Glenn Hills' "Formula" Continues to Work

Glenn Hills added two more wins to its undefeated region and regular season campaign this weekend.  The Spartans improved to 17-0 overall, and 4-0 in region 3B-AAAA action, after a 73-60 home win versus Cross Creek Friday and a 46-41 win over Stephenson in Saturday's Will Avery Invitational.  The Spartans have continued to use its tested formula of balanced scoring and stingy defense to stay a step (or two) ahead of region and area foes.

Coach Travis McRae described his straight forward and highly effective philosophy recently:  "If we play good team defense every possession and every night, we can win whether we play well offensively or not."  The Spartans proved the theory to be accurate Saturday, controlling the game despite scoring only 46 points.  And the players share their coach's passion for the defensive side of the court.  Senior Naquan Turner, a team leader, often shoulders the responsibility for defending the opponent's best guard.  McRae has credited Turner for slowing down some of the state's finest scorers, such as Aquinas's Ahmed Hill and Athens Christian's Will Jackson.

It is not surprising that a team that benefits from a unified focus on defense also benefits from unselfish, balanced offensive play.  Junior Aubrey McRae has stressed this mindset recently, emphasizing the fact that the Spartans have "lots of guys who can step up and have a big night."  McRae himself was that guy Saturday, scoring 20 of his team's 46 points.

McRae's depiction of his team's multitude of weapons proved as accurate this weekend as his father's theory of the importance of good defense.  Before Aubrey "stepped up" to help lead the Spartans to victory Saturday, fellow teammates Turner, Aaron Williamson, and Santo Nina scored 13, 13, and 11 points, respectively, in Friday's region win over Cross Creek.

A highly athletic, talented. and deep team is difficult to stop.  And one like Glenn Hills, which is also well coached and extremely unselfish, is the kind that has a chance to do very special things.

Watch the highlights from this weekend's victories above (versus Stephenson) and below (versus Cross Creek).