COVINGTON, Ga. — Entering this week’s Region 5A-Division I as the No. 1 seed are the Social Circle Redskins. They begin the tournament with high optimism for back-to-back region titles. 

One of the leaders for this year’s team is Lamarius Jackson. And while the Redskins are in a good spot for the state playoffs, Jackson believes there is still room for improvement. 

“I think we could be better,” Jackson said. “We agreed as a team that we still haven’t played our best basketball yet.” 

Social Circle is 15-10 overall along with a 6-0 mark in region play. Its average margin of victory over region opponents is nearly 12 points, but the Redskins’ season finale 77-53 win over Oglethorpe County was the biggest region win this year. 

One of the missing links for Social Circle this go round — compared to last season — is the lack of scoring threats. 

“This year’s team we don’t have many scores that are consistent and can get up and down the court and make good plays,” Jackson said. “Coach [Taylor] Jackson is trying his best to make good substitutions in big games but it's hard.” 

With that, Jackson wants to continue stepping up from a leadership standpoint with the playoffs upcoming. 

On the court, Jackson has done just that. He averages a team-high 24 points, which features five games where he scored 30-plus as well as a 41-point outing. 

All six years of playing — as well as looking up to NBA’s Stephen Curry as his favorite player – has helped Jackson record such numbers. 

But there are some other people who influenced Jackson. 

“My parents helped me a lot,” Jackson said. “When me and Quin were little, we always played football and baseball outside with our dad. We were falling in love with football but basketball was the sport they saw in us.” 

Not only has Jackson’s parents pointed him to play basketball, but there is a lesson that sticks with him today. 

“My attitude has been great on and off the court this year,” Jackson said. “As my parents always told me and Quin,  our attitude off the court will affect us on the court. So that's something I’ve been working on.” 

Jackson hopes his play and success at Social Circle will help influence kids who watch him play. In fact, Jackson aspires to become one of the “most influential coming out of Social Circle.” 

But before that, Jackson and the Redskins desire a region championship. 

Social Circle is the host of its region tournament and will play Jasper County on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Jackson believes it’s going to take him and his teammates to take another step to accomplish this goal.