This week's Athlete of the Week is one of the seniors at the heart of a culture shift on the hardwood at Ponte Vedra: shooting guard J.T. Kelly.
Kelly has the Sharks off to a solid start to this season, as they look to build off their 22-5 campaign a season ago. He is averaging 11 points per game. His love of hoops and passion for Ponte Vedra High School were re-invigorated two years ago when the Sharks hired Kevin Whirty as head coach.
"The culture shifted completely. It did a 180," Kelly explained. "We are now a hard-nosed, defensive-first team -- just look at the stats. Best defense in the city."
It's not just the Sharks that have grown. Whirty has been wow'ed by the strides his senior leader has made.
"His size, his physique is the first thing that stands out to me. He's gained muscle mass. He's gained speed," Whirty said. "He's gained a level of intellect of the game where he's playing 2-3 steps quicker than he was two years ago."
For Kelly, it remains all about the team as they look towards an even deeper playoff run in 2021-2022.
"It's phenomenal how far we've come from being a nobody to a 22-5 program last year."