An unlikely region champ saved its best for last. ‘We had fun every game.’
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Sweet Sixteen stories
The 2020 Boys’ Sweet 16 was postponed before it began because of the coronavirus pandemic. The stoppage of our annual high school basketball state tournament denied 16 schools and their communities — for many — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for recognition on one of Kentucky’s most prominent stages. In the absence of basketball, the Herald-Leader is telling their stories. Click below to read the stories published so far.
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Editor’s Note: The 2020 Boys’ Sweet 16 was postponed before it began because of the coronavirus pandemic. The stoppage of our annual high school basketball state tournament denied 16 schools and their communities — for many — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for recognition on one of Kentucky’s most prominent stages. In the absence of basketball, the Herald-Leader is telling their stories.
Perhaps no region champion was more of a surprise than the West Jessamine Colts this season.
Except to themselves, of course.
“In our mind, we were as good as anybody,” West Jessamine Coach Damon Kelley said.
But how did a team that had only one starting senior and a record of 9-9 as late as Jan. 24 end up with a hero’s welcome and police escort back home from their 12th Region championship game, the first for the school since 2010?
Well, it might have started with a players-only dinner at Applebee’s. At the least, it didn’t hurt.
Kelley didn’t like what he saw in his team’s 74-71 defeat at Paul Laurence Dunbar on Feb. 18. Even through all the season’s ups and downs, that wasn’t the team he’d been coaching. First came an unusually long postgame locker room talk. The next day, the players met up for dinner after practice.
“We talked about how we needed to be ready to come out and play every night. … We knew we could win region,” senior forward Clayton Winter said. “(We were) just talking as a team, having fun, just bonding and eating good food. It was a fun time which I think really helped us be able to play together as a team for the rest of the year.”
Kelley admired his players’ initiative, but remained skeptical.
“I told them before we played Garrard County that I was glad to hear they had done that, but I’m ‘old school’ and talk is cheap,” Kelley said. “Action would tell me far more about what they talked about than anything they said.”
Among the early-season losses were three games they had led by double digits, including a Dec. 17 defeat to defending region champion Lincoln County.
“I would say because of those early losses where we had games (almost) put away and didn’t finish them, we were kind of overlooked in the second half of the year because our record wasn’t as impressive as the other teams in our region,” Kelley said.
After the players-only dinner, the Colts squeaked out a win over Garrard County — not their best performance — but Kelley noticed a shift.
“I could tell they were trying to do things the right way,” Kelley said. “We were much more focused against Garrard County. From there it just took off.”
Kelley knew what he had. It was just a matter of getting it out of them on the court consistently.
“They played with a mindset and a purpose that last two weeks that I’d been wanting to see out of them all year,” Kelley said. “They realized, now’s the time. We have to do it.”
Part of West Jessamine’s strength was its determination on the boards. The Colts were among the state’s top rebounding teams at 37 per game, led by Winter’s 11.9, a mark that ranked him eighth-best in the state.
“We had good length, we were a good defensive team all year, and we were far and away the best rebounding team I’ve ever coached,” Kelley said.
They also had DeAjuan Stepp, one of the state’s top junior scorers at 20.8 points per game — the kind of player who could get or create a bucket for someone else in a difficult situation.
“(Stepp) was kind of the guy that made us go, but I think what made this team special is that of our top six kids — on any given night — any of them could be the leading scorer. There were no weak links out on the floor.”
Stepp knew he could score, but with two other players averaging double figures and another two capable, he could also focus on playing a complete game.
“If it came to stopping the best player, I tried to stop the best player,” Stepp said. “If we needed points, I tried to score, but just helping the team win.”
West Jessamine (21-11) rolled through the rest of its schedule with six straight victories, including a payback 63-53 win over East Jessamine for the 46th District title and a 78-64 victory over Danville for the 12th Region championship.
“It just felt amazing,” Stepp said. “Winning district, we did that before, but we’ve never won region in like 10 years.”
It was an experience Winter said they’d never forget.
“Just being a part of the team that was able to win the region when nobody believed in us (is what, he’ll remember),” Winter said. “And being able to come together as a team and play hard and have fun. We had fun every game.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 7:39 AM.
