Bernie youngster has Mules 'excited' about his growth

Bernie High School sophomore center John Aycock pulls down a rebound against Bell City recently at Bell City High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

There are bound to be some surprising things to witness at this week’s 68th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, there always are. In the case of Bernie, fans may be surprised to see the emerging play of sophomore John Aycock.

“He has grown about four inches,” veteran Mule coach Jason Long said of his young talent, “and he has really improved.”

Aycock and his teammates will open play Thursday at 12:45 p.m. as the No. 4 seed and face No. 13-seed Portageville (3-4).

The Mules (3-2) have dropped two of their last three games entering this event, but let’s put those defeats in context. Bernie fell to Class 3 No. 11-ranked Woodland and Campbell, two teams who have a combined 14-1 record so far.

“What we are doing well,” Long said of his team following a recent win at Bell City, “is we are bringing consistency every day.”

What the 6-foot-4 Aycock is “doing well” is bringing athleticism and length in the paint at both ends of the court.

“What I like about (Aycock’s) game is that he is always trying to get better,” Long said. “He loves basketball and takes it very seriously.”

Against the Cubs, who were without junior center Kale Richardson (high ankle sprain), Aycock got to the free throw line 10 times in the game, but eight in the final minutes, as he hit six of those shots.

“He gives us a really good low-post presence,” Long said. “He has a nice, soft touch.”

Aycock can alter shots defensively and shows aggression on the glass, however, offensively, though he is still growing as a player (literally and figuratively), he does have skill already.

“He shoots the ball well when he faces up,” Long said. “He took it off the dribble a few times (against Bell City) and made some jumpers.

“He’s got some versatility to him. We are excited about him.”

A year ago, Bernie had a short stay in the Bloomfield Tournament. Losses to Dexter and Bloomfield ended the Mules’ holiday run.

This year, Long has been pleased with his team’s approach to improving every day, so perhaps, that will result in a better holiday run.

“We are bringing pretty good focus to practice every day,” Long said. “The kids want to get better. They care about being successful at basketball.

“Our seniors are doing a really good job for us.”

Those older players have to because there aren’t very many of them.

Bernie has just three seniors (Cade Arnold, Taven Owens, and Cameron Wyamn) while the remaining 12 players are all sophomores or freshmen.

“We are very young,” Long said. “(But) I really like the day-to-day that we have. What we need to do better is to get better at all facets of the game. We are trying to become more consistent with our play (and) more consistent with our focus.”