COVINGTON, Ga. — Eastside’s boys basketball program has had possibly one of the best seasons in recent memory. Part of the success has been the fact that the Eagles receive contributions from all over the floor.
There is one player, though, whose play stands above the rest — Kassen Saunders.
Saunders’ take on what makes this Eagles squad better is simple.
“The biggest difference from last year with my new team is we come together as a team,” Saunders said. “We figure out tough battles as a group and we have great chemistry.”
It is not a far stretch that one of Saunders’ favorite basketball players is Stephen Curry of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Like Curry, Saunders is a three-point maestro.
At season’s end, Saunders ranked third in Class AAAAA with 46 made three-pointers. His practice regimen isn’t anything elaborate, either. Saunders said he aims to shoot 50 three-pointers in practice and before each game.
Throughout his senior season, though, Saunders has been working to improve his ability to penetrate the paint and finish at the rim.
Long before Saunders was leading the Eagles on the hardwood, he was already hooked on the game.
“I have been playing basketball for 13 years,” Saunders said. “I started off at the YMCA and playing with the Choice Management Knights when I started to start loving the game.”
There is one person, in particular, that Saunders credits for getting him involved in the sport he now loves and excels at.
“My pops got me interested in basketball,” Saunders said. “We played basketball outside all the time and just grew to love it and work harder.”
Saunders continued by saying his parents and grandparents are his biggest motivations to do well on and off the court.
The senior guard leads his team in scoring averaging 12.8 points per game with a team-high 49% three-point shooting efficiency.
His performance has played a pivotal role in Eastside’s 20-5 overall record and 9-3 Region 8-AAAAA mark, which places the Eagles in third place and one game out of first in the region.
One of Saunders’ favorite things about this season has nothing to do with the games themselves.
“I love my teammates and coaching staff,” Saunders said. “It feels like home off and on the court.”
The relationships he’s built has kept Saunders’ interest high in basketball overall, too. That doesn’t mean this season has gone flawlessly.
Saunders recognized they have had some trying times, but he feels that’ll make the Eagles better.
“This year we have been through a lot of ups and downs and hard work with a great record of 20-5,” Saunders said.
Eastside’s 20 wins is the most in a single season since the 2015-16 season when the Eagles finished 20-10.
As a result of their successful regular season, the Eagles enter the Region 8-AAAAA tournament as the No. 3 seed. They’ll face the winner between Loganville and Clarke Central — both teams Eastside swept in the regular season — on Monday, Feb. 13 at 8:30 p.m. The tournament will be played at Winder-Barrow High School.
Saunders pointed to a specific phrase the Eagles adopted this season as a catalyst for accomplishing their goals moving forward.
“For our team this year we have to come into the playoffs with ‘benengry’ and a focused mindset to win.” Saunders said. “We want to beat anything that gets in front of us as a team.”
