Old school ways working at Corner

The Game Plan By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News




Even before they take the court, the Corner Yellow Jackets show their Old School ways.

Sitting in the stands watching the Yellow Jacket’s girls play, the Corner boys’ team is dressed in dress shirts and ties. Definitely, Old School.

But, it’s when they take the floor, they really show off their Old School ways with their play.

The Corner Yellow Jackets basketball team is a throw back to a different era, when fundamentals and team play were stressed not show-boating and every players worrying about their scoring average.

Corner players know how to set picks, run off screens, block out for rebounds, find the open man and most importantly, give up the ball when they don’t have a good shot.

Yes, they’ll take the open 3-pointer when it’s there, but when a good look doesn’t come their way, these Jackets are quick to give up the ball and find the open teammate.

Just plain Old School.

You won’t find any “I’m-shooting-as-soon-as-I-get-off-the-bus,” ball hogs on a Billy Conner coached team.

Conner, who has only one senior to work with on this year’s team, may have surprised some people during the pre-season when he said, this club—with a roster dominated by players without much varsity experience—would win more games than his senior-laden team of a year ago.

Conner based his prediction on his club’s want-to. He told me this team showed the same type of desire to improve as many of his clubs that reached the regionals of the state playoffs from years past.

After capturing the Curry Christmas title on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets have won 11 times, which is well ahead of last year’s pace. By the end of January, they should surpass the victory total from last season.

Conner, who is closing on 400 career wins, knows how to mold a club, after 17 years on the sidelines and he’s molded this year’s team into an unselfish unit that plays hard on both ends of the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, these Jackets play defense with their heads and their feet, not their hands. They know when to help out on defense, when to trap, when to crash the boards and how to block out.

Old School all the way.

These Jackets play this way, because Jackets clubs have played this way since Conner has been walking the Yellow Jacket sidelines.

Coaching in Corner, he doesn’t get the attention of coaches at the bigger schools in the state, but he’s one of he best coaches you’ll find at the high school level.

He has taken the Yellow Jackets to the regionals several times over the years, and this current group has the look of an Old School club that may well play their way to the regionals early next year.