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Michael Hunt Jr. shoots a basketball last Friday at North Natchez Park. (Nicole Hester, The Natchez Democrat)

Leah Robinson, Demitri Minor and Michael Hunt Jr. shoot hoops last Friday at North Natchez Park. (Nicole Hester, The Natchez Democrat)

Demitri Minor shoots a basket at North Natchez Park last Friday. (Nicole Hester, The Natchez Democrat)

Demitri Minor shoots a basketball at North Natchez Park on Friday. (Nicole Hester, The Natchez Democrat)

Michael Hunt Jr., Demitri Minor and Leah Robinson shoot hoops last Friday at North Natchez Park. (Scott Hawkins, The Natchez Democrat)

Michael Hunt Jr. and Demitri Minor shoot hoops last Friday at North Natchez Park. (Scott Hawkins, The Natchez Democrat)

Just after a Friday afternoon rain shower was the perfect time to shoot some hoops at North Natchez Park, and that’s just what Demitri Minor, 19, and his cousin Michael Hunt Jr., 15, did.

The rain had knocked the Mississippi July heat and humidity down and a cloud cover kept the sun from beaming down on the asphalt basketball courts, which are high enough to catch a breeze coming over the hill at the park where The Dart landed last Friday.

Hunt and Minor battled it out, one-on-one, until Hunt’s mother, Leah Robinson, joined in. Then it was a three-way free for all.

Hunt said he can take Minor most of the time, and Minor agreed.

The two said they have been playing basketball together for four or five years and Hunt said he has always been able to hold his own against Minor, even when he was only 9 or 10 years old.

“Demitri used to dunk,” Hunt said, later adding that was on a lower goal in Minor’s backyard in the Morgantown community.

The cousins say they play basketball almost every time they get together.

When they are at Minor’s house, they play in Minor’s backyard and when they are at Hunt’s house, they walk over to North Natchez Park.

Sometimes other players are at the park, and they will join in for some five-on-five action.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s one-on-one or what, we just like to shoot,” said Minor, who graduated from Natchez High School in June 2017. “We can hold our own.”

When he is not playing basketball, Minor said he plays drums for a living with a couple of Baptist churches in Concordia Parish.

Hunt will be going into the 10th grade at Natchez High School in the fall. Hunt said he runs track, but he doesn’t think he’ll play basketball at school.

Both cousins agreed they just like playing backyard hoops.

They do, however, love to watch the NBA.

“The Lakers,” Demitri said, indicating that’s his team, and he said he was a Lakers fan before LeBron James announced he will be going to play for the Lakers. “Lebron is good. Now that Kobe Bryant is gone, he can bring something to the Lakers.”

Hunt doesn’t have a favorite NBA team or player. He said he just likes them all.

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