The Raider basketball team hopes some summertime hoops wins will translate into victories on the hard floor come winter.
Madison County finished up its summer schedule with a successful run of scrimmage games at a camp at Georgia College. The team played close to 30 times in June.
“We finished really well,” head coach Steve Crouse said.
Madison County concluded the Georgia College camp over the weekend with the highlights including wins over Oconee County Friday and Greenbrier Saturday.
The varsity team started the Georgia College camp with five-straight wins, while the junior varsity won four. Crouse said the level of competition in that span wasn’t what they’ll see in region play, but the wins boosted the team’s self-esteem. Madison County won just four games this past winter.
“So we’ve been getting some confidence in what we’re capable of doing … and getting our guys some good minutes,” Crouse said.
The success at Georgia College came after the team started with moderate results in scrimmages at Hart County, Jefferson, Commerce and Jackson County and then managed a 4-0 record in both varsity and junior varsity during a trip to a Piedmont College camp.
“That was pretty good for us,” Crouse said.
One encouraging sign this summer was the team’s shooting touch in the exhibition season. Crouse said the team remained pretty accurate from the floor throughout the summer.
The Raiders also demonstrated some progress in their man-to-man defense while the 1-3-1 zone “looked good,” according to Crouse. Defensively, the team’s full-court press paid off in some situations, particularly in a win over Jackson County.
Madison County also showed improvement from the free throw line. Madison County has shot below 60 percent at the charity stripe the last two seasons, but came up with some key makes during the summer.
“We’ve actually made some free throws in clutch situations,” Crouse said.
The coach said he’ll take the summer success for what its worth, but is happy with the time that was spent on the court.
“As a (coaching) staff, we’re happy; we’re not overconfident,” Crouse said. “We know who we’ve played against. But our kids have had a chance to work well.”
