Consistent is just one of the many words that can be used to describe the playing style of Johnson’s Ty Cockfield, but according to head coach Jeff Steele, it may be one of the most important.

“Consistency is like our word of the day,” Steele said.

“We just had that sermon at practice. (Ty) is a good example of that. He stays on a pretty even keel.”

Along with “consistent,” however, Steele described Cockfield with a number of other words that enforce how important he is to this season’s Knights team and how he has helped them reach an 8-0 start this year.

“He’s very mentally tough,” Steele said. “He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s got a solid attitude. His intensity is rubbing off on every body; he leads by example, and he’s tenacious out there.

“I call him my warrior.”

Cockfield’s stats are evidence that all of these things and more are true. Last week, Cockfield tallied 63 points over three games, including 31 against Chestatee last Friday.

For his effort, Cockfield is The Times Boys Athlete of the Week.

Cockfield moved to Johnson from Gainesville over the summer, and Steele said that although he knew he was getting a good athlete, he wasn’t sure how good or what Cockfield’s personality would be like.

“We didn’t get to have him any this summer, so I didn’t know his persona,” Steele said, “but I love his personality.”

Steele said that Cockfield is always focused and goes off by himself before a game to get ready to play and that he is responsive to coaching. He is even becoming a more vocal leader on the team.

“We’ve had some bumps in the road, but they’re learning while we’re still winning, which is good,” Steele said. “Sometimes it takes something drastic like losing to make that happen.”

One of the bumps in the road came against West Hall on Saturday when Cockfield picked up three fouls in the first quarter against West Hall. Steele sat Cockfield until the third quarter, and he played the rest of the game without another foul.

Even when in foul trouble, Steele said that Cockfield is always focused and has a good attitude.

“I haven’t been in a situation where I’ve sat him for a bad attitude,” Steele said. “He’s always very supportive from the bench.”

The sophomore Cockfield has made it known that he wants to take his basketball career further than just playing in high school, and Steele believes that he can reach those goals.

“The sky’s the limit for him, if he stays focused,” Steele said. “He just has to keep doing what he’s doing, Stay hungry and stay humble, that’s our motto for this year.”

Cockfield faces one more test against Jefferson at 7:30 tonight in Jefferson before Johnson opens the Lanierland Tournament against East Hall at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Gainesville.