Cooper Jaguars start the season on a strong note
UNION, Ky. — When the Cooper Jaguars varsity boys basketball team faced the long-standing city rivals in the Ryle Raiders on Dec. 14, the Jaguars were not the favorites to win. The two teams were close in the standings, but the Jaguars were able to assert dominance over the Raiders and show the people that the early winning streak in the 2021-22 season is not something random.
Cooper basketball is ready for a deep playoff run, a consecutive district championship and the acquisition of a higher-ranked spot in Kentucky. The boys under Tim Sullivan鈥檚 coaching have been able to win five games and record only one loss. With the positive record of 360 points scored and only 289 points allowed, the Jaguars are at a league record of 3-0 and a winning percentage of 83% early in the season. They have first place in their respective section, district 33.
What鈥檚 even more interesting to examine is that the first loss came in the second game of the season during a close matchup against Saint Henry out of Erlanger. After the 54-50 loss, no one lost faith in the game plan of the team and the chemistry it built during the offseason.
After the loss, the Jaguars came back with two blowout wins against serious teams of the league, the first one against the Campbell County in a match that ended at 64-49, and the second one against Boone County which ended with the score of 72-37. From an analytical standpoint, these were the two wins that led the Jaguars to start an unbeatable streak, which was extended during the Tuesday evening meeting against the Raiders.
Another critical win occurred on Dec. 9 against Walton-Verona, a team that鈥檚 first in their own district and was only one win away from tying the record of the Jaguars. The latter showed why they are currently at No. 18 in the state of Kentucky and won by the score of 69-56.
The official account of Cooper basketball on Twitter congratulated the best performances of the night.
Highlights from our 69-56 win over Walton Verona. 27pts, 4rebs. 7pts, 9rebs, 3stls, 2asts. 13pts, 6rebs. 11pts 2stls
— Cooper Basketball (@cooperjagsbb)
Their twitter description might state, 鈥�33rd Dist. Champs- 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 9th Region Champs 2017 KHSAA Sweet 16 State-Finalists 2017,鈥� but don鈥檛 let this fool you. In the season that ended in March, the Jaguars were below average. With a final record of five wins and 11 losses, fifth place of the 33rd district and a winning percentage of 31%, the boys out of Union knew that some things had to change, especially if they were aiming for a higher ranked spot in Kentucky.
Frankly, they did change many things during the off-season. They participated in the Lawrenceburg Summer Shootout in June, going 6-0.
Jags finish up 6-0 over the 2 days to win the Lawrenceburg Summer Shootout. 馃弳 Young men grinded it out & WE grew as a team! Guys learning to play for one another & trust themselves! Finished up June at 9-3 while growing stronger as a family!
— Cooper Basketball (@cooperjagsbb)
The season doesn鈥檛 end in six games, however. As great as the early run of the Jaguars seems, it鈥檚 also crucial to maintain their composure, understand the game plans and the approaches that function and are efficient, as well as become more and more comfortable playing together. When they acquire such a natural approach to the game, we will be talking about one of the most average teams of a small city in Kentucky becoming a dominant powerhouse and a top-10 ranked team in the state.
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