2007 Boys Varsity Basketball Athlete of the Week

Darius Akridge (week 6)

Temple’s elementary team was mired in an offensive funk during Thursday’s regular-season finale at Grace.

Enter Darius Akridge.

Akridge pumped in a team-high 12 points – all coming in the final three quarters – to help carry the Crusaders to a 26-21 road victory.

Akridge, who normally gets going by nailing 3-pointers, opted for the 2-pointer on Thursday. He made six baskets –all layups – including an acrobatic putback to account for nearly half of his team’s points.

“I normally don’t single out one player after a game, but I did after that game,” Temple elementary coach Mark Alexander said. “Darius really stepped up and put us on his back. Even though his shoulder was hurting, he wasn’t going to let us lose. Grace did a good job of taking away his 3-point shot, so he took it to the bucket more. He couldn’t do that earlier in the season, but he’s really improved that aspect of his game. Darius, like most of the other guys on the team, loves to shoot the three. But there’s more to the game than shooting 3-pointers, and I think they’re beginning to realize that.

“Darius had to handle the ball a lot more today than he has all season because Grace was denying (point guard) Seth Hickman the ball,” Alexander continued. “Other teams are going to do that, too, so Darius is going to have to be ready to have the ball in his hands a little more. That’s why we do ball-handling everyday.”

Akridge is averaging 13 points per game this season while helping lead Temple to an 11-2 record and a No. 3 seed in the upcoming ISC Tournament.

“Darius has really surprised me,” Alexander said. “I thought he would be a good player for us, but I had no idea he would have the impact he has. He has been a very important cog to this team. And I’m happy for him. He’s a great kid. It’s always rewarding as a coach to see a player improve the way Darius has.”