DUBLIN, Ga. — If Trinity Christian goes on to win its first region title since 1989, a couple lifelong buddies will have something to do with it.
Their names: junior shooting guard Will George and senior point guard Henry Williams.
“Shoot, we've been friends for forever I feel like,” George said. “Been playing basketball since we were about three, juniors together, won a couple championships.”
In their region opener against Covenant Academy, Will dropped a season-high 23 points with five consecutive three-pointers made
Henry meanwhile surpassed 1,000 career points as a junior with the Crusaders and this year has only kept it up, averaging just about 20 points per game
The secret to their success? Riding the hot hand.
“When Will starts out the game sometimes he'll hit four in a row to start the game,” Williams said. “And when I get the ball off the rebound he's the first guy I'm looking for. So you just got to know what the guys are feeling, how they're shooting, and if I'm on I'll take it and shoot it myself.”
For Williams, senior year also meant stepping in to a senior-level role as point guard, running the team on and off the floor -- whether they like it or not.
“I mean it's been fun being the vocal leader, being able to express myself and do all I can do,” he said. “I think they like me, I hope. I'm not too mean.”
So how do you juggle being the leaders on the court, and the leaders in the classroom?
Hey, nobody said it would be easy.
“He's definitely the smart one so I'll have to give him that one but I try to get my homework in on time,” George said.
“You never hear anything bad from the teachers about them,” head coach John Williams said. “They do what they're supposed to do and they are role models as far as the student athlete is concerned. They work hard on the court, they work hard off the court most of the time and they try to do what's right.”
As the Crusaders enter the home stretch of the region schedule, there's no signs of slowing it down.
“We talk about it a little bit,” George said. “We try to focus on this being a big opportunity for us. We really just need to lock in and do the best we can each of those games.”