As one of the school’s most prolific scorers ever, Gerald Glass played on some good Amanda Elzy teams in the mid-1980s but never won a state championship.
In fact, Glass has never won a championship at any level of his basketball career, including four years in college and four in the NBA. So now as the head coach at Elzy, Glass says bringing the first state title to his alma mater would make things even more special.
“It would be a great story because I am living my dream through these guys,” said Glass, a 1985 Elzy graduate who played two years at Delta State before transferring to Ole Miss. “I can’t even explain how big that would be. It would also be a huge boost for our school and our basketball program.”
The third-year Elzy coach can take the first step toward that Monday if the Panthers (25-5) win against Laurel (23-7) at 8 p.m. in the MHSAA State 4A semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. The winner advances to Friday’s 8:30 p.m. championship contest against the winner of Monday’s Corinth-Bay High game.
Glass has seen the Panthers improve in each of his first three seasons and believes this group has what it takes to bring home the hardware.
“I feel like we will handle the big stage pretty well. Our guys have been pretty level-headed all season. We’ve been ranked first in 4A most of the season, and the guys never let it go to their heads,” Glass said.
Making their first trip to the Big House in 10 years, the Panthers are looking to rebound from a tough 74-71 loss to Corinth eight days ago in the North 4A finals that ended their 12-game win streak.
Laurel, making its first trip to Jackson since 2008, comes in riding a seven-game win streak after beating Bay High 44-38 in the South 4A finals. The Golden Tornadoes only average 54 points a contest but win with tough defense and disciplined play.
With one 6-foot-7 and two 6-6 players, Laurel will be the bigger of the two teams and one of the biggest Elzy has faced this season.
The Panthers will counter in the paint with 6-8 junior center Janarius Middleton, who averages 15.3 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks a contest.
The size difference doesn’t worry Glass, though.
“We’ve just got to play our normal game, use our pressure to force turnovers and run the floor. Hopefully, we can tire out their bigs and get them in foul trouble,” Glass said.
The Panthers, who have scored 90 or more points in eight games, average 75 points per game. They have more offensive weapons than most high school teams. Outside of Middleton, they have three other players averaging more than 15 points a contest: senior guard Larry Johnson (15.1), junior forward Rahkeem Lehaman (15.4) and sophomore guard Maurice Dunlap (16.1).
While the offensive numbers are impressive, senior guard Jalen Jones says it’s on the defensive end where the state tournament will be decided.
“We’ve got to play hard-nosed defense and really crash the boards to reach our ultimate goal,” Jones said.
Laurel’s top three players are senior guards Ladarius McCarty and Trindin Darby and junior center Deshon Bayless. McCarty is the lone player averaging in double figures at 10.7.
n Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 to bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
