Darlington's repeat road quite bumpy

The celebrations ended months ago. Now, what Darlington School boys basketball coach Nathan West put in front of his Tigers as defending GHSA Private boys state champions looks like a championship game each and every night.

That would include a preseason scrimmage Darlington played on Halloween afternoon at Van Es Arena against a solid south Georgia name on the hardwood, Tift County High. The Tigers won 61-56 giving the home crowd an advanced look at what Darlington plans to show several others all the way to March.

“That’s in the past. That’s history,” said West about Darlington’s first-ever state championship win in boys basketball — 53-50 over Holy Innocents’ at the Macon Coliseum — to end the Tigers’ season at 30-2. “It’s a new year. We have a new group. We have guys playing different roles. We have to put the history behind us and get focused on this year. I thought (the scrimmage) was a good start to that.”

West only lost three senior starters, two of which signed to play college basketball: Christian Teasley and Cam Selig. The other was Brent Bell. There were seven Tigers dressed out for the scrimmage who played on the championship team plus a few others who sat out the action.

West said the offseason was a matter of asking younger guys to step up into new and bigger roles and responsibilities. The schedule is going to put all of those adjustments to the test right away.

“We are going to do that with our non-region,” said West. “We are going to play in some tough environments and big games against some really good teams. Games like that will help us come February.

“The offseason was good. We just focused on us. It’s the first year we didn’t play in a fall league mainly because I wanted to keep us in house. We had a lot of individual work to do. We had to get in great shape.”

The biggest — literally and figuratively — move into the Darlington starting lineup is 6-9 sophomore Joseph Ogunyemi. It was clear in the Tift game that the plan was to get the basketball inside right away, but it’s also clear Ogunyemi will need to stay out of foul trouble. He had three in the first half but got through the second without a whistle.

“Big Joe’s done a good job,” said West. “He’s kind of slimming up some on his body, really focused on that and his conditioning. Obviously he’s going to have a bigger role for us. Trying to keep him on the court. I’m sure he’s in shape for that. It’s a process, takes a lot of time. You can practice against each other every day, and you are going to play against competition with different lineups. That’s how he’s going to learn.

“We rely on him a lot. We look for him to score when he has opportunities. But for us to be successful we are going to have to score by committee. We can’t rely on one or two guys.”

Darlington’s experience lies in the backcourt with D.J. Hall and Jordan Wilkerson. West said Ethan Hight, Grant Molnar and Nate Pitts had great offseasons after coming off the Tiger bench in 2025-26. They all played in the high-intensity environments in the state playoffs, but they now need to grasp on to their new roles.

“Jordan started every game last year,” said West. “Played a lot of minutes as a sophomore. The past two years, like for anybody else, were a learning experience. He’s going to have to handle the basketball more than he has in the past. He’s very coachable, a student of the game. He’s getting better as well.”

The Tigers displayed a lot of athleticism and teamwork against Tift. As Ogunyemi had six quick points, Hight earned an assist. The perimeter game took some time to warm up as the Tigers were 0-for-4 from the outside in the first four minutes. Darlington also trailed Tift by nine, 15-6, when Eduardo Ferri made the first 3-pointer at 3:08.

The Tigers ended the first period on a 6-0 run with Ty Lovingood scoring on the offensive glass and Hight beating the buzzer on a 3.

That tied the game 18-18, but the scoring run continued in the second quarter with Molnar connecting from a low-post assist by Ogunyemi. West saw two things a coach loves to see in the quarter, second chance scoring provided by Ogunyemi and two shot-clock violations by Tift County.

With another buzzer beater, this time a second-chance field goal by Molnar, the Tigers were up by nine, 31-22, at halftime.

“They like each other,” said West. “They’re unselfish. That makes a difference. You are going to win games in the locker room. You are going to win games on the bench. As long as they stay together, we are going to be fine.”

Darlington extended its lead to 14 early in the third quarter with Pitts making his first 3-pointer and Wilkerson scoring from a Hight feed. It was Wilkerson, Hight and Molnar padding the Tiger total as Darlington shot a high percentage in the quarter. It was so high that Pitts’ 3 at the 50-second mark stretched the advantage to 20, 52-32.

Tift County, down by 15, did some pressing in the fourth quarter that held the Tigers to just one basket made by Ogunyemi over five minutes of play. The Blue Devils pulled as close as five, 54-49, but then the Tigers got to the foul line for four points, and Hight had a clutch steal after a Tift takeaway with a seven-point advantage.

In addition to Darlington’s hard non-region slate, there’s the separate task of winning another region championship. This time it’s 6-2A with all of their Floyd County rivals plus Bremen and Heard County.

“All of those teams are going to be better,” said West. “Bremen’s well-coached and has a young group with another year’s experience. Heard County’s the same way. Model’s going to be really tough. They are all going to be challenges, all going to bring different lineups.”

The 2026-27 season opens for the Tigers at St. Pius X Nov. 19. West said it’s a small gym but a great culture that packs it out and is loud every game. The Tigers are at North Cobb Christian Dec. 12, then they will play in the 7 Hills Rotary Club Christmas Tournament before Christmas and at a tournament in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, after Christmas that the coach said will feature some of the nation’s top rated players.

So the state tournament should be a cakewalk by comparison? Absolutely not.

“Arguably, (Private boys) is the toughest playoff bracket top to bottom,” said West. “It’s loaded with talent, good coaches. We’re looking forward to getting better each day.”

This article was originally published in the Rome News-Tribune on Nov. 5, 2026.