St. Joseph Catholic School’s Jerrian King, the Planters Bank Player of the Week, has extremely fast hands for a basketball player. King’s hands are so quick, in fact, that his head coach, James Hunter, has to go back a few centuries to find a relative comparison.
“If he were a gunfighter back in the Wild West, he would be the only one left alive,” Coach Hunter said.
King’s talent was evident early at St. Joseph. Last season, King started with the junior high basketball team, but he moved up to the varsity squad midway through the year, helping to lead the Irish to the MAIS Class 2A State Championship.
“He is a young player, but he is not afraid to put the team on his back,” Coach Hunter said. “He is also a great competitor and a player you want on your team. He is willing to do whatever it takes to help us win.”
While the Irish (8-6) may have had a few hiccups this season, King and his Irish still have a golden opportunity to do some damage in the postseason.
The Fighting Irish are scheduled to take on Manchester Academy Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in the semifinals of the MAIS District-4AA basketball tournament. The tournament will be played at Manchester Academy.
Manchester Academy has beaten St. Joseph twice this season with both games going into overtime.
“I am not sure what it is,” Coach Hunter said. “We tend to shoot ourselves in the foot when we play them. We just imploded, and I hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Undefeated Greenville Christian, the top seed in the tournament, is scheduled to play its semifinal game Thursday at 5:15 p.m.
