Olive Branch has its eyes set on a gold ball
After Olive Branch took care of business against St. Benedict on Senior Night, all of the senior basketball players took pictures with their friends, family members and people who have watched them this season and in the past. Once pictures…
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Continue ReadingAfter Olive Branch took care of business against St. Benedict on Senior Night, all of the senior basketball players took pictures with their friends, family members and people who have watched them this season and in the past.
Once pictures were done being taken, everyone still in the gym decided to take a bite of pizza, wings and cupcakes that were being served. Everyone was in good spirits. Everyone smiled and everyone had a conversation going on somewhere in the gym.
Yes, the ‘Quistors dismantled the Eagles, 70-48, and senior wing Cameron Matthews converted on a windmill dunk in transition after getting a steal at mid-court. Senior point guard Wes Taylor had an easy one-handed dunk in the open court, but Olive Branch still has more basketball left to play.
The ‘Quistors, who are led by Matthews, Taylor and senior guard Kyron Pleas (19 points against St. Benedict), are hopeful the 2019 season will end with a gold ball.
That’s the one thing that has been on Olive Branch head coach Eric Rambough’s mind since the end of last season. He hasn’t forgotten about the moment the ‘Quistors walked off the court as MHSAA 5A State Tournament Runner-Up to last season’s state champ Center Hill.
Rambough lost sleep over the defeat, and each time he thinks about the loss, his face turns red while he tilts his head slightly to the right.
“We really haven’t talked about it this year. We talked about it a little bit after last year, about the things down the stretch that we weren’t doing as a team,” Rambough said. “It haunts me. It haunts me every day, because we shouldn’t have lost that game. It haunts me, and it drives me to push these guys harder every day.
“And sometimes, they look at me like ‘What’s your deal? Why are we going so hard?’ But for me, we have to make up for what we did last year. When I tell you it haunts me, it haunts me, and I don’t want that feeling again.”
Rambough is willing to go the distance to prepare his team for a MHSAA 6A State Title run.
“If I have to over prepare, I’m going to do it, Rambough said. “If I have to push these guys hard, I’m going to do it. I want to get every last drop out of these guys. And if we’re not the better team, and we don’t win it, I can live with it if we’re not the better team, but last year, I still feel like we were the better team.
“We just blew it, and I have to fix it. We have a good thing going here. We have young kids coming back next year, so I think we’re going to be good for years to come, so we just have to keep building and getting better.”
Taylor, Pleas and Matthews are used to the grind of playing for a state title. They won a 5A state title as sophomores alongside Joe Cooper, DJ Jeffries, Kevin Allen, Josh Stephenson and Shemar Brown. Taylor, Pleas, Matthews, Cooper, Stephenson and Jeffries led the school back to Jackson, Mississippi, where Olive Branch fell short, despite 27 points, 13 rebounds and four assists from Jeffries.
This year, the ‘Quistors still have Taylor, Pleas and Matthews, along with senior guards Brandon Wade, who had 16 points Monday night against the Eagles, and Cedric Kitchens. Olive Branch also has sophomores Landen Jeffries, Terry Joyner Jr., and Jaden Webb.
Joyner (6-foot-6) and Webb (6-8) lacks experience, but gives Olive Branch much-needed size. Rambough will rely on both players – plus Jeffries – to contribute from now to March.
“All of the young guys are going to be important for us coming off the bench,” Rambough said. “Terry starts, and he’s capable of getting 20 a night. They make us a deep team. If we get in foul trouble, we can rotate some guys. We can still keep attacking and doing the things we do.”