The Latest Local News from the Cherokee County Herald
Cherokee County High School junior guard Joel Wester has a shooter’s mentality. If you miss a shot, then make the next one.
Wester’s misses were far and few between his makes throughout the 2014-15 basketball season. He averaged 16.8 points in addition to grabbing four rebounds and three assists in leading the Warriors (28-3) to their first Class 4A Northeast Regional appearance since 2010.
Wester’s performance on the court also garnered him recognition from the Cherokee County basketball coaches. They recently selected Wester as their All-County Most Valuable Player.
“That’s a great honor,” Wester said. “There are a lot of good players in the county, and to be selected from the coaches, that’s the best honor.”
Wester’s confidence in his shot developed early in the 2014-15 season.
In the Warriors’ second game against visiting Etowah, he drained the game-winning trey with 1.3 seconds remaining, giving Cherokee County an improbable 64-63 victory.
The Warriors were down by as many as 18 late in the third quarter.
That clutch shooting became Wester’s trademark. He also sank a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to rally the Warriors from seven down in the fourth quarter and on to a thrilling 62-61 victory over Saks in the sub-regional round of the playoffs.
“He came through when we needed it the most,” Warrior head coach and Joel’s father Neal Wester said. “He wasn’t scared to take the big shot, and he made it a lot of times. His outside shooting was the difference in a lot of games. It’s something he’s put a lot of time into, a lot of work, and it’s good when hard work pays off.”
The younger Wester gives credit for his clutch shooting to his teammates’ confidence in him.
“We have a great team,” he said. “We have 10 to 12 guys who play big roles. Everybody does their job. We just work well together. They make things easy for me. Even if I’m not shooting well, we still have a chance to win because we have other guys who can step up. There’s not as much pressure on me to score 20 or 25 points a game.”
Coach Wester said his son is also a great defender, which sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of his shooting.
“He’s kind of the quarterback of our defense,” Coach Wester said. “He covered up a lot of times when we had mistakes. He handles the ball well. He had very few turnovers. He shot the ball so well that it helped other guys get open too because they (opponents) had to pay attention to him.”
Joining Joel Wester from the Warriors on the All-County Team is three of his teammates.
Sophomore guard Quartez Henderson averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.5 steals per contest this season. Freshman forward Tyren Dupree delivered eight points, five boards and two steals. Sophomore guard Jacob Graves contributed four points, five assists and two steals.
Class 3A Sand Rock (21-10) also had four selections in senior guard Chase Garrett, junior forwards Joel Brock and Dakoda Mackey, and junior guard Caylon Simpson.
Garrett averaged 8.2 points, 2.6 assists and two rebounds per game. Brock posted 10.7 points, 9.8 boards and 1.2 assists. Mackey managed 10 points, 2.5 rebounds and an assist. Simpson had 9.4 points, 3.2 boards and an assist.
Class 1A Cedar Bluff (18-10) had a pair of selections in senior forward Devante Dixon and senior guard D’Shawn Fife. Dixon delivered 11 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 steals. Fife contributed 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals.
Class 1A Spring Garden also had two selections in sophomore forward Joe Rogers and freshman guard Riley Austin.
Rogers posted 11.6 points, 5.4 boards and a steal per game. Austin averaged 7.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 steals.
Sophomore guard Austin Slayton represents Gaylesville (2-16). Final numbers on Slayton were unavailable.
Source: Cherokee County Herald
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