Leopards rush to prepare for Rabun

This week in practice the Leopards’ goals are to slow down and look for the open man, work on shot selection as well as rebounding and passing drills. According to Ruth, one of the biggest factors in Monday’s loss was players playing individual ball.

“If they done what we asked, I think we would have had a better chance,” said Ruth, adding that he is considering finding other players willing to follow the game plan if necessary.

“I will bring up JV players if I have too,” Ruth said.

While the scoreboard was disheartening for Banks County, Ruth did find a few bright points that will be positives in later games.

“We had good hustle,” said Ruth. “Our defense was fine, but we just had a lot of turnovers. We’ll work on ball handling and now we know what we need to do.”

The Leopards will have to work fast, as Banks County begins region play this Friday. Banks hosts Rabun County at 8:30 p.m.

Rabun is “loaded up,” according to Ruth, with several good players and key positions returning from last year.

Taken together, that could mean trouble for Banks as last years’ leading scorer, Ryan Griffin, graduated and primary ball handler, Kane Duncan, is no longer playing.

“Rabun is going to be hard to handle, they are going to be tough,” said Ruth. “Rabun should be one of the top teams in the region this year.”

The saving grace for Banks County will be team chemistry, if the Leopards can find it. Ruth said that during practices he is going to move people around and look for the best fit for the players and once the chemistry is in place, the Leopards can follow the game plan and start bringing in wins.