Young St. Andrew's team opens state tournament run
St. Andrew’s boys basketball enters the MHSAA state tournament with one of the field’s youngest rosters. Despite that and dealing with several key players balancing a state tournament run in soccer and key injuries, the Saints have put together an impressive season and finished second in their region behind 2A’s top-ranked team in Pelahatchie.
St. Andrew’s is led by some key youth in their program including starters freshman Warwick Alley, junior William Johnson, sophomore Bryant Weatherspoon, sophomore Justin Willis, and sophomore Jeffery Willis.
“We are one of the younger teams in the area with only a couple of seniors and starting multiple sophomores and a junior,” St. Andrew’s Head Coach Russell Marsalis said. “We have had some inconsistencies this year because of that, but we have came out and played hard every night and these guys are laying a foundation for a successful program both now and going forward.”
The Saints do have two seniors on their roster and senior Drew McDonald is the first man off the bench for St. Andrew’s. McDonald suffered an injury in the midst of region play during the regular season, but has been a leader for this young St. Andrew’s team and has provided a strong offensive spark off the bench for the Saints.
“We really love Drew (McDonald) and what he brings to our team, not only because of his scoring ability, but also because of his great leadership,” Marsalis said. “Being one of only two seniors on the roster for us, he is like a coach on the floor for us.”
St. Andrew’s also has several basketball players who have also been key pieces for their soccer team that has made a run to the state semifinals and could be playing for a state title this weekend. For example, during the last week, the players who play both soccer and basketball played in the state soccer tournament on Tuesday, the region basketball semifinals and championship on Thursday and Friday, and then picked up a quarterfinal win in the state soccer tournament again on Saturday.
“It’s just unreal what some of our guys have been able to do, with balancing both sports and still being able to be very successful while balancing both sports,” Marsalis said. “Those guys that we have that play both actually start or play a lot for soccer as well, so it’s just a testament to those guys and I am proud of their efforts in both sports.”
The Saints will take on Amite County in the first round of the MHSAA state tournament at home on Tuesday night and opportunities like this will only help the potential and trajectory of the program both now and going forward.
“I’ve been proud of the team we have this year, they just continue to fight,” Marsalis said. “The more of these games we play later in the season, that just builds their confidence up and continues to make us better as a program.”