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By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Jemison’s varsity boys’ basketball season has come to an end. The team had a winning record this year (14-12) and made it to the semifinals in the 5A Area 6 tournament with a 2-4 record in area play.

Coach Stacy McGehee said he is proud of the way the boys played as a team this season.

“I had at least four different guys lead us in scoring in different games,” McGehee said. “I thought we played pretty well as a team this year. We really had to. We didn’t have one or two guys that could just lead us. It was going to take a team effort for us to be successful this year.”

He praised the team for playing all four periods each game this year, which he said is an improvement over last year. McGehee said the team improved throughout the season and played some of their best games at the end.

Throughout the season, there was a strategic delegation of roles that played well to the strengths of the starting lineup. Junior Ryan Thompson played strong at forward, nearing a double double with an average of 9.7 rebounds and 14.2 points per game.

Kris Harris and Ty Leachman also spent a great deal of time in the paint putting up points and blocking, while Wes McGehee shot 35 percent from the three-point line and fellow guard Eric Evans transitioned into acting as more of a distributor. Bailey Sammons did well when he took the court, especially against Marbury, according to Coach McGehee.

Leachman and Evans had to play different roles than they were accustomed to this year.

“That was big for us… the roles they played were very instrumental in us being able to do some of the things we were able to this year,” McGehee said. “We’re going to have to have some people step up next year.”

The coach said one struggle the team faced this season was a lack of depth. They did not substitute as much as they had in the past.

McGehee noted the performance of junior Kaleb Bane and hopes to see him take on a greater role next year.

Rising seniors Thompson, Evans and Leachman would likely be players to keep an eye on next season as the team loses Harris, McGehee and Sammons.

“I’m very proud of the seniors we had and the leadership they gave us. The juniors coming back next year form a pretty good nucleus of us continuing to do well,” McGehee said.