Pictured are Easley High School basketball standouts on Sunday night at the annual Alumni Night at Brushy Creek Baptist Church. They took part in a special candlelight service that was led by Dr. Nick McClellan. From (L to R) are: Matthew Hillstock, Logan Clark, Ethan Crews, Jakobe Ginnis and Carson Freeze.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
EASLEY — Last Sunday night was way bigger than any basketball game on Friday night.
It was the Easley High School Basketball Alumni Night, which was held last at Brushy Creek Baptist Church’s Candlelight Service. Melanie Crews (or “Momma Crews” as she goes by) has put on this big event the last several years.
“The candlelight service tonight was great,” said EHS alumni Jakobe Ginns, who is playing college hoops for Johnson & Wales. “We come back here every year to be with our teammates and have a great time.”
The 6-foot-5 Ginns took some time to give some advice to the current Green Wave players: “There are going to be games where you do everything that you are supposed to and you lose. You just gotta rise up to the challenge, be physical and don’t shy away from any contact or any competition.”
Ginns, already establishing himself as a top-notch cook, is currently in his second season of hoops for Johnson & Wales. Ginns and his new team will be playing close to home (at Bob Jones University) on Monday, Feb. 16.
At press time, the Green Wave boys basketball team is 3-7 on the season with two of those wins against rival Pickens. They also lost a heartbreaking 58-57 decision to Greenwood on Dec. 12.
Ethan Crews, the former EHS sharpshooter and MVP last season, also offered some advice to the EHS team.
“Finish games, stop turning the ball over and just do the little things right,” Crews said.
Team notes: This EHS team is highly-competitive and is fun to watch. River Andrews had his first alley-oop dunk recently during a win over Pickens (off a pass from Jojo Coleman). “We drew it up after the first quarter and we knew it would be there,” Andrews said. “It was a slam from there.”
At press time, though, Easley (3-7) was taking on Daniel at the Lions Christmas Tournament. Andrews was not scheduled to play in the game, though, due to a family vacation over the holidays.
It should be fun to see when this Easley team gets that first “statement win” over a really tough opponent.
Senior Logan Clark has thrived in hitting the “big shots” this season from the outside during key situations. He just has fun playing the game and he’s quick to talk about his favorite NBA player in Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
“Everybody has their ups and downs. It’s just having fun,” said Clark. “I’ve got 12 guys on the team I enjoy being around every day – besides basketball. We’re a family.”
And about being a big fan of Tatum, Clark said, “He does whatever he needs to to help his team win. It doesn’t have to be 20 (points) a night. It can be assists or rebounds.”
Peaking at the right time: I’ve said it from day one about this team. They are so far from peaking and their potential is sky high. Today at press time, Andrews will miss the game at Daniel. However, 6-6 Walker Cox is expected to return to the team. They could run a 4-guard offense. Or, the Green Wave could feature a taller lineup of Hillstock at point guard with Clark (6-4), Andrews (6-4), RJ Stack (6-5) and Cox (6-6).
Coach Austin Anderson is looking forward to when the shooters on the team can get on a role in knocking down their shots.
“We have to find a way for them (the shooters on team) to get into their rhythm,” he said.