All photos by Madison Pritchard and Kirk Owen.
Red Devils defeat Evansville North 68-44, will face Seymour this Friday
Category: Basketball
Fast Feature: What is your primary goal on the girls’ basketball team? What is your primary goal as a coach on the basketball team?
by Gabby Watkins
As the 6-2 girls’ basketball team comes off a 46-30 win over Bedford North Lawrence and prepares to face Columbus East Saturday, players and coaches have expressed their goals and wishes for this season.
“My primary goal as a coach is building relationships, although winning games is fun. Relationships has always been a huge reason why I coach, I want to instill confidence in players, I want to be someone they can rely on, whether it’s to vent or to get help with homework. I coached my first group of girls when I was a junior in high school and I still talk to some players who were on that team who are now seniors. I love the game of basketball, but being able to watch players achieve things inside and outside of the sport is something I love. I want to be one of their biggest fans on and off the court.” Coach Morgan Austin
“My goal on the team is to win the basketball season and be more of a team.” Sophomore Maliyah Poindexter
“To rebound and play my role and do it correctly so we can win and have confidence in myself.” Junior Kiya Boatwright
“To become a leader on and off the court.” Freshman Mya Corbin
“To have confidence in myself, to help the team and I get down on myself a lot.” Junior Ahleeyah Brown
“To be the best teammate I can be.” Senior Ava Scott
“Get better confidence, build more friendships.” Sophomore Egypt Whitehead
“Make sure we have a family culture and and and fun environment for the younger generation.” Senior Katie Lawrence
“Gain more confidence get close with my upperclassmen.” Freshman Jazlynn Bryant
“I think my primary goal on the basketball team is to be a voice on the court, play the role of good defense, and help hold myself and others accountable to better each other.” Sophomore Lila Schurr
“My primary goal on the team is to fill my part by playing defense, controlling the pace on the court, making sure people are in the right places for a play and also getting to the goal and rebounding.” Junior Kelis Dansby
“That we win sectional and state.” Sophomore Alyviah Lewis-Redd
Red Devils beat Cathedral Saturday night as Homecoming royalty is crowned
Photos by Madison Pritchard, Kirk Owen and Stella Siewert
Red Devils begin season of high expectations this weekend
by Austin Bainbridge
Head coach Sherron Wilkerson sits at his desk, planning practices and workouts and developing ways to help players improve. During the offseason, Wilkerson has to put in a lot of effort to maintain one of Indiana’s best high school teams.
“To win a state championship as a team we must be disciplined and mentally tough,” said Wilkerson.
JHS has a tough schedule and has high expectations from players and coaches alike this season, but the players aren’t concerned about the pressure.
“I’m not worried about the competition; our coaches have given us everything we need to win,” said freshman Cornelius Weobong.
The coaches help the players improve, but the players know to get better they have to work on their own time to meet the expectations they’ll face this season.
“I work out with the team, but I also do pushups every night. I also jump a lot to improve my vertical,” said varsity player and senior PJ Douglas.
“To win a state championship as a team we must be disciplined and mentally tough.”
Basketball Coach Sherron Wilkerson
This commitment is essential for the Red Devils, who are expected to contend for a state championship.
“This season is different because we are in contention for a state championship, and that’s huge for this team,” said Wilkerson.
The players have a good reason to believe in their skills, as they train intensely. The players know what’s at stake.
“I train hard seven days a week so that we can make and win a state championship,” said Weobong.
The confidence of everyone surrounding JHS, especially the fans, is high.
“I think they are going to win a state championship, and I’m excited to see it,” said English teacher David Kummer.
The hype for this team has very good reason, too. The coaches have helped the players get better since the final game of last year’s 20-8 season that ended in a 52-51 semi-state finals loss to Ben Davis.
“My coaches have really helped me improve my game by showing me what I need to work on,” said Weobong.
These players feel that confidence. They worked hard all summer and fall getting ready for the first game.
“Practice is a big part of what we do. It translates directly into games,” said Douglas.
The fans are also hoping to help this team out on the court
Kummer said, “Fans contribute to the team during the games with big crowds that can motivate this team to play better.”
This team’s hope for the season is sky-high, and they are ready to get on the court and meet those expectations.
“As a team, we put in the work, and are ready to back up the expectations,” said Douglas.
JHS faces Cathedral High School at home this Saturday; the boys’ and girls’ teams will play. The theme is “White Out,” and the fall Homecoming crowning postponed due to weather will take place at halftime of the boys’ varsity game.
Homecoming celebrated this weekend after several weeks of delays due to weather
by Shelby Keesee
At long last, after weeks of deferral, Jeff High’s long awaited Homecoming is set to take place this weekend.
Yet what is Homecoming – and why are we thrilled?
Homecoming is the celebration of school traditions and the highlighting of certain students whose goals are to become Homecoming King and Queen. Others may attend to commemorate JHS, dress fancily, or simply to socialize with peers while showing Red Devil spirit.
Poor weather conditions several weeks ago are to blame for the event’s delay. Storms producing heavy rains and weather warnings were present in the area prior to the original date.
After discussions with Student Council sponsor Natalie Woods, principal Pam Hall and the administrative team decided to postpone Homecoming to the first boys’ and girls’ basketball home game to give the courts their deserving recognition.
“We did not want to have our Homecoming court out there in their dresses or in their nice suits getting drenched, so we made the decision to look for an alternative date,” stated Hall.
Although Homecoming has been delayed, voter decisions have remained intact and up-to-date.
“The student population has already voted, so the first round of votes are for all those people who signed up that want to be on court or candidates, and then they are chosen by vote by their class,” stated Woods. “The second round of votes are just for the King and Queen, so the whole school gets to vote for the King and Queen of their choice.”
Results from the voting window have stayed exceptionally quiet, but the royalty and court members will be announced this Saturday night.
“We have 20 Homecoming court members. We have four duos of seniors – so we have four boys and four girls for seniors, and then we have two boys and two girls for each junior, sophomore and freshman classes,” said Woods. “Our seniors come make up the King and Queen candidates, and then our juniors, sophomores and freshmen make up what’s known as the Homecoming court.”
While attending Homecoming, JROTC Saber Team presentations are expected, along with a more formal ceremony where students are presented to JHS community members, staff and other students.
Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams will play this Saturday; the theme is “White Out.”
Taylor High School graduates share Clark County history in interview with Hyphen, WJHI
All photos by Ifrah Daber and Andrea Campbell.
Readers can learn more on the history of Taylor High School by examining Greta Reel’s May, 2020 Hyphen story.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated as JHS media and other student organizations examine the history and legacy of Jeffersonville’s Taylor High School.
Feature Photo: Covering the Red Devils
New x Two: Jeff High Basketball Rebounds With New Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches
Coach Melissa Voyles – Girls Basketball
Coach Melissa (Missy) Voyles took the head coaching job at Jeff High because it presented a great opportunity and a great challenge. Prior to coaching at Jeff, Voyles had coached at North Harrison. However, she wanted the chance to coach at a division 4A (the high school sports division for the largest schools) school like Jeff. She also saw the girls basketball team as a program with potential. “It’s always a program that could really be dominant,” she says.
Despite her optimism, there was a clear challenge for the Red Devils this year: injuries. Voyles said this season they had five ACL tears, one broken wrist, and two concussions. “I have never seen this many injuries,” she says. Despite these challenges she has been pleased with the level of dedication her players have shown, saying, “They play hard every day. I can’t fault them for that.” With this dedication has come improvement, according to Voyles.
Going into the season in a tough conference, and after losing a lot of senior talent last year, Voyles says, “I knew it would be a big struggle win-or-loss wise.” However, she credits her team’s leadership and hard work with their success this year, specifically, she credited Neveah Bates (junior), Baily Gibson (senior), Ajia Estes (senior), Tatum McFarland (sophomore), and Sofia Reese (sophomore) with creating a contagious positive atmosphere on the team.
For the postseason, the goal was simple for Voyles. “I want to compete with Bedford.” On Feb. 5, 2021, Jeffersonville fell to Bedford North Lawrence 62-36 in the Sectional Semi-final. Despite their season coming to an end, the Devils were able to keep the game within 10 points with the fourth-ranked Stars, until the fourth quarter.
Coach Andrew Grantz – Boys Basketball
Coach Andrew Grantz says he took the boys basketball job at Jeff High for many reasons, including “the history, the tradition, and the fan support here at Jeff.” Grantz also wanted to return to coaching in Indiana, and with the talent at Jeff High, he was excited at the opportunity to build the program.
For Grantz, the biggest difference between this job and his past coaching gigs is the community. “You know, Providence was a great place to be,” he says, “but you know with a private school, you’re pulling from all different directions.” He feels that the closeness in the Jeff High community really sets the program apart, and unlike Fort Myers, Florida (where he was for a past coaching job), basketball is a bigger deal here in Indiana.
For Grantz, his pride in his team was on display after the first semester when he learned the team had a GPA of 3.4 (highest in program history according to Grantz). For him this accomplishment was important as a coach because “they’re setting themselves up for life after basketball,” he says.
Leading up to the season, with all the confusion about COVID-19, he says the goal was simple: “Let’s just play games.” He also felt that despite the loss of a talented senior class last year, the team would be strong.
Despite his optimism, he does feel one of the major challenges was Jeff’s lack of a consistent feeder program. “Whenever I was younger there was the JYBL (Jeff Youth Basketball League), and if you look at the run Jeff had in the ’90s, that happened right after JYBL started,” Grantz says. He hopes to be able to tackle this problem, which he believes will really help the program as it has before.
Looking toward the end of the season, his goal for his team is simple: “We want to reach our full potential… if we do that or come close to that we have a chance to make a run in the postseason.” Over the season, he says the team has “had flashes of it.” But to reach his goal it’s about “putting it all together at once.”
By Max Fisher
COVID-19 Casts a Shadow Over Winter and Spring Sports Prep
Jeffersonville High School athletes are trying to keep in shape and healthy even as there are some concerns about how things will unfold this year with COVID-19.
Basketball, a winter sport, presents many challenges specific to the sport such as physical contact, touching the same ball, and being played inside. Sophomore boys basketball player Conner Lyons has some concerns but is ready to start the new season. He says his most pressing concern is “guarding people and close contact,” but Lyons’ concerns are overpowered by his drive to get back out on the court. “It’s always been my dream and that’s what I want to do when I get older,” he says. As of right now, the first game for Jeffersonville boys basketball is scheduled for December 5.
Members of the Jeff High baseball team, who have already lost their spring season this year, are trying to stay positive but realistic despite losing some senior talent. Baseball also has the benefit of being a more spaced out game that is played outdoors. Sophomore baseball player Sam Whallen isn’t getting his hopes up, saying, “we might not end up playing this season because of COVID.” The Jeff High baseball team’s first game is scheduled for April 2.
Members of the Jeff High softball team are also trying to prepare for a spring season in 2021. Senior Danielle Monroe says the team is beginning winter workouts, which are different this year because of social distancing. Still, she feels like the effort will pay off in the spring. “I’m hopeful. I think we’ll have a season,” Monroe says. “I really hope so because it’s my senior year.”
The Indiana High School Athletics Association (IHSAA) has said the organization is committed to letting students play, saying they believe it is “essential to the physical and mental well-being of student-athletes to return to organized physical activity and build team relationships with their peers and coaches.”
Although every sport has its own precautions for the safety of players, coaches and fans, they have one thing in common: in the age of COVID, athletes are optimistic but unsure about the future.
Story by Caleb Vincent
Girls Basketball Team Wraps Up a Challenging Season With a Winning Record
The Jeffersonville girls basketball began this season with high expectations. They had all three seniors signed to play in college: Nan Garcia signing to Penn State, Kelsie James signing to IU Kokomo, and Kiersten Poor signing to Grace College. In the course of the season, both Garcia and James would fall victim to injury, taking them out for the season.
Despite this, the team was still able to come out with a 14-11 record, and they were able to reach the semifinals of the sectional tournament losing to Jennings County 52-45 on February 2. “It was a big loss losing both Nan [Garcia] and Kelsie [James] because they both had such an important role on the team,” says junior Laura Gillenwater. Despite this, she says she was “very impressed by our team though because everyone pulled it together and stepped it up.” Gillenwater chalks a lot of this success up to a strong performance by the freshmen this season. “They had to adjust quickly and learn how to play varsity basketball which they excelled at,” she says.
Sophomore Lily Haire also noted that the season was made harder by the loss of Garcia and James. She credits Senior Kiersten Poor for a lot of the success this year. “Kiersten had a major role on our team. She was a very good leader and someone to look up to,” says Haire.
Despite their struggles this year, the girls’ basketball program has a lot of talent coming up. Jeffersonville has three of the top five girls in Clark/Floyd county in the class of 2023 according to News and Tribune in Tatum McFarland, Sophia Reese, and Cadence Singleton. These freshmen along with the returning varsity sophomores: Lily Haire, Nevaeh Bates and Olivia Clive and juniors: Alexis Gibson, Laura Gillenwater, Aija Estes and Bailey Gibson, will make a strong team looking forward to next year.
Additional News in Sports
Following Sectionals Jeffersonville Girls Basketball Coach, Michael Warren, resigned as coach following the season’s conclusion. Warren ended with a record of 112-61
after 7 seasons as Girls Head Basketball Coach.
Boys Basketball Heads to Sectionals With High Hopes
As they move forward toward the end of the year and wrapping their regular season with three remaining games before sectionals, the Jeffersonville High School boys basketball team is currently standing at 15-5 overall and they are currently ranked 23rd in the state of Indiana.
Jeffersonville has done extremely well against conference opponents and they are sitting at second overall in the conference with a conference record of 5-1. With wins over New Albany, Seymour, Columbus East, and Floyd Central, a reason for Jeffersonville’s success is the way seniors Tre Coleman and Jacob Jones have been playing this season. Both seniors have led the Red Devils to a great season and have never lost a game by eight points or more.
This season Coleman has averaged 14 points, six rebounds, one steal and two blocks a game. Jones has averaged 12 points, five assists, and two steals a game. Jones just recently hit the game winning three-pointer against Floyd Central High School. “This season definitely has been really bumpy, but I feel confident going into sectionals,” Jones said. “We just have to get better and better every single day.”
The team has gone through some changes with the addition of head coach Chris Moore. Senior guard Caleb Mason talked about how he felt about the change in coaching style and how it affected their season. “I felt like our season definitely could have been better, but we just needed to adapt to the coach’s new style,” Mason said. “But he is great. Before games, to motivate us he would give us small challenges or goals for the game such as try and get a stop three times in a row and call it a strikeout.”
Even with the coaching change, Mason still remains optimistic. “Going into sectionals we are down a couple of players, but I still feel confident. Don’t overlook us,” Mason said.
Senior forward Tre Coleman looks down the court during the homecoming game against Bedford North Lawrence.
Photo by Carlos Webb
Kobe Bryant : An icon and inspiration to all
Former NBA legend Kobe Bean Bryant has been an inspiration to his community and people around the world. On January 26, 2020, Bryant died in a helicopter crash at the age of 41 along with his daughter Gianna Bryant (13 years old) and 7 others.
Around the world, people were in shock when they heard the news. Bryant was everywhere in our lives, he didn’t just impact basketball, he impacted the world. Whether it was an advertisement with him, an action his charity took, or kids shouting “Kobe” before throwing a balled-up piece of paper in a trashcan, Bryant’s influence was all around us, and he was a part of almost every athlete’s life. Bryant was more than a player. He was an inspiration, an icon and a legend, on and off the court.
The Jeffersonville High School Student Section decided to honor Bryant at the Homecoming game on Friday, January 31. Student Section leader and Senior Adam Crawford said he came up with the idea to change the theme to purple and yellow (the colors of the Lakers’ jersey). Crawford said he was inspired to change the theme because Bryant “was someone who didn’t just inspire basketball players, but he inspired the whole world.”
Trae Young, a 2nd year player who just earned his first all-star game appearance, wore the number 8 during his game. At the start of the game the Hawks won the tipoff and Trae Young held the ball not passing half court to take an 8-second violation in honor of his mentor. Young continued to put on an explosive performance with 45 points and 14 assists in a 19-point win over the Washington Wizards. Young continued to post on Instagram later that night a picture of him taking the violation with Kobe’s number with a caption of, “That one was for you… Rest Easy Kobe.”
The New Orleans Pelicans players wore Kobe Bryant’s shoes during the National Anthem before switching into their own preferred shoes with the numbers 24 and 8 written on them for the game. Another team who paid homage to Bryant was the Detroit Pistons by wearing 8 and 24 jerseys with Bryant on the back during the national anthem.
Some NBA players wearing the number 8 or 24 such as Spencer Dinwiddie decided to change his number from 8 to 26 out of respect for Bryant. Since then many other players wearing numbers 8 or 24 have done the same. He was everywhere, from giving players advice, to coaches quoting him to inspire their players before a game, to teachers using a Kobe video to get their students motivated to commercials using Kobe to advertise their product.
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