On Claggett's career night, Cougars cruise against Christ School
ROBERT IRBY Special to the Independent Tribune
CONCORD – It was business as usual for the Cannon School boys basketball team, as the Cougars handled Arden Christ School at home, 93-68, Thursday night.
This sort of offensive outpouring typically requires strong performances all around, and that’s exactly what the Cougars got. The most notable of which, however, came from freshman guard Jaylen Claggett.
Claggett came off the bench and scored 12 points for the Cougars, which is his new career high.
“I thought (Claggett) was tremendous today,” Cougars coach Che Roth said. “He’s a kid that is continuing to get better every day. He has a huge future with us.”
When asked how he was able to have this sort of breakout game, Claggett gave all the credit to his teammates making plays to set him up for good shots.
“My teammates were finding me by driving to the hole and kicking it to me,” Claggett recalled. “They were getting stops on defense to help me get easy layups and go to the free-throw line.”
Both Roth and Claggett remarked how instrumental those teammates have been in the latter’s development, particularly the upperclassmen.
“(Claggett) is young and is figuring out as he goes,” Roth added. “The good part is he’s got a really good group of older kids – Jarvis (Moss), Elijah (Ormiston), D.J. (Nix) and Karon (Boyd) -- who are really helping him. (Senior guard) Deuce Rolle has done a good job taking him under his wing.”
Gesturing toward Moss, Claggett said, “I’ve got one of the best shooters with me right here. And when he tells me to shoot, I shoot.”
And shoot Claggett did, as well as the rest of his Cougar teammates.
The Christ School Greenies came out with an aggressive defensive game plan, focusing on limiting Moss and Nix’s opportunities. This cleared the way for other Cougars, like Claggett, to get involved.
Ormiston and Boyd saw the most opportunities in the post as a result, finishing the game with 13 and 16 points, respectively.
“There is a high belief level among our guys that they each have an ability to make plays,” Roth pointed out. “We want to move the ball quicker than the defense can adjust.”
Moss echoed those sentiments.
“Within the flow of our offense, everybody is moving and cutting,” Moss said. “When a team is just focused on me, D.J., Jaylen or anybody, that’s bad news for them. (The Greenies’) defense was very extended out to halfcourt, so the middle was open. We just attacked the gaps and found shooters.”
This game plan for the Greenies proved to be ineffective, as the Cougars went into halftime with a 49-32 lead. This opened the door for Moss and Nix to get more involved.
Both players saw longer scoring draughts in the second quarter but came alive in the second half. Nix finished with a team-high 22 points, while Moss added 18.
“On the offensive end, we weren’t really moving, and we weren’t hitting a lot of shots,” Moss said regarding his increased aggressiveness in the second half. “Being one of the team captains, I have to figure out how to get us more involved, and if that’s by getting more aggressive, I’ll do that.”
For the Greenies, their top offensive contribution came from junior forward De'Ante Green, who finished with 19 points.
Green is rated a four-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals, and he’s regarded as the No. 1 player in North Carolina for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports. He has scholarship offers from traditional college powerhouses such as Kansas and North Carolina.
Despite the 6-foot-9 Green being the largest player on the floor – Cannon 7-foot center Christian Reeves is still recovering from an injury – the Cougars focused on limiting his impact in the paint.
“(Green) is a good player,” Moss said. “We just studied his habits, figuring out his go-to moves. We tried to defend that and defend his counter to try and shut him down.”
Cannon now stands at 7-2 on the season, with its next matchup coming Saturday against Gray Collegiate Academy in the first round of the Bojangles’ Bash in Columbia, South Carolina. Christ School fell to 0-2.
ROBERT IRBY Special to the Independent Tribune
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
ROBERT IRBY Special to the Independent TribuneBottom of Form
CONCORD – It was business as usual for the Cannon School boys basketball team, as the Cougars handled Arden Christ School at home, 93-68, Thursday night.
This sort of offensive outpouring typically requires strong performances all around, and that’s exactly what the Cougars got. The most notable of which, however, came from freshman guard Jaylen Claggett.
Claggett came off the bench and scored 12 points for the Cougars, which is his new career high.
“I thought (Claggett) was tremendous today,” Cougars coach Che Roth said. “He’s a kid that is continuing to get better every day. He has a huge future with us.”
When asked how he was able to have this sort of breakout game, Claggett gave all the credit to his teammates making plays to set him up for good shots.
“My teammates were finding me by driving to the hole and kicking it to me,” Claggett recalled. “They were getting stops on defense to help me get easy layups and go to the free-throw line.”
Both Roth and Claggett remarked how instrumental those teammates have been in the latter’s development, particularly the upperclassmen.
“(Claggett) is young and is figuring out as he goes,” Roth added. “The good part is he’s got a really good group of older kids – Jarvis (Moss), Elijah (Ormiston), D.J. (Nix) and Karon (Boyd) -- who are really helping him. (Senior guard) Deuce Rolle has done a good job taking him under his wing.”
Gesturing toward Moss, Claggett said, “I’ve got one of the best shooters with me right here. And when he tells me to shoot, I shoot.”
And shoot Claggett did, as well as the rest of his Cougar teammates.
The Christ School Greenies came out with an aggressive defensive game plan, focusing on limiting Moss and Nix’s opportunities. This cleared the way for other Cougars, like Claggett, to get involved.
Ormiston and Boyd saw the most opportunities in the post as a result, finishing the game with 13 and 16 points, respectively.
“There is a high belief level among our guys that they each have an ability to make plays,” Roth pointed out. “We want to move the ball quicker than the defense can adjust.”
Moss echoed those sentiments.
“Within the flow of our offense, everybody is moving and cutting,” Moss said. “When a team is just focused on me, D.J., Jaylen or anybody, that’s bad news for them. (The Greenies’) defense was very extended out to halfcourt, so the middle was open. We just attacked the gaps and found shooters.”
This game plan for the Greenies proved to be ineffective, as the Cougars went into halftime with a 49-32 lead. This opened the door for Moss and Nix to get more involved.
Both players saw longer scoring draughts in the second quarter but came alive in the second half. Nix finished with a team-high 22 points, while Moss added 18.
“On the offensive end, we weren’t really moving, and we weren’t hitting a lot of shots,” Moss said regarding his increased aggressiveness in the second half. “Being one of the team captains, I have to figure out how to get us more involved, and if that’s by getting more aggressive, I’ll do that.”
For the Greenies, their top offensive contribution came from junior forward De'Ante Green, who finished with 19 points.
Green is rated a four-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals, and he’s regarded as the No. 1 player in North Carolina for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports. He has scholarship offers from traditional college powerhouses such as Kansas and North Carolina.
Despite the 6-foot-9 Green being the largest player on the floor – Cannon 7-foot center Christian Reeves is still recovering from an injury – the Cougars focused on limiting his impact in the paint.
“(Green) is a good player,” Moss said. “We just studied his habits, figuring out his go-to moves. We tried to defend that and defend his counter to try and shut him down.”
Cannon now stands at 7-2 on the season, with its next matchup coming Saturday against Gray Collegiate Academy in the first round of the Bojangles’ Bash in Columbia, South Carolina. Christ School fell to 0-2.
