Through the first week of the high school basketball season, the fifth-ranked Junior Jays have jumped to a 2-0 record with wins over tenth-ranked Papillion La-Vista and Norfolk.
The Junior Jays defeated the Monarchs on opening night in an overtime thriller. Senior forward Trinell Parker sealed the 53-51 victory by swatting away Monarch center Garin Maley’s potential game-tying layup, leaving the Papillion La-Vista crowd stunned. The Junior Jays led for most of the game, but a trifecta of three-pointers in the fourth quarter kept the Monarchs alive. Aside from Parker, who scored a game-high 23 points, neither team could get going offensively, with both teams shooting below 45% from the floor and below 25% from beyond the arc.
The Junior Jays followed up their offensive struggle with an 85-point outburst in an 85-37 victory over Norfolk. The Junior Jays got started right from the jump, scoring 23 points in the first quarter en route to an 18-point halftime lead. The lead only grew, as they outscored the Panthers 47-17 in the second half. The defense improved as the game continued, culminating in a 5-point fourth quarter for the Panthers.
Parker has emerged as the go-to guy on both ends of the floor. After surpassing 20 points only once last season, Parker has already done it twice through two games, scoring 23 and 24 on a 60% clip. Parker also leads with 6.5 rebounds per game, 2 blocks per game, and is second with 1.5 steals per game.
Through the first two games, the defense has stood out. Despite the slim victory, the defense swarmed the Monarchs, holding them to 36% shooting. Norfolk was held to 37 points, only the fourth time they’ve been held below 40 this decade. The defense has been highlighted by 24/7 intensity and full-court effort. Against Papillion La-Vista, the defense applied pressure to the ball handler in the backcourt and forced 18 turnovers. Against Norfolk, coach Josh Luedtke opted for a full-court press, trapping the ball in the backcourt, which worked tremendously.
The offense has played solid but has some noticeable issues. The offense’s main strength has been inside the arc. In both games, the Junior Jays have shot over 50% from inside the three-point line, largely due to Parker’s dominance.
Behind the arc, however, has been a different story. Against Papillion La-Vista, the Junior Jays shot 2/13 from the three-point line, while they went 10/23 against Norfolk. This could very well be due to experience though. Four of the eight Junior Jays who played against Papillion La-Vista were playing their first varsity minutes. Two of them, Ayuel Deng and Cooper Knight, were starting. The lack of experience, along with losing shooters like Carson Jones and Josh Kearney, could explain the three-point struggle.
Despite barely escaping Papillion La-Vista, this was a very successful week for the Junior Jays. The sophomores and juniors filling out the roster proved they could perform and Parker has looked like a star. While the offense looked inconsistent in the first two games, the defense has been elite and the Junior Jays have started 2-0. They’ve shown they can hold their own in gritty matchups against ranked opponents and have shown potential for a successful season.
