Rogers Heritage boys basketball coach Tom Olsen watched Lexus Hobbs become a better player in both skill and understanding this season.
The 5-foot-11 junior guard's stats steadily improved as the season progressed and saved some of his best for last.
Hobbs poured in a game-high 23 points to help the War Eagles notch their first state tournament victory in school history.
"You saw him play early, his emotion and energy and competitive spirit was always there," Olsen said. "But you could see him get more comfortable offensively. You see his numbers really change. He finished with 76 turnovers, which is a pretty big number, but the last four games he had only six total.
"He goes for 17, 23 and 20 points in his last three games. I think there was a point where he started to take ownership of our team. To kind of say 'This is kind of my group.'"
He has been honored as All-NWADG Boys Newcomer of the Year for his accomplishments.
Hobbs, who averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 rebounds, moved from Stuttgart last summer. Olsen acknowledged it took Hobbs some time to adjust to a new system. But he also became a team leader.
"He went from the system he was in with a lot of player driven decisions to being in one with a little more structure," Olsen said. "He was asking 'What are we doing this for?' to a situation in the Bryant game in the state tournament he's saying 'Hey, coach we need to go black here.'
"He came full circle from not really understanding what we were doing to now where 'I've got a grip on it.'"
--Paul Boyd• @NWAPaulB
Sports on 03/29/2015