Kingsway looks to make a statement in the Tri-County Conference
SWEDESBORO, N.J. — Just 32 seconds separated Kingsway from becoming Tri-County Conference B Bracket Tournament Champions on March 5.
Then-junior Colin Gill hit a two-point jumper to give the Dragons a 65-64 lead over rival Delsea in the championship game.
However, that lead and Kingsway’s postseason run came to a crushing end when senior Jimmy Reilly sunk a game-winning three-pointer with 10 seconds left to give the Crusaders a 67-65 win.
That ending left a sour taste in the mouths of Kingsway, but it’s been used as motivation coming into the 2021-22 season. The first game of this season has been circled for months now, a rematch against that same Delsea squad.
“We lost to Delsea last year and we got them our first game this year,” senior guard Jourden Keels said. “I feel like we have to come out that first game and make a statement so everyone in the conference knows what we’re about.”
Keels and the aforementioned Gill are part of a senior trio that is looking to wreak havoc on the Tri-County Conference.
The two are Kingsway’s featured guards coming into this season and will be relied upon both as players and leaders as the Dragons graduated six seniors last season.
“We all grew up as silent kids,” Gill said. “Now in practice, we have to talk more and become more vocal so that the kids that are quiet now can become leaders their senior year.”
Gill, the Dragons’ second-leading scorer in the spring, returns as the team’s leading scorer for his senior year, having averaged 11.9 PPG as a junior. He showed glimpses of just how good he can be, including a career-high 33 points against Williamstown on Feb. 12, one of three 20+ point games from him on the season.
While Gill broke out as a junior, Keels is expected to have a similar breakout season as a senior, returning as one of the best passers and perimeter shooters that Kingsway has on its roster. Keels also brings an elite defensive presence that third-year head coach Aaron Crispin raved about.
“(Keels) had an absolutely dominant defensive performance in the tournament semifinal guarding a really good point guard from Williamstown,” Crispin said. “For (Keels and Gill), we’re trying to figure out how their roles fit in as an offensive/defensive duo and build off that for this year.”
The third part of this senior trio is forward Ryan Richards, who didn’t see much of the floor as a junior with seniors Arthur Stone, Ben Toliver and Trevor Shorter playing in front of him.
However, with those three now graduated out of the program, Richards has a wide-open opportunity to showcase his talent on the floor.
“I just have to play a lot more confidently than I have in past years,” Richards said. “I have to make sure that I’m talking and doing whatever I can to make the team better, things like boxing out, getting rebounds and playing a lot of defense.”
Richards has been a perimeter threat for the Dragons, especially last season, and his shooting will be a crucial part of this team as Crispin has said that he’s looking to utilize his shooters more and play a more up-tempo style of basketball.
That benefits players like Richards who shoot the ball well from beyond the arc. He and sophomore Jahaan Green are the projected starting forwards for Kingsway coming into the season, leaving one spot left in the starting five, expected to go to junior Brandon Jackson.
Green and Jackson both are versatile players on the floor, able to play as guards or forwards and they fit in well to Crispin’s up-tempo scheme.
“I’m definitely looking to run with a smaller lineup, but I’ll still have in that lineup three guys that are six-foot or taller,” Crispin said. “We’re definitely going to be more perimeter-oriented which is how I prefer to play.”
There’s a palpable excitement around Kingsway coming into the season as this roster has a lot of chemistry, especially with a sizable senior class that has played together for the good part of a decade.
We’ll see all of that play out starting on Dec. 17 with that B Bracket final rematch between the Dragons and Crusaders.
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