Austin Jones and 3A semifinal star showings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='3353427' first='Austin' last='Jones']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two games decided inside of Red Bank High School Tuesday night were Alcoa/Signal Mountain and Red Bank/Heritage. Read about the offensive stars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2281200"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69a7950eec7bb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>3/3/26:</strong> Like usual, Jay put the sphere in the circle. "He played good," said Alcoa Head Coach Ryan Collins afterward. "He did a great job of earning touches inside. He is playing better defensively. He is rebounded it. I think he has had 3-4 double-doubles in a row." Kirk will play beyond high school. This 17u summer will be important and then of course that senior year too. "He shows brilliance in spots and sometimes you will watch a play and wonder if he is playing hard. But he has all of the tools." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2477739"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69a7950eec84b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>3/3/26:</strong> Despite Heritage's tremendous on-ball and off-ball defense Tuesday night District MVP [player_tooltip player_id='2477739' first='DJ' last='Wilbur'] routinely carved a path to the basket. The senior's career was building up to this critically important game. For all of the team's success and all of Wilbur's individual accolades a Regional Semifinal loss was certain to be gravely disappointing conclusion to 2025-2026. Red Bank opened up a bit of lead late in the second quarter (27-22) with spirited and frenetic defense. Wilbur was aided by a team full of feet-movers. One of DJ's best moments came midway through the third quarter off a pick'n'roll along with [player_tooltip player_id='2684092' first='Mike' last='Alex']. Wilbur curled to his left and slung a side armed lefty pass to a slashing Alex for two. DJ made one of his two free throw attempts in the final 20 seconds, which left the door open for Heritage to tie or win at the horn.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1497432"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69a7950eec89c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>3/3/26:</strong> Man, what a tremendous shooter! Eli was face-guarded all night and still torched Red Bank. The 6-foot-5 senior committed to Trevecca Nazarene University early last month. District MVP [player_tooltip player_id='1497432' first='Eli' last='Williams'] buried an important three-pointer late in the second quarter to draw Red Bank/Heritage square at 27-27. Over and over again Eli showed off a beautiful feathery touch. Even his misses in tight found the bottom of the net after some tender bounces. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["3353427"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69a7ab41c2992"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>3/3/26:</strong> First-year Red Bank Lion [player_tooltip player_id='3353427' first='Austin' last='Jones'] did not play flawlessly Tuesday in Red Bank's win over Heritage, but he did enough. Austin truly blossomed as a basketball player in the last couple of months as he attacked the offensive glass with terrifying power, slashed through defenses, and just figured out paths to offensive success all while giving District MVP [player_tooltip player_id='2477739' first='DJ' last='Wilbur'] space to create too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Austin is just a plus-athlete that continues to improve his basketball I.Q. It expands his game from a run-and-jump guy to a deep-thinking creator.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2957067"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69a7ab41c29fb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>3/3/26:</strong> Most of [player_tooltip player_id='2957067' first='Marcus' last='Jones']' contribution Tuesday night came in the form of defense on super scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1497432' first='Eli' last='Williams'] Heritage. He was not locking him down, but he played him close and made Williams work for his points. Then with three minutes left in the critical game Marcus took two massive shots and made both. First, he completed a baby hook in traffic. Almost right after he pulled up for a 20' three-pointer from the wing...a shot that is not typically "in his bag" and dropped in through the halo. Big, big night for Marcus in a game that truly mattered. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->