Any coach will tell you that a key to a successful team is having good team chemistry. It is very important that players can play well together. For some teams building that relationship takes a few years but the Whitewater Wildcat basketball team had at least two players enter the program with that on court relationship already established.

J.T. Martin and Stephen Sargent entered Whitewater as sophomores after attending Jonesboro High School their freshman year. The two have played basketball together since they were around five years old. They have moved up through the youth leagues to middle school and high school basketball and also play on the Atlanta Celtics, an AAU basketball team, in the off-season.

Both players bring different elements to the game. Sargent at 6’11” is a force inside while Martin has primarily been known as an outside shooter. Sinced the end of the last high school season they have both been working on improving their overall games. Sargent has attended big man camps and is trying to become more of an offensive threat, while Martin has been working on driving to the basket and his mid-range shot. Both are very excited about the Wildcat’s prospects this year and next. There is still no senior class, meaning everyone will be back next year, and the majority of last year’s starters are back this season.

As the 2005-2006 high school season begins, Martin and Sargent are starting to receive interest from colleges. They have letters from schools such as Stanford, Florida State and Georgia Southern as well as the Army. While being interviewed, North Georgia College called to speak to Martin, who added that it was fairly typical to hear from a coach every now and then, as they are all trying to establish a relationship, within the legal parameters, as they narrow down their search and prepare to make pitches. Neither player has made a decision on where they would like to go just yet but Sargent is sure of one thing, he will enter the Armed Forces after going to college.

“Nearly everyone in my family has served in the military,” said Sargent, who added that he was introduced to the military at a very young age, by his late father, a crew chief on a Huey Helicopter in the Army and his grandfather, who served in the Air Force . “I have a debt to my country to serve,” Sargent said.

Martin plans on studying architecture, while Sargent plans on studying criminal justice and would like to be an MP in the Army. Those things are both still a ways off for the pair and the rest of the Wildcat team. While it is exciting to get letters from colleges and phone calls from college coaches, there are no individaul goals for either player. The focus for them and their teammates is on making the state tournament this year.

“Anything less than that would be a disappointment,” said Sargent.

Whitewater will play in a Thanksgiving tournament at Our Lady of Mercy on Friday and Saturday.

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