Putting in the Extra Work
Joel Coliseum was still dark when I walked into the arena early this afternoon, but I could hear one basketball bouncing. C.J. Harris was alone on the court, taking shots.
The second player out of the locker room was Ari Stewart, who ran onto the court all full of himself and providing his own mock crowd noise and introduction. “Ladies and Gentlemen, from Marietta, Ga., No. 20, Ari Stewart!!!!’’ He started giving Harris, his roommate and best friend, a hard time before he ever took his first shot.
Coach Jeff Battle arrived and began rebounding for both players. They then settled into a familiar drill, with Battle feeding the players for 3-point shots.
Stewart set up in the left corner, drilled 10 of 12 3-pointers and then razzed Harris, telling him `I bet you can’t beat that.’
Well Harris couldn’t, not after missing his first shot and two of his first four. Then Harris found the range in time to drill 10 of 13.
That’s 20 of 25 between them, which might help dispel the notion that Wake Forest can’t hit a jumper.