Is he back? Dougherty needs Jai’on Burns
By Joe Whitfield
Sports Editor
ALBANY – Is he back?
Dougherty senior Jai’on Burns put on a show during the second quarter of Friday night’s game against No. 3-ranked Monroe. The 5’10 guard put 12 points into the basket during the quarter, stole the ball for layups and gave Monroe fits as the Trojans pulled away for a big lead and never trailed against their arch-rival and one of the best teams in Georgia.
“We have all been waiting for that Jai’on to show up,” said Bryant. ” We are heading into the region tournament and now is the right time.”
As a sophomore and junior Burns wowed Dougherty fans with incredible ball-handling skills, speed, and three-point accuracy. He is one of the reasons Head Coach Bakari Bryant set goals that included a state championship this season, But Burns got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the season and has not been a serious factor in many of Dougherty’s games this season.
It hasn’t hurt the Trojans often that Burns was not as effective. The Trojans get plenty of points from the backcourt duo of brothers Kaleke Singeltary-Jinks and Jawuan Jinks, Jr. The emergence of super-talented shooters such as Jeremiah Kitchens and Jaccoby Barron has also mitigated much of Burns’ loss of production.
However, if you saw Friday night’s second quarter, you understand that when Jai’on Burns is on his game, Dougherty takes things to another level.
On defense Friday night he handcuffed the talented guards of Monroe and stole the ball for at least two easy layups. He hit back-to-back threes from the corner right in front of that Monroe bench and put his team so far in front, that the Tornadoes never seriously got close.
His second half was not as productive, but he did his job. His team needs that Jai’on if the Trojans are going to reach those lofty goals set earlier in the season.
The Trojans (16-7) host Thomasville at Dougherty Tuesday night in Albany then play at Carver in Columbus on Friday to end the regular season.
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