Photo courtesy of Danny Joiner.
Cedric Lane singled out Freshman Colby Jones as a player with the potential to win “Mr. Basketball” in his career.
Cedric Lane is starting over at Pinson Valley.
Even if he weren’t in his first year as the high school’s head boys basketball coach, he would still be pushing the reset button.
The Indians graduated nine seniors off a team that won just three games in the 2015-2016 campaign, so a changing of the guard was coming either way.
“It’s a great fit for me,” said Lane, a three-time state champion coach at Wenonah. “I get a chance to start something fresh. We get a chance to build.”
That journey started in a big way in the season opener, as the Indians dropped 132 points on his former team, Jackson-Olin, on Nov. 8. Pinson Valley racked up 47 points in the first quarter and 84 through the half.
In order for the team to build off that success, the on-court chemistry will need to be developed, as the majority of the collection of talent does not have extensive experience playing alongside one another.
“Right now, we’re still working on our chemistry,” Lane said before the season. “We’re still trying to put some pieces together, because we’ve only got one back from varsity last year.”
Despite any presumed challenges, Lane made one thing clear.
“We expect to put a product on the floor that people can appreciate and a team you’ll have to respect,” he said.
The way he goes about reaching that goal is evident to his new group of student-athletes.
“He always wants us to go hard,” said shooting guard Jerell Willie.
“It’s very fast-paced,” freshman Colby Jones said. “We’re always pressing. He stresses us to go hard every play and every practice.”
Lane singled out Jones as a player with the potential to win “Mr. Basketball,” a statewide award given to the best player in the state each year. Although a ninth-grader, Jones has impressed his coach with more than just basketball skills.
“Colby is a special kid. I’ve coached several special kids. First of all, to make it to ninth grade and to have never made a B, that says a lot. Not to mention that he’s a really great basketball player,” Lane said.
Jones also plays saxophone in the band and has solid basketball genetics. His brother, C.J., is a freshman at Arkansas, while his father, Chad, played at UAB in the late 1990s.
How does he manage his time to be successful on and off the court?
“It takes discipline,” Jones said. “You got to cut certain things out, like TV and the phone. You got to study.”
Leadership will be the X-factor for Pinson Valley, according to Lane, and a young player like Jones will be needed to step into that role, as the Indians’ roster consists of primarily underclassmen.
“Our underclassmen are our strength,” Lane said. “We may only have one or two seniors start this year. That’s a good problem to have.”
