging with stronger and older experienced football/basketball players really gave Max the needed repetition so he can play more consistently in the paint. He also played all five positions on the floor on both ends, proving his skillset. Max converted on a balanced attack from outside, FT line, and around the rim while grabbing several boards and blocking over 3 shots per game.
Jack McGrew played hard each game and improved his physical contact without fouling. He too slowed the game down to make better outlet passes.
Every Cougar scored at least one basket, and all contributed to the team philosophy. Suroy and I look forward to improving even more on the bond in which this team showed this summer.
Your Proud Cougar Coaches,
Suroy and Richie