TOM GOETZ, DAILY LEADER
Blaine Roberts said he is looking forward to shooting the basketball in Copiah-Lincoln Community College's Mullen Gymnasium. The Brookhaven Academy senior signed a basketball scholarship Monday with the Co-Lin Wolfpack.
"I'm happy and I'm excited," answered Roberts, when asked about his scholarship opportunity. He said he's considering a career in the medical field.
Blaine Roberts said he is looking forward to shooting the basketball in Copiah-Lincoln Community College's Mullen Gymnasium. The Brookhaven Academy senior signed a basketball scholarship Monday with the Co-Lin Wolfpack.
"I'm happy and I'm excited," answered Roberts, when asked about his scholarship opportunity. He said he's considering a career in the medical field.
As a senior, the 6-foot-3, 155-pound Roberts averaged 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for Coach Dale Watts, helping the Cougars to a 30-10 record and a 5th straight Class AA state tournament championship. He was selected Most Valuable Player and Mr. Basketball on The DAILY LEADER'S 2009 All-Lincoln County Boys Basketball Team. Roberts moved from shooting guard to being mainly a point guard and ball-handler his senior campaign. His points per game average plummeted but the Cougars added another state championship banner to John R. Gray Gymnasium in the process. Described as "gym rat" by Coach Watts, Roberts works overtime at improving his basketball skills. His grandfather, Danny Roberts, used to borrow the gymnasium's keys from Watts so his grandson could spent extra time shooting the basketball in the gym. "We would come up here and shoot, a lot of times on Saturdays before games," said the soft-spoken Roberts. His parents are David Roberts and Melissa Burns, both Bogue Chitto graduates. Roberts also excels in track where he competes in the triple jump and high jump for the Cougars. He has cleared 6-foot in the high jump and posted a distance of 38 feet in the triple jump. In the classroom, Roberts said his favorite subject is math. He has scored a 30 on the ACT. "Blaine has been a great person to work with," said Watts. "He has set some high standards for himself. He's very coachable." Roberts competed in the AA state basketball playoffs in spite of a broken bone in his left hand. He had sustained the injury in the final game of the regular season. "Blaine showed a lot of courage to continue playing despite that broken hand," said Watts. "He's very dedicated and competitive." Asked about his favorite NBA team, Roberts said he likes the Boston Celtics. He comes from a family of Ole Miss fans so he enjoys watching the Rebels play. Roberts said Watts helped him improve his basketball knowledge and skills. "Coach Watts really taught me a lot." Co-Lin coach Dennis Sims said he was looking forward to having Roberts on the squad. He loses 4 starters to graduation off a state tournament runner-up team that finished 15-14. Returning is 6-8 post Dwayne Brown. "Blaine is a guard with good height," said Sims. "He is coming from a very disciplined program where a lot is demanded of the players. "Coach Watts works his players extremely hard so he knows about practicing to improve," Sims said. "He's a good student, too." 
