Male Athlete of the Week: Joel Melton

Few play with the speed of Centennial. The Golden Hawks fly up and down the court pressing the tempo on both offense and defense. 

 

"There is a method to our madness," said head coach Hernan Santiago who's team is 8-10 entering league play. "We call what we do organized chaos."

 

All that chaos set up their outside shooting. "I don't know i was just feeling it," said senior shooting guard Joel Melton. 

 

Joel Melton was feeling it. Wednesday night he scored 24 points against Golden Valley but every one of his shots was scored from outside the arch. "I like to shoot threes. That's my game," he said.

 

While some head coaches might shy away from players taking so many outside shots, Hernan Santiago actually encourages it.

 

It all starts in practice. "We record everything at practice (for those) that should be shooting more than others," Santiago described. 

 

After a quick shoot around players' made 3-point shots are tallied. They're then put on a wall in the gym for the entire team to see. But Joel isn't even number one on the board. "I'd still say I'm the best shooter on the team though," he joked. 

 

"A lot of ways Joel's the heart and soul of our team. He's loved by his teammates yeah he shoots great but he's worked really hard on defense and his teammates love him," said Santiago.

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