Athlete Spotlight: Denzel Garrett & Myles McDavid

Myles McDavid and Denzell Garrett have taken turns leading Grovetown High School's first boys basketball team.

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An ankle injury slowed Garrett to start the season.

The Warriors speedster was trying to step around a teammate during a fast-break drill in practice when he rolled his ankle. A visit to the trainer didn't reveal any serious problems, but Garrett's ankle was swollen the next few weeks and ankle braces hampered his movement.

While he was limited, Grovetown's scoring load was carried by McDavid, a sophomore.

McDavid had a huge second half to beat county rival Lakeside, and showed an ability to score in a variety of ways.

But Grovetown wasn't playing the way the team or coaches would have liked. The Warriors were playing competitively, but were frustrating coach Casey Dees at times.

A turning point came midway through December. The team and coaches held a two-hour discussion to air everything on their minds. They talked about what they were doing wrong, how they could improve practice and compared their solid play during the summer with what they did to start the season.

"I guess a lot of people got stuff from that," Garrett said. "And we went out there in practice and played better."

Garrett's ankle healed about the time the Warriors played host to Greenbrier a second time. His breakout game came at previously undefeated Josey on Dec. 14. Garrett scored 24 and the Warriors won 56-51 in overtime.

Grovetown had regained a capable scorer and someone who could spark the fast break. And as a team, the Warriors had cleared a milestone.

"I think we see now our possibilities for having a good season," said McDavid, who came to Grovetown High after spending three years in Germany. "We can play with any team out there. We just have to find that drive."

McDavid said he didn't feel he needed to carry the scoring load with Garrett hurt. It just came naturally.

"I just went out there to play the game," McDavid said. "I wasn't really looking to be the man."

The role found him, anyway, despite his underclassman status.

At Lakeside on Dec. 4, McDavid picked up three early fouls and was benched for much of the second quarter. The Panthers led at the half.

McDavid was sent back on the floor to start the third quarter and went off, scoring 17 of his 20 points the second half. And the Warriors came back to win. The victory was the first boys basketball victory in the school's brief history.

"I had to come back strong," McDavid said after the game.

The Josey victory soon trumped the win over the Panthers, at least for importance to the season. Garrett said the Warriors were starting to play together, that the lessons learned from summer camp were taking hold.

"The chemistry between us is getting stronger," Garrett said. "We play like a family, basically."