Back in the Gym

 

The 1-5 start of the Raider varsity girls should not be a season predictor. In this week’s losses, they were only outscored by 9 points per game. Tomisin Adenupe is off to a great start, averaging 20 points. Her play was highlighted by a 23-point outing in a 16-point victory over Dunwoody on Saturday. Adenupe’s game has continued to develop as she has put a

tremendous amount of effort into becoming a versatile offensive player. Averaging 3 assists per game, Adenupe looks comfortable handling the ball outside the three-point line. Sophomore forward Liz Williams is averaging 10 points per game so far and is consistently able to make plays inside the three point line. This is no surprise to those of us who watched her in her varsity starts last season. This year the team will increasingly look to Williams as multiple forwards graduated at the end of last season. A new face on the court this season is point guard Ellie Kate Cline. Despite her lack of varsity experience, Cline is a strong ball handler who has the ability to break the press and find the open player with her impressive court vision. Senior Emily Lee has shown to be the team’s most capable shooter this year, leading the Raider girls in three pointers made through six games. Saturday, the Raider girls will host North Cobb to take on the Lady Warriors at 2:00.

 

The Raider varsity boys earned a record of 4-1 in this first week of the season. Averaging 17 points per game so far, junior point guard Luka Avaliani seems poised for a big season after his recent tour with the Georgian National basketball team. Senior David Sickles has started the season off strong as well, averaging 13 points per game. Sickles scored 22 points in the season opener against Osborne and 14 in the victory over Harrison coming through yet again in crunch time. Sickles now has made 4 three pointers this year with the game inside five minutes or in an overtime period, giving the Raiders a closer if they need one. Senior Cole Morris thus far has averaged a double double and played strong defense in the paint. Cole is a key component of the offense as the team feeds the ball inside to Morris and relies on him to pass out of double teams to shooters or take the ball up himself. Another big man to watch this season is sophomore Johnathon Awolyee, providing a spark off of the bench with his athleticism and length on the defensive end. While this is his first season on varsity, many who are inside the program saw this coming for Awolyee. In only his second year of competitive basketball play, Awolyee was a force on the junior varsity team last year, earning him the MVP. A new face to the program is freshman forward Pearce Spurlin. Pearce missed the first four games of the season, as he started at wide receiver for the varsity football team, but in his first game on varsity against Duluth scored 14 points. Pearce will provide the team with solid defense on the wing as well as the athleticism to finish at the basket and through contact. The Raiders will play North Cobb at home this Saturday at 3:30.