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ABIGAIL DEAN
Athens junior point guard Elijah Williams (#3) drives up the court during the Bulldogs' game against River Valley on Dec. 8. Athens won 79-51.
02.15.18
It has been a remarkable turnaround.
The Athens Bulldogs started the season 0-3, then went to 3-9. Now, however, they sit at 11-9.
And now, Athens will look to finish the season strong with two games Friday and Saturday, both home in Charles McAfee Gymnasium. Friday night, Athens will face Alexander in its Tri-Valley Conference Ohio finale; Saturday, Athens plays Morgan in a game rescheduled from Jan. 16.
The eight-game winning streak — which has Athens riding high and with an opportunity to share the TVC Ohio crown — has a certain air of confidence around the Bulldogs.
If the Bulldogs can beat the Spartans on Friday, and conference leader Vinton County loses to Wellston, Athens can reach, at least partially, its preseason goal of winning the conference.
“If Vinton wins, this is a battle for second or third in the league; if Wellston wins and we win, we can share the title,” coach Mickey Cozart said. “We’re still playing like we’re going to win.”
The Bulldogs knew that the team they had wasn’t the one that was 3-9. Top to bottom, from Cozart to every player on the team, they all knew they were the team that is the hottest team in the conference.
Asides from some obvious changes to its play to change its fortunes — such as having better shot selection and those shots actually going into the basket — Athens has had one major fix: its defense.
One major change has been moving junior Logan Maxfield up top in the Bulldogs 2-3 zone. With that change, Athens has averaged 12.7 steals over its win streak. Maxfield himself has averaged 2.4 steals in that time.
“He’s so active up there,” Cozart said. “He’s got good hands.”
Moving Maxfield up in the defensive scheme has also had an effect on the Bulldogs’ offense. In forcing more steals and creating more turnovers in general, more fast breaks are created. With Maxfield up top, he is able to get out on the fast break more, an area where both he and the Bulldogs as a whole excel. Maxfield has scored 39 points off turnovers in the win streak.
Aside from Maxfield, the team has played better defense overall. A key to the zone defense the Bulldogs run is trapping, and they have been able to do that.
“We’ve just done our jobs better,” Cozart said. “You go out and do your job, things seem to go a lot more smoothly.”
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This story is part of a series of specially designed stories that represents some of the best journalism The Post has to offer. Check out the rest of the special projects here.