Long before Hudson Roberts became a sweet-shooting sophomore and even a six-shooting southpaw Thursday, he had to hear from a straight shooter.
Roberts was finding it a disadvantage during his formative years to be ambidextrous, until meeting his shooting coach, famed juco hoops guru Tom Barr out of West Plains.
“I was a horrible shooter when I was younger,” Roberts said “I didn’t know what hand to shoot with. One shot would be right-handed and the next shot would be left-handed. I had to get with coach Barr to figure out which hand I was. He decided I was left-handed. ‘Shoot with your left hand,’ that’s about all I remember him saying.”
Left was the right choice, as Roberts proved once again Thursday during his 23-point night in Ozark’s 73-44 rout of Carl Junction.
Roberts netted six 3-pointers. He made all four of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter, as the Tigers enjoyed a 17-0 to turn a 38-24 lopsided contest into a 55-24 blowout.
Roberts considers himself right-handed in everyday life, but primarily a lefty in sports.
“My right hand is definitely stronger,” he said. “I hit in baseball left handed and I write left handed. But I’m mainly right handed. I throw a baseball right-handed and I’ll go to dunk right-handed. When I shoot right-handed, it’s not that bad, at least from my standards. But it might not look too good to other people.”
Actually, there isn’t a shot Roberts can take that currently doesn’t look good from an Ozark perspective. He’s burst upon the scene in a big way this season with scoring outbursts of 38 points, 34 and 28 twice, a game-winning, buzzer-beater at Branson and his six treys Thursday.
“I think one reason he’s shining so bright is he knows we have every bit of confidence in him,” coach Mark Schweitzer said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt in his mind when the ball is going up (it's going in). Hopefully, we’re helping instill that (confidence) in him. He’s got it in himself. He’s just different in that area. It’s just a quiet confidence he has.
“He’s going to be a really good one,” Schweitzer added. “Sky is the limit for him.”
Schweitzer first saw Roberts play in the seventh grade and immediately envisioned him making his varsity debut a few years later.
“When we watched him in junior high, I knew he was going to be a sophomore starter, at least that’s what I thought would happen,” Schweitzer said. “If I didn’t have such a loaded senior class last year, he could have pushed for (playing time) as an outside shooter as a freshman. But I thought a jayvee year was good for him.”
Roberts played at the jayvee level last year alongside most of the players who make up Ozark’s regular rotation this season. They’ve meshed into a hard-charging bunch that now has won seven of its last eight games.
Ozark (11-13 overall and 4-3 in the COC) also received double-figure scoring Thursday from Jace Whatley, Garrett Ballard and Ethan Sutherland.
Whatley had nine of his 14 points in the first half and also figured prominently in another dominant rebounding night by the Tigers. They had six offensive boards in the first half.
“We’re outrebounding our opponents during this (eight-game) stretch by a very wide margin,” Schweitzer said. “We made the lineup switch to go bigger. But I think you have to start with Ballard. As a guard, he’s providing a lot of help with rebounding. He’s getting multiple offensive rebounds a game. Jace is leading the charge on the boards. He’s such a strong rebounder and has a nose for the ball. Cohen (George) is using his size and (Jake) Garner, when he comes in, is also using his size.”
After upsetting Republic earlier this week, Ozark suffered no letdown. Schweitzer felt it helped provide motivation that Thursday was ‘Senior Night.’
All four of the Tigers' seniors scored. Buckets by seldom-used senior backups Tevin Borders and Landon Clark drew the biggest applause from Ozark’s student section.
“They are two of the best teammates you’ll ever find,” Schweitzer said, “I thought part of the reason why we played so well is everybody wanted to get those guys minutes.”
Roberts voiced his appreciation for all the seniors — Ballard, Sutherland, Borders and Clark.
“They bring something special to us,” he said. “They mean everything to this team. We wound’t be the team we are without them and the leadership they bring. They’ve been mentors to us throughout the whole season.
“We’re rolling,” Roberts added. “We’re a way better team than we were in November and December. We knew we could get here and we knew what it would take. We’re on the right path and hitting our stride. People better watch out for us because we’re coming.”
Regarding the Class 6 District 5 seedings meeting Wednesday, Schweitzer suspects Ozark’s trip to Joplin on Tuesday could have a big impact on the Tigers’ fate.
Nixa (23-0) is assured of the No. 1 seed and figures to be followed by Kickapoo (16-7), Republic (20-3), and Neosho (18-5). The Chiefs get credit for facing the toughest schedule of all District teams.
Central (14-8) may be the No. 5 seed based on wins in December against Carthage and Ozark. The Bulldogs haven't lived up to their early-season hype. They own only four wins against teams with a winning record and are 1-7 in their last eight matchups against teams with a winning record.
As for the sixth through eighth seeds, Joplin (14-9) would seemingly lock up the sixth seed and could even rise to the fifth seed with a win against Ozark. The Eagles have won six of their last eight games, but were dealt 26-point losses by both Nixa and Kickapoo.
Carthage (13-10) won 73-67 at home in mid-January versus Ozark and lost by only a 66-64 count to Nixa last week. The Tigers don't own a win aganst a marquee opponent by any stretch of the imagination.
Ozark’s 7-1 stretch includes victories against five teams with 15 or more wins. On the season, the Tigers have played 17 teams with a winning record and Joplin will make 18.
Under the right circumstances, it's conceivable Ozark could vault as high as the sixth seed.
“We’re still fighting for a District seed,” Schweitzer said. “We’re making a really good case to move up the seeds board from what people had us pegged at. Neosho and Carthage play head to head Tuesday while we play Joplin. Those two games are going to be very large in determining who is going to be matched up with who.”
Ozark 73, Carl Junction 44
CARL JUNCTION (44) — Warren 0 2-2, Vediz 4 0-0 11, Hocut 2 0-0 4, Bard 0 1-4 1, Pant 3 3-3 10, Perkins 1 0-0 3, McAfee 4 3-3 11, Kennedy 1 0-0 2.
OZARK (73) — Whatley 5 4-8 14, Ballard 5 0-0 11, George 2 2-2 6, Roberts 7 3-3 23, Sutherland 3 1-2 10, Engel 1 0-0 3, Garner 1 0-0 2, Clark 1 0-0 2, Border 1 0-0 2.
Carl Junction 11 12 5 16 - 44
Ozark 17 21 25 10 - 73
3-point goals - Roberts 6, Sutherland 3, Vediz 3, Pant, Perkins, Ballard, Engel.
