By Thomas Grant Jr. 

The early bird caught more than a ‘worm’ last year at Westwood High School. 

A season that opened with a 6 a.m. November practice ended in the early evening hours of March with a first-ever state championship for the boys’ basketball team. 

Last Wednesday, ‘The Castle’ gymnasium was reopened in the wee morning hours. Under the watchful eye of head coach Trent Robinson and assistants Daryl Heath, DeMonte Jacobs, Joah Wiley, Jesse Townsend and Mike Peay, the 15 roster players went through various drills over the next two hours. 

“I think it worked out well for us last year,” he said. “We’re trying to keep a mentality. We put our guys through a lot of stuff this week. So, I think today was a good Day One, official Day One.”

It’s a different reason in more ways than one for Westwood. For openers, the school moved back to Class 4A in Region 4 with Richland Northeast, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin and A.C. Flora. 

They also have new on-court leadership. The graduation of All-State guards Jayden Crews and DeMarcus Thomas leaves a void of two top scorers who combined for 27 points a game.  

Westwood now turns to guard Cylan McLeod to fill that void. The 6-0 senior is the lone returnee who averaged double figures last season and had the highest assists and steals per game. 

“We will go as Cylan goes,” Robinson said. “ He’s going to have to be good every game.” 

Guards Desmond Grant and sophomore BaBar Johnson also fall in the same category for expectations. In the case of the 6-foot 5 Johnson, he’s going to be challenged to provide rebounding and defense. 

Junior guard Jah’lil Jenkins is considered an ‘X-Factor’, according to Robinson. With the Redhawks utilizing a guard-dominated lineup with only two players under six feet, they will need to rely upon their athleticism to overcome any experience concerns. 

“In some respect, we have some type of team that thinks we’re better than we are and some people may think we’re better than we are,” Robinson said. “Right now, we’re young. We’re going to be playing a lot of guys that haven’t played for me last year. So, we’ve got to figure that out and we’ve got to figure that out really fast.” 

2026-27 SCHEDULE 

Westwood will get tested in non-region play during games as part of three basketball events. It faces Class 5A Division I runner-up James Island during the Epic Hoops Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, Gray Collegiate Academy on Dec. 5 as part of the Stars and Stripes Showcase at Ben Lippen School and defending Class A champion C.A. Johnson at the Bojangles Bash at Ridge View High School. 

Nov. 20 – AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY 

Nov. 23 – CATAWBA RIDGE

Nov. 25 – EPIC HOOPS THANKSGIVING

Dec. 1 – SPRING VALLEY

Dec. 4 – at Blythewood

Dec. 5 – STARS AND STRIPES SHOWCASE

Dec. 8 – at Spring Valley

Dec. 9 – at River Bluff 

Dec. 11 – BLYTHEWOOD 

Dec. 12 – BOJANGLES BASH

Dec. 22-23 – WILSON HIGH SHOWCASE

Jan. 5 – CHAPIN 

Jan. 8 – LUGOFF-ELGIN

Jan. 12 – at Dreher

Jan. 15 – at Lancaster 

Jan. 19 – at A.C. Flora

Jan. 22 – RICHLAND NORTHEAST

Jan. 26 – LUGOFF-ELGIN

Jan. 29 – at Dreher

Feb. 2 – at Lancaster

Feb. 5 – A.C. FLORA

Feb. 9 – at Richland Northeast

Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.