Westside boys basketball not shying away from talk of a 4th straight title

When Westside principal Dr. Tikki Middleton mentioned a three-peat state championship during last year’s back-to-back title celebration, it sounded like the right thing to say in the moment. 

Not necessarily because a three-peat was considered likely. After all, more than 70% of the Patriots’ offense was headed out the door due to graduation, so must pundits didn’t think it would be in the cards.

Therefore, the principal’s comments, at the time, seemed to be merely a polite nod to Westside’s success. 

Of course, Westside took home the Class AA boys basketball state crown for the third straight season this past March — doing it in more dominant fashion than the previous two. So even though more seniors like 4-year standout Demarco Middleton, Bobby Blackwell and Lavonta Ivery are graduating — and despite coach Jerry Hunter’s half-joking plea to his principal to not mention anything about a fourth straight title, Dr. Middleton couldn’t help herself. 

“As I close, I use the phrase that I’ve used at the end of each of these celebrations,” she said during Westside’s championship ring and net-cutting celebration. “Why not be back-to-back-to-back-to-back state champions? Let’s do it again next year.” 

But here’s the kicker that even Hunter and Richmond County athletic director Scott McClintock will acknowledge — if Westside does it for the fourth straight year, despite graduating solid seniors and moving up to Class AAA, at this point, no one will be surprised. 

“Jerry has the blueprint,” McClintock said of Westside’s head coach. “Coach Hunter has the blueprint, and whatever he’s doing, it’s working. These kids have bought in to what Jerry has put together. They know what to expect when they come to Westside High School. And these kids know their role. They know what they have to do. They know the dedication and the amount of work they’re going to have to put in to become a state champion, and they’re doing it consistently.” 

McClintock may indeed be on to something regarding Hunter’s blueprint. While Hunter celebrates a third straight state crown with Westside, it’s his fourth basketball state championship overall as he won one with Laney in 2012. 

He walked away from basketball for a while and took on the arduous, unenviable task of building a winner in baseball at Laney before making his move back to basketball and Westside. 

Now, with four basketball championship rings to his credit, and a program with all the momentum in the world pushing its sails, Hunter isn’t shy about winning one for the thumb in the 2024-25 season. 

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Hunter said. “It’s about God’s grace to be here, and even now, the seed has been planted in their minds, and now the nurturing part of that seed is beginning. To be talking about a fourth one for them? I have four personally. It’s doable. I know it is because I’ve got four, and then, not to put my goals in front of theirs, but winning another for me would give me five. Not many teams have done what we’re doing or have the opportunity to do what we can do now.” 

It’s indeed rare as fewer than a dozen boys basketball programs in the history of Georgia high school sports have won three straight state titles. The challenge will stiffen as Westside will move to Class AAA next season and in a region with fellow Richmond County powerhouse Cross Creek. 

County McClintock as one who’s excited to see the strengthening of high school hoops in the area continue with the success of such programs. 

“For them to win three state championships in a row, it’s a testament to the community at Westside, the coaches at Westside and the parents. This doesn’t happen often. But now, it’s almost becoming common place. We’re putting out a lot of state champions in basketball in Augusta, Georgia, and, in my opinion, the road to the state championship in Class 2A and 3A starts in Augusta. You’ve gotta come through Augusta. For this community, it’s truly big.”

One reason why Hunter is optimistic is the offseason. Westside’s championship ceremony capped off the first of two GHSA mandated dead weeks where no school-sanctioned athletic activity can happen. This one came during the last week in May with another dead week coming the week of the 4th of July holiday.

But on June 1, Westside basketball went back to work. And with a cast of talented players such as seniors Jarious Adkinson and Adrian Jones and juniors Dontrell Jackson, Javan Webb and Kerri Atwell returning, Hunter says there’s a lot to be excited about with this next version of Westside basketball.

“I’m glad to close this book, or should I say, move on to another chapter,” Hunter said. “Because the energy’s there, and we had the chance to get right back to it June 1 which means we’ve now got the entire summer to prepare. We’ve never had a whole summer to prepare for another one. So now we’re ahead. But we can’t be lazy. We gotta treat it like we’re behind.”