The Red Devils play Carmel this Saturday at Johnson Arena.
Photos by Gabrielle Watkins.
JHS defeats Castle 52-45
Tag: Basketball
Red Devils prepare for girls’ basketball season
by Layney Derricott
A new season comes with new opportunities, challenges and goals.
The girls’ basketball team is preparing for the court. Coming off of a 14-11 season last year, they’re ready to improve. Preseason practices have been a great chance to get ahead on this season’s improvement. Junior shooting guard Lili Mangrum shared that the new season has brought adjustments for the Red Devils.
“We’ve been learning how to play with the lower classmen,” said Mangrum, “as well as adjusting to the new people coming in, really working on becoming a team.”
Girls’ basketball is mainly junior led, and these juniors have played together since they were children, forming a lifelong connection.
In addition to Mangrum,the juniors include point guard Makenna Taylor and guard Jazlynn Bryant, among others. Coach A.J. Moye shared that the team’s strong bond will play an important role in their succession.
“Our team is filled with high level characters, mainly led by juniors that are driven and know what it takes. That also strongly care for each other’s well beings and improvements,” Moye stated.
Returning players bring experience and a sense of recognition in each other, while new faces will have to adjust with the pace of high school basketball.
Freshman Trinity Broadway said her biggest challenge during the preseason preparation includes “adjusting to the different levels of basketball,” and “becoming quicker and more focused.”
As the team continues to adjust for the season, they are keeping an eye on competition as well. Junior forward Lorelei Darling identified the two toughest teams.
“The toughest team we will face is Pike, along with Christian Academy. The game will be intense, along with a learning curve we will have to face,” said Darling.
With challenging opponents ahead, experience and determination will be key for the team. Taylor has faced many challenges so far into her basketball journey, saying the toughest being ,”honestly, trying to win a sectional has been tough in the past years, especially since our conference can be competitive. I, however, have a really good feeling about this year.”
That confidence Taylor holds carries into practice, where Bryant said team highly focuses on staying positive, motivating one another, and, “making sure not to fall short, not letting teammates fall short either. Along with keeping practice positive.”
Through encouragement, determination, and teamwork, the team hopes to turn their competitive mindset into success this season. Individual players have their opportunities to make an impact.
Taylor is the player everyone should be looking out for, according to Mangrum, saying she will “wow” the crowd this season with her skills and determination.
While individual talent is important, it only makes up one part of a team. Mangrum added that their combination of strengths all are what truly makes up the team.
“Our team is strong both defensively and offensively mainly due to our abilities to all play at all levels, equally improving and correcting together,” she said.
In this team no one is left behind, as they advance and get through struggles together. Like a family, heading into the season they’re excitedly preparing.
Bryant shared that her excitement resides in really harvesting in the season by “playing with all my teammates, just being all together again. Winning games and really shooting for a sectional win.”
Column: Indiana basketball needs a shot clock
by Marquel Garner
How would implementing the shot clock in Indiana high school basketball affect teams and players?
The ‘shot clock’ shall refer to the timing device that displays a countdown of the time within which the team in possession of the ball must attempt a field goal.
Thirty-two states have implemented a 35-second shot clock in high school basketball, and 18 states have not or said no to implementing a shot clock.
After the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association announced the results of a survey that said 68 percent of coaches polled favored a shot clock, a proposal went before the IHSAA at its Feb. 20 executive committee meeting for a 35-second shot clock. The proposal, if passed, would be implemented for the 2026-2027 or the 2027-28 schoolyear.
Some advantages of having a shot clock include increasing the pace of the game and preventing teams from holding the ball for minutes at a time to protect a small lead, a tactic often disliked by fans and players.
Graphic by Marquel Garner.
Having a shot clock will make a faster-paced game, resulting in more possessions; more scoring opportunities; and higher-scoring, more exciting games, which can boost spectator attendance.
The shot clock will also help with player development, helping players learn to handle time-management pressure, make quicker decisions, and play at an uptempo pace, better preparing them for college-level basketball.
The last advantage of having a shot clock is that teams will have to practice to execute their offense better and more effectively within a timeframe than relying on holding the ball to win. It also prevents the “end-of-game stall” where teams play keep-away for the final minutes, forcing competitive basketball until the buzzer.
Some cons would be the cost of installing it and maintaining the shot clock, and it requires an extra, trained operator for varsity, and potentially for junior varsity and freshman games.
With a shot clock, less talented teams wouldn’t be able to slow the game down and reduce possessions to pull off an upset. The shot clock would favor more talented teams by giving them more opportunities to score.
Other issues would be teams playing zone defense because they would only need to play defense for 30-35 seconds. And some coaches may argue that a shot clock leads to rushed, poor-quality shots and more turnovers for less experienced teams, rather than better gameplay.
I feel adding a shot clock would be good for Indiana basketball. The main reason for me is that teams are eating up the clock with a small lead. When they play “keep away” with a small lead, it forces the other team to foul, and as a spectator, that is not fun to watch. Also, as a player, I think it could force players to develop skills, such as playing at a faster pace, managing time, and reading defenses under pressure
JHS defeats Floyd Central 72-54 to advance in sectional play
All photos by Magdalene Conrad and Malachi Conrad. Click on each photo in the gallery below.
Red Devils begin sectional play tonight against Floyd Central
by Austin Bainbridge
Jeff is looking for a sectional win over Floyd Central tonight, a team they beat with a buzzer beater 49-48 in January.
“We are a better team than we were when we first faced Floyd; it’s not going to take any late game scores to get us the win this time,” said sophomore center Cornelius Weobong
Jeff isn’t the highest ranked team in the sectional, but head coach Sherron Wilkerson said anything can happen in the post-season.
“On paper, I think that we can win the sectional. I know that we were probably third right now, I would say, in the segments. But I would say if everything came together, I think that we can win the sectional for sure,” said he said.
The Red Devils know the stakes in playing against a rival in a win or go-home game and need to keep themselves in check.
“We have got to mature really fast. I think there are two things that we have to do — number one, we have to understand how much effort it takes to play at this level. And then I think the second thing that we have to realize is how much we have to control our emotions,” said Wilkerson
The roster has been cut down to just 12 players for sectionals and they are expected to play unselfishly for the team.
“I think it’s really just like the entire team’s going to step up. You know, we’re all going to come together as one and play for the name on the front. There may be some specific players, but I feel like we’re all just going to play for the name on the front, try to get the win,” said sophomore center Demauri Crosby.
Jeff comes in winning both of their last games by 24+ points and expects that momentum to carry into the playoffs.
“Those wins certainly have given us a boost that we can ride through this whole thing to make it back to state,” said Weobong.
For the team it’s business as usual they want to keep everything the same to keep the players in flow.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Just our normal day-to-day preparation. Our preparation has been the same since the first day that I took the job up until now. We’re preparing to finish these last three games in the sectional, like we prepared to win the state championship,” said Wilkerson.
JHS defeats Castle heading into sectional play this week
All photos by Malachi Conrad, Parker McCloskey, Mackenzie Stubblefield, and Charlie Perissi. Click on each photo below to view the gallery.
Red Devils battle Castle tonight as they begin sectional play next week
by Austin Bainbridge
The JHS basketball team has their last home game of the season today, and players and coaches look forward to finishing the season right.
“I think a win tonight would really propel us into sectionals with the mindset of winning and really get us ready to go,” said sophomore Cornelius Weobong.
The players are confident in their ability to get a win against a struggling 7-15 Castle.
“I am very confident in what we can do; everyone’s going to be hating on us, but we’ll show them what we can do and just execute our game plan,” said senior Elijah Cheeks.
This season has been a difficult one for Jeff, standing at 8-12, and the coaches are looking for answers.
“It’s been really difficult to find our identity. I think that we’ve had certain games where we were comfortable with our personnel, but then I think that for the most part of the season, it’s been a huge hurdle for us,” said head coach Sherron Wilkerson.
The players also look for a connection with each other.
“I think a lot of our chemistry has just been playing together and getting everybody in early in the season against a lot of Indy teams, so we’re able to connect and grow playing those tougher opponents,” said Cheeks.
While the season hasn’t been up to Wilkerson’s expectations, he still sees a good run down the stretch. `
“It’s been a little bit difficult because it seems like every time we take a step forward we take two steps back. Whether it’s an injury, somebody gets sick, whatever the case, it just seems like we haven’t been able to catch a break this year, like we’ve had in the previous years. But moving forward, the last game is moving into the sectional. We kind of feel like we have an opportunity. We have an opportunity to right the ship after all that we’ve learned through this year,” said Wilkerson.
With sectionals coming next Tuesday March 3, just four days away, this would be a great opportunity to prepare.
“This could be the final test before we open up for the tournament. And I think that people must keep in mind that we’re still going to finish as champions,” said Wilkerson.
The players also have to prepare before kicking off sectionals.
“The main thing is just getting your mind right. People usually think about your body but it’s all in your mind. Putting in enough work (that) I know I can trust myself when the time comes,” said Cheeks.
The Red Devils open sectional play against Floyd Central next Tuesday night. JHS defeated the Highlanders 49-48 in January.
Red Devils defeat Columbus East 77-52 on Saturday as cheerleaders celebrate Senior Night
All photos by Magdalene Conrad and Malachi Conrad. Click on the images below to view the gallery.
Red Devils face off with Columbus East tomorrow night
Students protest ICE during Friday’s homecoming game
by Areli Hernandez
While student walk-outs protesting ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have occurred at several local high schools and across Indiana recently, a small group of JHS students stood together to make their voices be heard at last Friday’s homecoming game to bring awareness to current events.
Homecoming royalty crowned at Friday night’s JHS-Bedford game
All photos by Magdalene Conrad and Abygail Lawson. Click on each photo below to view the gallery.
JHS defeats Bedford North Lawrence 75-42 on Friday as Red Devils celebrate homecoming
Some students displayed signs protesting ICE during the game
All photos by Malachi Conrad and Abygail Lawson. Click on each image in the gallery below to view photographs.
Check back tomorrow for homecoming festivity photographs, including images of the crowning.
