Around the Lynchburg area, boys basketball teams all know one thing: to have a chance against E.C. Glass, stopping O’Maundre Harris is key.
So far this season, no Hilltoppers opponent has been particularly effective when it comes to that goal. Thursday night was more evidence. Harris dropped 34 points in a victory over Amherst, marking a career high and knocking off another career milestone: 1,000 points.
With less than a minute to go, Harris drew a foul and stepped to the free-throw line needing just one point to reach the mark. Harris initially thought his shot might fall off the rim, but it went through the hoop instead and ensured he wouldn’t have to wait any longer to receive the commemorative basketball emblazoned with his name, the E.C. Glass logo and the words “1,000 points.”
“It’s a good feeling to hit it. I was happy about it. It’s a good thing to accomplish. Not many people can really accomplish that, but most of all, though, I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Harris said Friday. “… Really I give most credit to my teammates.”
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He spoke of his friends and classmates who ran through drills behind him during practice. Having been tested by teammates who offer relentless effort for years, now — and by recording extended hours in the gym on his own in the offseasons — Harris has become an offensive force to be reckoned with.
“Without putting the work in, I wouldn’t be at this point that I’m at right now,” said Harris, who is the first boys player in the area to reach 1,000 points this season. Two players hit the mark last year: Altavista's Stuart Hunt in his junior season and Virginia Episcopal's Walker Andrews in his senior campaign.
Harris' ability to drive to the rim or into the paint for mid-range jumpers has been present for years, but he said his shot has improved recently.
Harris pointed Friday to his 3-point shooting ability as a factor in his increased scoring output. A season ago, he averaged a more-than-respectable 20.6 points per game. Through 16 games in the current campaign, Harris is averaging 26.1 ppg — a figure that balloons to an eye-popping 30.1 ppg in Seminole District play.
“I feel like I’ve gotten way better shooting 3s, so teams have to close out,” Harris said. “That gives me the opportunity to choose what I want to do.”
Harris has recorded three games this season with 30 or more points, and another 11 with 20 or more. In helping Glass to a 14-2 overall record and perfect 9-0 mark in the Seminole, Harris has failed to score 20 points only twice, but still reached double figures (11 and 18 points).
The latest milestone lengthens his career list of accolades that already includes Region 4D player of the year and first-team all-state honors — both achieved last year, the second season of Harris’ varsity career that also includes a pandemic-shortened sophomore campaign, which made the hill to climb to 1,000 points that much steeper for Harris.
But those awards and the most recent addition to his resume don’t matter so much to Harris at the moment, he explained.
Harris said although he and coach DJ Best talked about setting his sights on 1,500 career points now, the two are focused instead on what heights the team can reach.
“It’s a really good accomplishment. I’m proud of myself for it,” Harris said of the 1,000-point milestone, “but I feel like last season we came up short against Loudoun County [in the state quarterfinals], and that’s something I’m looking forward to [righting]. We have to go further. It’s like mandatory for us to go further than we did last year.
“Now I’m at the point where the points don’t matter to me anymore. I just want to win a state championship.”
COLLEGE SPORTS
Randolph to add two teams
Randolph College announced Thursday it is creating a pair of new athletic teams that will begin competing in the 2024-25 academic year. Men's volleyball and women's STUNT, a sport that incorporates skills derived from cheerleading, will become the 19th and 20th varsity programs at the school.
Men's volleyball will compete at the NCAA Division III level, joining at least 115 other DIII schools to offer the sport, according to a Randolph news release. Four Virginia schools in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (Eastern Mennonite, Randolph-Macon, Roanoke and Virginia Wesleyan) already offer the sport.
STUNT — which features head-to-head competition between teams who do skills-based partner stunts, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and tosses, and team routines — will compete under the USA Federation for Sport Cheering governing body. Randolph will become the only school east of the Appalachian Mountains and south of New Jersey to provide the varsity sport, according to the RC release.
