In Baldwin coach’s 2nd year, team is one win from first state title in 40 years
The Baldwin County Braves boys basketball team is one win away from capturing its first state championship in 40 years in the team’s first appearance in the title game since 1993..
It’s something that head coach Anthony Webb saw as a possibility when he took over the job in 2019.
“I don’t know that I expected us to have a chance in year two,” Webb said. “I knew it was a talented group of kids when I took over but it’s come together sooner than I expected.”
In Webb’s first season as head coach, he started a pair of juniors and three freshmen. The team finished 14-10 and was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round.
That year of experience for his freshmen helped them take the next step this season. The team is 16-0 and earned the region championship before winning four straight playoff games.
Webb said the best thing about this playoff run is that his team has survived some tough situations. In the semifinal game against McDonough, the Braves fell behind by double digits at halftime and trailed heading into the fourth quarter.
“I told them after the last game we needed that,” Webb said. “We didn’t have a lot of close games this year. We needed to have that adversity to see how we handled it. That Bainbridge game was tough. Hardaway came in here and pushed us. We needed those games.”
Before the playoffs, the Braves had just two single digit wins all season and have outscored opponents by more than 350 points this season. The team hasn’t trailed often, especially late in games. Webb said he told his guys at halftime of the semifinal game that they just had to keep chipping away.
Next up for Baldwin County is a matchup against Fayette County in the title game. The Tigers are 18-11 on the season but present some unique matchup problems for the Braves. The Tigers feature just one player under 6 feet tall. Their length is something that Webb says they haven’t really encountered this season and could pose a problem.
“They are lengthy and athletic across the board,” Webb said. “It is something we haven’t really faced this season and will be a challenge. But when you get this deep in the playoffs there isn’t an easy matchup.”
This season has been unusual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the Braves haven’t encountered a breakout, on their own team but have had games canceled or rescheduled. The season was also much shorter than a typical season.
Webb said he realized that they were undefeated and it was something that he was tracking, but when all the schedule changes started happening it got lost in the fray. He said he hasn’t really thought about being undefeated heading into the title game.
“I have been telling our guys since the playoffs started to just win and advance,” Webb said. “When you get in the playoffs it is win or go home. Your season ends with a loss. So I haven’t really thought much about an undefeated season.”
Webb admits that it would be special to cap an undefeated season with a state championship. It is something that he hopes will come to fruition on Wednesday in Macon against Fayette County at 7:30 p.m. at the Macon Coliseum.
He’s hoping for a favorable ending not just for himself as the second-year coach, but for the kids on the team, especially a pair of seniors who are only missing a state title from their otherwise impressive resumes, which include two region titles before Webb took over.
“It would be special for the city of Milledgeville, for Baldwin County and for all of Middle Georgia for us to bring home a state title,” Webb said. “But for me, I just want it so bad for these kids. They have worked hard all year and it would mean everything to get them a state title.”