JaKeenan Gant can feel the weight on his 6-foot-8 shoulders.
As far as offensive production goes, Gant is all that’s left from last season’s Final Four run to Kennessaw for Effingham County, which went 27-5 and came up one point shy of reaching the Class AAAAA final.
“We’ve lost six out of our top seven guys,” said Rebels’ fifth-year head coach Donnie Arrington, who has guided his team to 52 wins the past two years. “Four of our top five starters and our top guy off the bench are gone. In some ways, we’ve got to start all over.”
If you’re starting from scratch, though, Gant is probably the one guy you want back. Voted the Class AAAAA Player of the Year by the Georgia Sportswriters Association, he averaged almost 18 points per game to go with nine rebounds and four blocks as a junior and has signed to play for Frank Haith’s Missouri Tigers next season. Though no other returning player averaged more than three points per game a year ago, the respect is still there for Effingham County, ranked No. 2 to start the season by Score Atlanta, but so is the pressure.
“I feel the pressure,” Gant said. “People depend on me to score.”
Much of the weight was lifted from Gant after signing with Missouri, but being surrounded by a whole new cast of characters will make things interesting early, especially with early tests against Class AAAAAA power North Gwinnett, Statesboro (twice), Jenkins and holiday tournaments in Columbia and Spartanburg.
“Our first 12 or 13 games are really, really stout competition,” Arrington said. “(Gant) is already committed and signed so I think that takes some of the big stress off of him. He’s going to do more things for us this year. He’s going to handle (the ball) more. He’s going to be more of a playmaker.”
Gant said he expects to see nearly every defense imaginable to stop him – “Box-and-one, 2-3 (zone), 1-3-1. Just some weird defenses. (Opposing teams) are going to help on me, so (teammates) will have to shoot a lot.”
Arrington said he expects to have seven players in the rotation early and then see how the season plays out. Senior guard Tanner Reid, who transferred in from Iowa and played nine games late last season, could add the 1-2 scoring punch the Rebels need at point guard. Or maybe it’s senior lefty Mondre Green, high jumper Tyjon Williams or 3-point shooter Hunter Morris. Junior Kyle Owens and senior Tamario Gadson will also provide minutes and defense for the Rebels.
It may take some time, but Arrington hopes to put the pieces together by the turn of the new year in his 33rd season as a coach. And Gant wants another shot at the state crown after last season’s semifinal run that ended too soon but was still sweet.
“It left a good taste in my mouth,” Gant said of advancing to the Final Four before falling to Gainesville. “We made it far, but I want more.”
Effingham Girls
Like the boys, the Lady Rebels had their own history-making run last season to the Final Four, but their inside-out presence remains intact. Senior Jakayvea Akins, who signed with Georgia Southern prior to the season, returns at point guard after averaging nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals per game a season ago.
Junior Kyesha Lewis, the reigning Region 3-AAAAA Player of the Year, also gives Effingham County a strong shot at repeating last season’s 26-win campaign. Lewis averaged 12.5 points and 7.7 boards per game.
“We’ve been playing together for a while,” Akins said of the team’s makeup, which has few seniors but plenty of experience. “We’ve just got to work harder than we did before.”
Head coach Curtis Stevens lost two starters from last season, but several players got much-needed playing time to provide the experience for a repeat run.
“We’ll have some new roles for some new faces, but we were fortunate enough to get some kids playing time,” Stevens said. “Hopefully we can pull from the experience we gained during that playoff run.”
Juniors Brooke Fowler and Ebony Hicklin will be keys to the Lady Rebels’ success in more prominent roles this year. Hicklin came off the bench last season as a defensive force.
“If they voted on it, she would be sixth man of year,” Stevens said. “She was our spark plug off the bench.”
But everybody in Region 3-AAAAA knows Lewis and Akins will be headaches again in 2013-14.
“Toward the end of last year (Lewis) became more of an inside-out scorer and made some big plays for us,” Stevens said. “(Akins) has got a great head on her shoulders and she’s very competitive. She’s always looking to get everybody else theirs first.”
The Lady Rebels, ranked No. 8 in the preseason Score Atlanta Class AAAAA poll, also know they’ve now got a bulls-eye on their back.
“If anything, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” Stevens said.