Montgomery Madness: Small Forward Piles on the Points
Media by Abhijit Srirangam
Jason Montgomery, junior, prepares to take his free throw against Kirkwood Jan. 30.
Small forward Jason Montgomery, junior, dominates the basketball court with his offensive game as he currently has a total of 383 points this season over 19 games.
In the Mustangs’ most recent game against Kirkwood on Jan. 30, Montgomery scored 29 points, and the team won 58-57.
In the team’s first game this season, Montgomery scored 37 points against Troy Buchanan High School, only five points away from the current school record of 42 points in a game.
¨My dad played basketball and being around it all the time, made me want to play,” Montgomery said. “I obviously wanted to be like my dad.¨
Montgomery started off on the JV team his freshman year and came back to play on the varsity team the next year.
“I worked a lot that summer,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t start the first game and then I started the majority of the games after that.”
Eric Schweain, varsity basketball coach, has been Montgomery’s coach since his freshman year. Schweain is enthusiastic about Montgomery’s current ability as a mature player.
“He continues to evolve. He continues to develop. He’s a kid that loves the game. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who works harder at their game than Jason does,” Schweain said. “The race is still on to see how far he can still advance himself.”
Montgomery has faced many problems head on with the help of his coaches, both mentally and physically.
“Not playing well and losing games makes things hard, but pushing through it is really important is what I’ve learned,” Montgomery said. “Staying down, moping about it won’t help anything. That’s a really big lesson I’ve learned.”
Guard Blake Washam, senior, has seen Montgomery improve over the years.
“If we can’t get anything offensive, he’s basically the go-to,” Washam said. “He fits in with our offense because we move the ball, he knocks
Washam especially saw these abilities heighten over the summer.
“I think he’s gotten a lot better at defense and rebounding,” Washam said. “He’s definitely turned into more of a scoring threat because even when he’s off his shot, he can still get to the lane and finish at the basket.”
Montgomery said he wants to keep improving his skills so he can always play at his highest level.
“My work ethic has changed a lot over the years,” Montgomery said. “I just work harder, I love the game even more.”
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