The South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets took to the courts recently to gain some valuable experience in pre-season JUCO jamborees and scrimmages prior to the official start of the 2019 – 2020 basketball season on November 1st.
The Lady Jets hosted the Joint Base Langley-Eustis Lady Raptors from Virginia and played a six period scrimmage that saw the 2019 Military Basketball Association Champion Lady Raptors take a narrow 75 – 70 win over the Lady Jets at the end of the four quarter regulation period.
The Joint Base Langley-Eustis’ women’s basketball team consists of women from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and military dependents. They were coached by former Jets standout Darnell Hobson. Hobson was a member of the Jets’ 2002 – 2004 squad and played under former head coach Chris Wade. He continued his education and athletic career at Edward Waters College in Florida. He came back for the SGTC Alumni Sophomore celebration in 2019 and was slated to play for the Black Team during the alumni game featuring nearly 30 former Jets and Lady Jets.
The Lady Raptors defeated a semi-pro team from Las Vegas in May 2019 to capture the Military Basketball Association Finals Championship trophy. They compete against local colleges and universities to train for the bigger tournament games.
“This is a time for us to learn and work,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “We did some things right and we saw some things that we still need to work on before the season starts.”
Frey was pleased with his three-point shooting. The Lady Jets hit over 40% of their three point attempts but he was not so pleased with the inside game. “Most of our big girls are freshmen and they have to adjust to college basketball. We need to do a better job of rebounding, blocking out, and putting the ball back up. We have got to communicate better,” said Frey.
The Lady Jets will have the opportunity to work on those details this week before they host Thomas University in another scrimmage on Saturday, October 19th. They will play at 1 p.m. in the Hangar.
And just like Coach Frey and the Lady Jets, Jets head coach Travis Garrett was experimenting to see what his starting line-up will look like by playing a lot of guys during pre-season scrimmages. The Jets traveled to Orlando, FL on Saturday, October 12th for the JUCO All-American Jamboree. They will go to Cochran on Wednesday, October 16th at 6 p.m. for a scrimmage against Middle Georgia State College.
“Our first time out, I played everyone in all three games so I could watch and evaluate them,” said Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “That was the goal last weekend. I wasn’t overly concerned about winning or losing. It was more about seeing the guys compete. With a lot of new faces, it was good to see and for them to understand the speed of the game.
“There were some bright spots especially from the returning guys,” continued Coach Garrett. “I now have a better idea going forward as we continue to prepare for Cape Fear in our season opener on November 1st. We play a very good Middle Georgia State team on Wednesday. They have a lot of upperclassmen so I am looking forward to seeing our guys compete and improve from this weekend.”
The Jets will travel to Emereson, GA, for CB Hoops JUCO Jamboree on Saturday, October 19th and then host Thomas University on October 22nd prior to the season opener in Wilmington, NC on November 1st in the Region 10/17 Tipoff at Cape Fear Community College.
