Much like the “Wild West,” the family coaching rivalry of Reginald West (Perry) and Montay West (Spalding), has become an anticipated matchup. This newly introduced rivalry is separated by 74 miles, but covers 90 feet of hardwood. Young student athletes in the central Georgia area know Perry men’s basketball coach, Reginald West, as a patriarch. The legend, the pillar and the coach we know as Reginald West, is also the father of Montay West. Montay West is an HBCU graduate, by way of the illustrious Fort Valley State University. West, the son, was named as the coach of the Spalding Jaguars men’s basketball team, in May of 2021. Montay West may not have the same accolades as his father, but he has led the Spalding Jags (Griffin) to a fourth place spot in region 4-4A (4-AAAA).
Currently, the Spalding Jaguars hold a 6-6-record in region 4-4A. The Jaguar men have won five out of 11 home games, while going 3-4 on the road. A very balanced team is the Spalding Jags; therefore, the Jaguars have scored over 1,200 points, while allowing less than 1,400 points. On another note, Father West has brought the culture back to the “Panther Pit.” The Perry men’s basketball team is 12-10 overall, while posting an 8-4 record, in region 4-4A. The Panther men have won seven out of 10 games at home, but have lost seven road games.
The terrific shooting of this Perry team has the Panthers averaging 65 points per game. Reginald West’s Panthers have been on the prowl, holding onto a second place spot in region 4-4A. Perry has scored under 1,500 points to date, but has allowed over 1,300 points. Going into the region 4-AAAA tournament, the leading scorer for Coach Montay West’s Jaguars is Elijah Jackson. Jackson is a senior combo guard, averaging 15 points, 1.2 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
As for Perry, Virginia-Tech signee, DaeQuan Wright, has been the crowd pleaser in Houston. Wright is leading the Perry hardwood team in three major scoring categories. DaeQuan Wright leads Perry in scoring, rebounds and assists. He is averaging 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, three assists and a block per game, for the Panther prowl.
In his first season as the head coach of the Spalding Jaguars, Montay West went 0-2 against his father, Reginald West. In the first meeting, the father and the son met for a region contest on Tuesday January 11, in Griffin. In this region matchup, Panther, DaeQuan Wright, scored 18 points, Jaylon Edwards had 15 points, Caleb Wilson added 12 and Antonio Lawson scored 10. For Spalding, Curt Clark was named as the player-of-the-game for the Jaguars. Clark scored 23 points and was 11 of 28 from the floor. Elijah Jackson shot 100% from the floor, along with scoring 20 points. Cedric Evans also added 17 points for the Spalding Jaguars.
Both the Panthers and Jaguars had proficient scorers throughout the first catfight, but Perry’s prowl gave them the 90-75 win. The second meeting was closer than the first, but Perry managed to seal the deal. In their final regular season game, the prowl had the Panther Pit filled with fans for this anticipated region contest. The Perry squad was “Pushin’ P,” on their way to a 72-60 win. This was the final regular season meeting between the father and son coaches. Now, Spalding and Perry are competing in the 2021-2022 GHSA region 4-AAAA basketball tournament. Only the top four seeds from region 4-4A will advance to the GHSA class AAAA (4A) State tournament.
The Wests’ may meet again in the region tournament. There is also a chnace that both coaches meet in the state tournament, as well. Coach Reginald West and the Perry Panthers will face the winless Howard Huskies (Macon) for their first region torunament game. Coach Montay West and the Spalding Jaguars will compete against the Rutland Hurricanes (Macon) for their first regional torunament matchup.
I can assure to you that a West will be standing when the smoke clears at season’s end. The family rivalry of coaches, Reginald West and Montay West is near completion of the inaugural chapter, but this family-coaching crusade looks to live on for years to come.
HHJ News
