>> BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOL
The Baldwin High School basketball team has dominated Region 4 of Class 4A since realignment back in 2020, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
The Braves have gone a perfect 24-0 in region play since Dec. 3, 2020, including a 14-4 record against non-region opponents over the same stretch.
Head coach Anthony Webb attributes the maintained success to the kids’ willingness to work on their game and their availability during the offseason.
“Most of the kids we have played over the summer, so we had a good offseason coming into this year,” Webb said. “Guys we have returning like Rudolph Satcher, Jacobi Nixon, Jordan Webb and Quamond Dennis have played since I’ve been here for about all four years. We’ve also got some younger guys with a little experience as well.”
To start the 2022 season, the Braves lost to Warner Robins by a point before handling both Central High School and Hancock Central by double digits last week.
Webb’s team predicates its success off its aggressiveness on the defensive end of the court.
Through three games, Baldwin’s defense is holding opponents to under 50 points per game, on average, while the offense is scoring a little over 60 points per contest. The Braves only loss so far has come against the Demons in the season-opener, and that came off a last-second shot.
Webb believes that game will fuel his players’ determination the rest of the season, and they will enter region play as strong as they have in years prior.
“In our first game against Warner Robins, we only dressed nine kids, so we were playing a little short-handed,” Webb said. “We lost on a lastsecond shot, but I think we’ve grown from that. We’re slowly finding our identity. We’re usually a fast-paced team, and we still are, but we’ve got some young guys that we’re trying to get ready for moments like that.”
Even with the close loss, Baldwin hasn’t seen many close games when it comes to region matchups. The Braves haven’t lost a region game since 2019, and there’s only one new team in their region this year.
Rutland was replaced by Griffin High School to complete the seven-team group of Class 4A, Region 2.
Webb is used to the success but acknowledged that they are a new team starting a new year and anything can happen.
“The region is going to be tougher than people think this year. I’m pretty sure Griffin has a veteran squad returning and has been playing well so far,” Webb said. “A lot of other teams are returning some guys, so it won’t just be a cake walk. We’ll have our work cut out for us but hopefully things will fall into place.”
Baldwin’s first region game is against Howard on Dec. 8, and they won’t have another until a week later when the Braves host Spaulding High School.
In between, Webb scheduled tough non-region opponents like Tucker in hopes to better develop his team’s tenacity and awareness in big moments.
“Their head coach is actually from Milledgeville, so we’ve talked in the past about possibly playing each other,” Webb said. “Their team is a lot like ours, and both programs are just trying to get each other ready for the long haul.”
Overall, Baldwin controls its own destiny and has the opportunity to make a deeper playoff run if they can continue to play their game.