Future looks bright for Benedictine basketball team after Final 4 run
The Benedictine basketball team hadn't been to a Final Four since 1959, but the Cadets have now reached the state semifinals two years in a row under highly-regarded coach Frank Williams, who has led the program for the last four seasons.
The Cadets' season came to a close at Fort Valley State on Saturday as Holy Innocents beat BC 52-47. The Golden Bears are led by a 5-star prospect in 6foot-10 junior, Caleb Wilson, who has a host of offers including Duke, Kansas, Stanford, Kentucky, North Carolina and Alabama.
Wilson showed why he is so highly regarded as he scored 18 points with 14 rebounds and eight blocks in the win.
"Wilson is every bit of the player that everyone says he is," Williams said. "He has a high basketball IQ and controls the flow of the game on both ends of the court. We scouted them out pretty well and did a good job in the first half (BC trailed 22-21 at intermission), but they go to the line too frequently, and we just didn't get that timely outside shot or trip to the line when we needed it late. Against a real good team like Holy Innocents', we needed to execute better."
Benedictine countered with a star of its own in junior Caleb Jones, who had 20 points. La'Don Bryant, the senior headed to Northern Illinois as receiver in football, scored nine points in his final game and freshman Ejay Washington added eight points for the Cadets, who finished their season with a 17-8 record.
"Caleb (Wilson) is a phenomenal player," Jones said. "I've heard a lot about him and I know he's been all over the world playing basketball. He has a great feel for the game and is a lot to handle at 6-10 — he was really hard to stop."
Caleb Jones is also hard to stop. The talented guard averaged 27.8 points per game this year, which currently leads the entire GHSA in scoring across all classifications.
Jones said he was proud of how the Cadets battled with Holy Innocents' until the end, and of how they followed up the breakthrough run to the Final Four last season with another appearance in the semifinals.
"We had a great season behind a special group of seniors," Jones said.
"Guys like La'Don (Bryant), Houston (Jackson) and Rasean (Matthews) set a great example for the younger players — they know how to lead."
BC has a lot of talent coming back with Jones leading the way. Washington, the 6-5 freshman, improved with every game and averaged 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, numbers that should go way up next season. Look for CaRon Hall to come on strong as the 6foot-4 sophomore returns after an injury plagued freshman campaign.
"We've got a great nucleus of guards with Caleb (Jones), Ejay (Washington) and CaRon (Hall) that we'll be looking to get back in the gym to improve their games," Williams said. "CaRon and Ejay are both very promising players, young guard with great size who can handle the ball well. And we know that Caleb is going to be our bell cow. We're looking forward to see how he improves during his AAU campaign this year. We're going to try to get him stronger next year so he can withstand the physicality of the game he faces as the focus of defenses."
Jones said he is ready for the challenge and is looking forward to his final high school season with the Cadets.
"Next year, we want to be in the same position that we were this year," Jones said. "But we'll be even better. We want to win a state championship, that's the goal."