Paris Hoops

Proud New Dad!

2007-04-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to announce that I am the proud father to a brand new baby girl. Anna Grace Blassingame was born on Monday, April 16, weighing in at 8lb., 5 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing very well.

Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 4A, Region II All-Region Team

2007-04-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Anthony Randolph	Wilson	II	Sr
J'mison Morgan	Dallas South Oak Cliff	II	Jr
Demarius Jones	Pinkston	II	Jr
Jonathan Sloan	Pearce	II	Sr
Tre Nichols	Killeen	II	Jr
Kevin Busby Hayden	Spruce	II	Sr
David Kyles	Kimball	II	Jr
Fred Gipson	Dallas South Oak Cliff	II	Sr
Gary Mason, Jr.	Waxahachie	II	Jr
Richard Jones	Lincoln	II	Sr
Davis Cole	Highland Park	II	Sr
Blake Mooney	McKinney North	II	Sr
LaDunn Huckaby	Univeristy	II	Sr
Aaron Darling	Lake Dallas	II	Sr
Cade Clark	White House	II	Jr
Nick Stanford	Midlothian	II	Sr
Courtney Jackson	Paris	II	Jr
Joe Wilson	The Colony	II	Sr
Leon Harris	Texas	II	Sr
Dominick Walker	Pine Tree	II	Jr

The Paris News artivcle on the 11-4A All-District Team

2007-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wildcats’ Jackson nabs MVP in District 11-4A

By Tyler Clifton
The Paris News

Published March 14, 2007

Courtney Jackson still has one more season to work on his game, and it's a dangerous thing for future opponents.

Jackson helped lead Paris High to a second district title and was rewarded after being named the District 11-4A Most Valuable Player. The junior continues to be a highly sought after recruit and will have an interesting decision to make in the coming year.

Senior teammate Marshall Carrell is the co-Defensive Player of the Year, and junior Keon Furtch is a first-team member.

North Lamar came one victory short of making the playoffs but went way above any preseason expectations. Coaches noticed, and the Panthers had two first-team recipients in senior Justin Thomas and junior Justin Collard.

Mount Pleasant senior Scooter Van Dyke is the other Defensive Player of the Year, and Texas High junior Leon Harris is Offensive Player of the Year. Lindale sophomore Jacob Holmen is Newcomer of the Year, Sulphur Springs sophomore Tyrik Rollison is Sophomore of the Year and Mount Pleasant's Robert Linker is Coach of the Year.

Other first-team members include seniors Carliss Robinson (Mount Pleasant), Logan Gilley (Lindale), Daniel Glover and Van Grisson (Texas High), Ladarius Harrison and Bradley Washington (Sulphur Springs) and junior Trenston Hill (Mount Pleasant).

Paris senior Ced Sims and junior Jordan Fields headline the second team along with North Lamar seniors Colt Holbert, Britt Melton and Justin Miller. Other second teamers are seniors Drew Biggerstaff (Sulphur Springs), Kevin Cheatum and Steadman Chism (Mount Pleasant), Seth Bauman (Lindale) and juniors Kerry Manning (Texas High) and Tye Tye Lewis (Mount Pleasant).

Wildcat junior La-Dretcus Gray made the honorable-mention list along with sophomore Payton Carrell.

ALL-DISTRICT 11-4A

BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM

Most Valuable Player — Courtney Jackson, jr., Paris

Defensive Players of the Year — Marshall Carrell, sr., Paris; Scooter Van Dyke, sr., Mount Pleasant.

Offensive Player of the Year — Leon Harris, jr., Texas High

Newcomer of the Year — Jacob Holmen, soph., Lindale

Sophomore of the Year — Tyrik Rollison, soph., Sulphur Springs

Coach of the Year — Robert Linker, Mount Pleasant

First Team

Justin Thomas, sr., North Lamar; Keon Furtch, jr., Paris; Justin Collard, jr., North Lamar; Carliss Robinson, sr., Mount Pleasant; Logan Gilley, sr., Lindale; Daniel Glover, sr., Texas High; Van Grisson, sr., Texas High; Ladarius Harrison, sr., Sulphur Springs; Bradley Washington, sr., Sulphur Springs; Trenston Hill, jr., Mount Pleasant.

Second Team

Colt Holbert, sr., North Lamar; Britt Melton, sr., North Lamar; Ced Sims, sr., Paris; Justin Miller, sr., North Lamar; Jordan Fields, jr., Paris; Kevin Cheatum, sr., Mount Pleasant; Steadman Chism, sr., Mount Pleasant; Drew Biggerstaff, sr., Sulphur Springs; Seth Bauman, sr., Lindale; Kerry Manning, jr., Texas High; Tye Tye Lewis, jr., Mount Pleasant.

Honorable Mention

La-Dretcus Gray, jr., Paris; Payton Carrell, soph., Paris.

http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=76d1bb80ef6d60e5

An unexpected ending

2007-02-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

Our season came to an early end Friday night at the hands of the Terrell Tigers. More specifically, one player was the cause of our demise.

Antwain Thomas simply put on a shooting exhibition on a level that I have never seen before, and I doubt I will ever see again. He was 21 of 35 from the field, including 16 of 27 from three point range and 3 of 4 at the FT line. 61 points. I am still in shock

The amazing thing about it is all but a couple of those shots were closely guarded and contested. The kid just could not miss and we couldn't do anything about it. It is unexplainable.

Congratulations to Terrell and good luck to you in the rest of the playoffs. It would make me feel a lot better if those kind of performances continued and you go on to win it all.

Area Basketball Game Details Finalized

2007-02-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

The Area Playoff Game vs. Terrell will be Friday, 7:30 at McKinney Boyd High School.

Admission: Adults $5, Students $3

Passes: TABC, THSCA, TGCA, PISD Badge, Senior Citizen

Directions: From HWY 75 South, take the HWY 380 exit and turn right (west). Continue on 380 until you come to the light at Lake Forest Drive. Turn left (south) at the light, and you will see the high school on your left.

It is a brand new gym with a seating capacity of 2,000. We need to fill it up with Wildcat Fans!

Area Round Playoff Game Set

2007-02-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

Terrell defeated McKinney tonight in their Bi-District game. We will play Terrell on Friday, Dec. 23 at 7:30pm in McKinney. As of right now the game will be at McKinney High School. However there is a possibility that it will be moved to either McKinney Boyd or McKinney North. All three are great venues, but Boyd and North are much newer and bigger. We are waiting to get confirmation from McKinney ISD that Boyd or North will be available. If so, the game will likely be moved there. If not it will be at McKinney High. Updates will be made once this decision is made.

Warm-up game

2007-02-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

We will play Princeton at Bonham High School on Monday, February 19th at 6:00pm in a playoff warm up game.

Paris News article from Texas High game 2/13

2007-02-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

Wildcats clinch district title

By Van Hilburn
The Paris News

Published February 14, 2007

TEXARKANA — After having already clinched a playoff berth, the Paris Wildcats could have taken Tuesday night's game at Texas High a little lightly.

No such luck for the host Tigers, who saw the visiting Wildcats clinch the outright District 11-4A championship with a 69-54 victory.

Four Paris players scored in double figures as the Wildcats went ahead midway through the first quarter and never looked back. Junior post Courtney Jackson recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, while also dishing out three assists.

Decedric Sims, Keon Furtch and Marshall Carrell each scored 13 points for Paris. Furtch also had a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds, while Carrell came close to a double-double, finishing with 13 points, eight boards and three blocks.

Paris (22-8, 8-2) clinched its second consecutive district championship and earns a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs.

"To win (district), we knew we had to take care of business at home and play well enough on the road to win at least 3 of 5 games. Turns out we only lost one at home and one on the road," said Blassingame of his team's march to another district title.

Texas High (16-11, 6-4), which won at Paris earlier this season, could have clinched the top seed with a Tuesday night. The loss however, coupled with Mount Pleasant's win against Lindale, dropped the Tigers from second to third place behind Mount Pleasant (17-9, 6-4). While they both finished with identical district records, Mount Pleasant swept Texas High in district.

Texas High senior guard Leon Harris scored 20 points, but he only made 8 of 36 shots (22 percent).

"We knew (Harris) could be explosive. He can score a lot of ways, but we did a good job of not letting him get in a rhythm," Blassingame said. "I have to say we did a good job overall defensively against Texas High."

Van Grisson added 13 and also grabbed 10 rebounds for Texas High.

As a team, Paris made 26 of 58 shots (45 percent), compared to 24 of 72 for Texas High (33 percent). The Wildcats also out-rebounded the Tigers 46-31, including 19-17 on the offensive glass. About the only weakness in the Wildcats' game was at the free throw line, where they were 14 of 26 (54 percent), a statistic that was more glaring at halftime than at the end of the game.

Paris was 5 of 12 from the free throw line in the first half, which was the reason they led by only six points 28-22, despite out-playing the Tigers on both ends of the court.

Texas High's Harris nailed a three-pointer at the 7:05 mark of the first quarter to give his team the early lead. At the five-minute mark, Sims tied the game at 5-5 with a three-pointer. That was the only tie of the contest.

A layup by Texas High's Kerry Manning gave the Tigers their last lead at 8-7 with 4:23 left in the first. Paris' Jackson converted a three-point play at the 4:08 mark to put his team ahead by one and begin a 7-0 run that left the ’Cats ahead 12-7. A jumper by Jordan Fields ended the run.

Paris led 12-9 after one quarter and outscored Texas High 16-13 in the second quarter to lead 28-22 at halftime. Sims scored six points in that period to lead the way.

During the first minute of the third quarter, back-to-back baskets by Manning and Daniel Glover allowed the Tigers to pull to within two points at 28-26. After a basket by Jackson made it a four-point game, Glover knocked down a three-pointer at the 6:30 mark that left the Tigers trailing by one, 30-29.

The Tigers got no closer the rest of the game, as Paris went on a 14-0 run led by Carrell. The Wildcats' 6-7 senior had a steal, two putback baskets and a free throw during that run, leaving the Wildcats ahead 42-29 with a minute left in the third.

Paris led 48-37 entering the fourth, and Texas High cut their deficit to single-digits twice in the fourth, with the last time coming at the 3:57 mark when Harris knocked down a jumper off a turnover, then hit 1 of 2 free throws to leave his team trailing 56-48 with 3:57 remaining.

Paris answered with an 8-2 run, as Carrell hit two baskets, while Jackson and Sims combined to go 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Fields — who scored eight points, had six rebounds, four assists and three steals — also knocked down a couple of free throws in the fourth for Paris. The Wildcats made 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Texas High begins the playoffs by taking on the No. 2 seed from District 12-4A, while Mount Pleasant meets the No. 3 seed from that district.

In the area round next weekend, Paris will take on the bi-district winner between McKinney High (14-6, 8-6), District 9-4A's No. 3 seed, and District 10-4A's runner-up Terrell (17-12, 11-3).

In Tuesday night's junior varsity game, Texas High scored a 71-48 win. Kendall King led Paris with 13 points, while Westley Martin added eight for Paris.

Paris 12 16 20 21 — 69

Texas High 9 13 15 17 — 54

Paris (22-8, 8-2) — Decedric Sims 13, Jordan Fields 8, Keon Furtch 13, Courtney Jackson 22, Marshall Carrell 13. FT 14-26. Threes 1 (Sims), Field goals 26-58 (45 percent). Fouls 8. Turnovers 13. Rebounds 46 (Jackson 13, Furtch 12, Carrell 8, Fields 6). Assists 13 (Fields 4, Jackson 3, Sims 3). Steals 8 (Fields 3, Furtch 2).

Texas High (16-11, 6-4) — Leon Harris 20, Phillip Tolliver 2, Josh Grigson 4, Van Grisson 13, Kerry Manning 4, John Stilson 2, Daniel Glover 7, Brandon Lane 2 FT 3-4. Threes 3 (Harris 2, Glover). Fouls 20. Field goals 24-72. Rebounds 31 (Grisson 10). Assists 8 (Harris 3, Grisson 2). Steals 10 (Harris 5). Turnovers 14.

BACK TO BACK

2007-02-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

DISTRICT 11-4A CHAMPIONS

One to go

2007-02-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

We travel to Texas High Tuesday for the last district game, and is it ever a big one. The winner will be the district champion and represent our district in the playoffs as the #1 seed. They beat us here in the first round 53-45 on a night that we didn't play very well. We have put together some good performances since then, and will need to play up to our potential in order to beat them at their place. They are a very good team and it is a tough place to play.

I can't wait!

Paris News article from Mt. Pleasant game 2/9

2007-02-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Wildcats clinch playoff berth

By Van Hilburn
The Paris News

Published February 11, 2007

The Paris Wildcats got off to an almost perfect start and finished just as strong during Friday night's 59-44 victory against Mount Pleasant on Senior Night in Wildcat Gym.

Wildcat junior forward Courtney Jackson recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points, including four slam dunks in the first half, while also grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out three assists. Junior Keon Furtch followed with 19 points, including 16 in the second half, while also grabbing five rebounds.

Paris' two seniors, Marshall Carrell and Decedric Sims, also played key roles on both ends of the floor, along with junior Jordan Fields. Carrell recorded 10 points and grabbed five boards, Sims added seven points, four rebounds and five assists, while Fields had three key first half steals, and four total.

The Wildcats' defense held the Tigers in check during the first half, limiting Mount Pleasant to single-digit scoring in each of the first two quarters. The Tigers were only 1 of 8 (13 percent) from the floor in the second quarter and 5 of 19 in the first half (26 percent).

"They were ready to play. They knew how important this game was," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame of his team. "They knew that we controlled our own destiny and that winning this game was very important."

With the victory and the district sweep of Mount Pleasant, Paris (7-2, 21-6) clinched a playoff berth heading into Tuesday night's regular season finale at Texas High (6-3, 16-10), which beat Sulphur Springs, 63-53, to also earn a postseason spot.

Paris can win a second consecutive outright district title with a win on Tuesday, while a loss would leave the Wildcats as co-champs of District 11-4A and they will go into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Mount Pleasant (5-4, 16-9) moved into third place all alone heading into its regular season finale against Lindale (1-8), which got its first district win on Friday, beating visiting North Lamar in overtime.

Trenston Hill and Carliss Robinson led the Tigers with nine points each, while Kevin Cheatum added eight points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. He was one of two Tiger players to foul out in the final stanza, as Scooter Van Dyke exited with 2:04 left.

While they made only 52 percent of their free throws, the Wildcats were 22 of 36 from the floor, an impressive 61 percent. In the first half, they made 10 of 19 shots, and things simply got better in the second half, as they hit 12 of 17 attempts (71 percent). Paris also out-rebounded the Tigers 31-22.

Paris set the tone early against Mount Pleasant when Jackson took a feed from Fields down low and took it in for a slam dunk at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter. He scored again less than a minute later to give Paris a 4-0 lead. They never trailed in the game.

Mount Pleasant's Hill scored a basket with 4:55 left in the first to put the Tigers on the scoreboard, but Fields went coast-to-coast on a steal to put Paris back ahead by four at 6-2. Paris carried a 12-8 lead into the second quarter, but A Van Dyke basket at the 6:30 mark of the second trimmed that lead to two points.

Mount Pleasant did not score again in the period, as Paris scored the next 10 points to go into intermission leading 22-10. Jackson again led the second-half surge with seven points.

Paris led by as much as 18 points in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for almost all of the final two periods. The only time the Tigers trimmed their deficit to single digits was in the third quarter when a three-pointer by Robinson with 6:10 left left them down by nine at 24-15. Back-to-back baskets from Carrell and Furtch gave the Wildcats a 28-15 lead and they went on to take a 40-27 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Furtch scored eight points in in the third period, while Carrell added two more baskets. Furtch started the fourth quarter with a slam and two free throws in the first minute, giving Paris a 45-27 advantage.

The Wildcats' junior varsity suffered a 57-53 loss to Mount Pleasant. Equittas Jenkins scored a game-high 17 points, while Denzel Harrison followed with 13 and Westley Martin added eight.

Mount Pleasant 8 2 17 17 — 44

Paris 12 10 18 19 — 59

Mount Pleasant (5-4, 16-9) — Trenston Hill 9, Cory Brannon 4, Tyetye Lewis 2, Kevin Cheatum 8, Carliss Robinson 9, Scooter Van Dyke 6, Darran Franklin 6. FT 3-2. Threes 3 (Hill, Brannon, Robinson). Fouls 19. Field goals 19-54. Turnovers 14. Rebounds 22 (Cheatum 5, Van Dyke 4).

Paris (7-2, 21-6) — Decedric Sims 7, Jordan Fields 2, Keon Furtch 19, Courtney Jackson 21, Marshall Carrell 10. FT 14-27, Threes 1 (Sims). Fouls 12. Field goals 22-36. Turnovers 19. Rebounds 31 (Jackson 12, Carrell 5, Furtch 5, Sims 4).

Paris News article on the Sulphur Springs game

2007-02-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Wildcats get past SSHS

By Van Hilburn
The Paris News

Published February 7, 2007

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Call this one a defensive battle with just enough offense to pull out the win, as the Paris Wildcats downed Sulphur Springs, 44-31, Tuesday night in District 11-4A basketball action.

Paris limited SSHS to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters while outscoring them 17-6 in the fourth to pull out the victory. With their 20th win of the season, coupled with a 46-42 victory by North Lamar against Mount Pleasant, the Wildcats (20-6, 6-2) took over sole possession of first place in District 11-4A with two games remaining.

Courtney Jackson led Paris with 15 points, while Keon Furtch and Marshall Carrell added nine and eight, respectively.

Sulphur Springs held a 9-5 lead after one quarter, but Paris outscored its host 11-4 in the second quarter to carry a 16-13 advantage into halftime. Entering the fourth quarter, Paris led 27-25.

This league race appears headed down to the final game, as Sulphur Springs (19-8, 4-4) is tied for fourth with North Lamar (18-12, 4-4), while Mount Pleasant (16-8, 5-3) and Texas High (15-10, 5-3) are tied for second. Texas High defeated Lindale, 58-56, Tuesday night.

"We helped ourselves out tonight with this win, but we still have to remain focused and ready because of the two teams right behind us. We really don't have a cushion," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame.

Paris hosts Mount Pleasant on Friday and closes out the regular season on the road at Texas High.

The Wildcats' junior varsity suffered a 72-62 loss.

Paris 5 11 11 17 — 44

SSHS 9 4 12 6 — 31

Paris (20-6, 6-2) — Courtney Jackson 15, Keon Furtch 9, Marshall Carrell 8, Jordan Fields 4, Decedric Sims 4, Payton Carrell 2. FT 11-23. Threes 1 (Furtch). Fouls 9.

Sulphur Springs (19-7, 4-4) — Drew Biggerstaff 8, Colton Nash 6, Tyrik Rollison 6, Brad Washington 4, Aaron Williams 3, Ladarius Harrison 2. Fouls 19. Threes 3 (Biggerstaff 2, Williams). FT 4-4.

20 wins

2007-02-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

We posted our 20th win on the season Tuesday night. It is the second season in a row that we have done so. That will not win a district championship or any playoff games, but it is still a great accomplishment for our program.

Two to go

2007-02-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

We took over sole possession of first place with a win at Sulphur Springs Tuesday night and a Mt. pleasant loss at North Lamar. With two games to go we have a one game lead and in the position to control our own destiny. We have yet to clinch a playoff berth yet, but can do so with a win Friday night at home against Mt. Pleasant. Other possible scenarios:

1. If we win our remaining two games, we will be the district champions
2. With a win Friday and a Texas High loss, we will be district champions
3. A loss Friday and a win Tuesday at Texas High will set up a match up with them for the district championship if Texas High wins Friday.
4. A win Friday and a loss Tuesday will give us a tie for the district championship, but we will go as the number two seed.

Come out and support us Friday night against Mt. Pleasant and help us make a push for back to back district championships!

Paris News article on the North Lamar game on 2/3

2007-02-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d6a0f863c959c9f7

Wildcats win big in crosstown showdown

By Van Hilburn
The Paris News

Published February 4, 2007

Paris Wildcat senior guard Decedric Sims nailed a 3-pointer the onset of the first quarter and the Wildcats never trailed, cruising to a 64-49 victory Saturday night against crosstown rivals North Lamar in a pivotal District 11-4A contest.

Before a packed house in Wildcat Gym, Paris held 20-point leads three times, including once in the fourth quarter, as North Lamar found itself playing catchup the entire night. The win avenged an earlier district loss to the Panthers.

"It's always important to set the tempo, especially tonight. We let them control the tempo and the game the last time we played them, so we wanted to establish our game early in this one," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame.

All but one of the eight Wildcats scored, led by Keon Furtch, who scored a game-high 20 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, getting three assists and two steals.

"That's what Keon does. Defending, rebounding and running the floor is what he does well," said Blassingame of Furtch. "We need for him to have good all-around games like that."

Junior Wildcat forward Courtney Jackson followed with 16 points, six boards and four assists for Paris, Sims scored 11 points, while senior post Marshall Carrell added six points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Junior guard Justin Collard led North Lamar with 12 points. He was the only Panther to score in double figures. Colt Holbert added nine.

With three-games remaining in the regular season, Paris (19-6, 5-2) moved into a two-way tie for first with Mount Pleasant heading into Tuesday night's game at Sulphur Springs. Mount Pleasant (16-7, 5-2) beat Texas High (14-10, 4-3), 57-50. North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) remains tied with Sulphur Springs (18-8, 3-4) heading into Tuesday night's game at home against Mount Pleasant.

The Wildcats set the tone early in the first quarter with Furtch leading the way. The 6-3 junior forward scored nine of his 20 points in the opening stanza, while grabbing Paris' first four rebounds. He converted a three-point play at the 4:26 mark of the period to give his team an 8-4 lead, and he later took a feed inside from Jackson to put Paris ahead 14-8.

A three-pointer by Justin Miller at the 1:30 mark of the first quarter made it a three-point game at 14-11. Paris closed out the period on a 5-0 run, as Jackson hit a free throw, got a slam off the break, and knocked down a jumper with three seconds left to send the Wildcats into the second quarter holding a 19-11 lead.

Paris' eight-point lead grew to 14 early in the second quarter courtesy of baskets from Jackson, Jordan Fields and two free throws by Furtch.

Holbert ended the Wildcats' 11-0 run and a 5 1/2 minute scoring drought by his team when he knocked down a shot at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. The Panthers were unable to trim the deficit to single digits by halftime, as they misfired in the lane on two possessions.

"In the second quarter, we missed a bunch of easy shots right at the rim. We basically were missing layups," said North Lamar coach Billy Mack Steed. "Then we couldn't hit free throws."

Jackson nailed a shot at the buzzer to give his team a 33-18 advantage at intermission.

Paris made 21 of 44 shots from the field (48 percent), while North Lamar was 16 of 39 (41 percent). The Wildcats also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Panthers 36-24, including 10-5 on the offensive end.

"Paris did a great job on the board. They pounded us on the boards. Then when we did get the ball inside in the second half, they blocked a lot of shots," added Steed. "Paris did a good job in this one, and we didn't do a good job."

Turnovers were also key, as the Panthers committed 19, and the Wildcats 16. Ten of North Lamar's turnovers came in the first half.

In the second half, Paris continue its aggressive play, as Furtch scored on a runner, then Sims stole an inbound pass and scored, giving the Wildcats a 37-18 lead with 6:26 remaining in the third. A basket by Holbert and two free throws by Collard allowed the Panthers to cut their deficit to 14 points at the end of the third quarter, as they entered the fourth trailing 43-29.

That was the closest North Lamar would get, as most of the fourth quarter was a game of free throws.

Paris was 19 of 34 for the game from the line, while North Lamar was 11 of 23.

Paris High's junior varsity defeated North Lamar 56-46, led by Equittas Jenkins and Wesley Martin, who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. North Lamar was led by Sinjin Smith Smith's 20 points. Logan Parson added seven.

North Lamar 11 7 11 20 — 49

Paris 19 14 10 21 — 64

North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) — Colt Holbert 9, Qualon Fort 5, Brett Melton 6, Justin Collard 12, Justin Thomas 6, Justin Miller 4, Patrick Thomas 2. FT 11-23. Threes 2 (Miller 2). Fouls 24.

Paris (19-6, 5-2) — Decedric Sims 11, Jordan Fields 4, Keon Furtch 20, Courtney Jackson 16, Marshall Carrell 6, Payton Carrell 5. FT 19-34. Threes 1 (Sims). Fouls 21.

What a race!

2007-02-04T01:44:00.000-08:00

The district season is well under way, and we are right in the mix, which is good. However, so is everyone else! This district is very competitive and will without a doubt come down to the last night of the season.

Current Standings:

Mt. Pleasant 5-2
Paris 5-2
Sulphur Springs 4-3
Texas High 4-3
North Lamar 3-4
Lindale 0-7

The remaining schedule has us going to Sulphur Springs, Mt. Pleasant at home, and at Texas High. It will be a tough task but if we play well I like our chances, which is exactly what everyone else has to be thinking at this point.

Longview recap

2007-01-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

Our first game of the new year was at home vs. a very tough Longview squad. We lost 49-45, snapping a 14 game home winning streak. I felt like although Longview was a good ball club, we didn't put ourselves in position to win buy giving up easy baskets and making mental mistakes.

Sherman Christmas Tournament

2007-01-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

First round vs. St. Mark's:

Both teams were very sluggish, but we were especially. We got off to a very slow start and had to fight and scrap to stay in the game. They did a good job of defending us. The game ended up going into overtime, and we made a couple of great defensive plays and knocked down our free throws to get the win 49-42. We held them to two points in OT.

Second Round vs. Highland Park:

Highland Parks is good. Very good. Early on the made everything they shot, even when we defended well. Luckily we kept our poise and stayed with them and fought back to get the lead at one point, and ended up tied 43-43 after three quarters. We started off well in the fourth, but then made some uncharacteristic mistakes that really cost us. We played well for 3.5 quarters, but lost 60-51.

Third Place Game vs. Terrell

This was our 7th matchup with Terrell in the last 3 years. We got off to a great start and were up 12-2 early. We really did a good job of defending and sharing the ball. I was especially proud of the kids for bouncing back after our performance in the last half of the fourth quarter against Highland Park that cost us the game. The final score was 61-50, and it was the fourth straight time we have beaten Terrell.

All in all it was a really good tournament. Highland Park defeated host Sherman in the finals 80-65 for the championship. They are planning on expanding the tournament filed for next year to 16 teams, and we will most likely be one of them.

Updates coming

2007-01-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

I've been a little busy lately and the updates have been lacking. We've played five games since my last post, mostly over the holidays, and it had been very busy. I'll get caught up this weekend for those of you that check the blog for game recaps and updates.

W.T. White recap - A Tale of Two Halves

2006-12-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

We beat a scrappy W.T. White team Saturday at home 68-52.

The first half we were really incredible. Did not make many mistakes, shot a very high percentage, found the open man and out rebounded them by a large margin.

In the second half we did all of those things well again, but happened to have 16 turnovers against 8 in the first half. We have to do a better job of closing out games. However, W.T. White deserves a lot of credit as well because they made a lot of contested shots in the second half and never quit competing after being down 41-19 at half and as much as 26 early in their third. They are a scrappy bunch and have played a tough schedule. Their record is 8-5 after we beat the Saturday.

A few stats:

We out rebounded them 38-20
We had a season high 19 assists
We had a season high FG% of 59.5
We are 42 of 52 (82.3%) from the FT line in our last two games

McKinney recap

2006-12-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

We got away with a win in McKinney last night, 66-54. They are a very well coached team with talented guards and a lot of promise. I think they still have a lot of wins ahead of them.

Their two best players scored 20 and 23 points, but I really think we did a good job on them. They got a couple of open shots early, but not many after that. They still made some, but if I guy can score when he is being defended that says more about him as a player than it does our defense.

We were up by 3 at halftime and they came out and showed us some full court pressure and we handled it really well. There were a lot of instances where we were patient until we found a lane, drove the ball to the middle of the floor and created a numbers advantage that led to either a score or FT's.

Speaking of free throws - we were 26 of 31 from the free throw line, which is pretty incredible. The kids not only made their free throws but played aggressive, made good decisions, and most importantly, played together. It was a good win.

3 Big Keys

2006-12-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of basketball, there are really three key ingredients to winning games: 1. Take care of the ball. 2. Take good shots. 3. Play great defense. That's it.

Now depending on personnel and philosophy, there are many ways to obtain the desired result for all three, but if you really think about it that's all basketball is. It's a simple game.

Idabel Festival

2006-12-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

We played Broken Bow and Idabel this weekend in the Idabel Basketball Festival. The format was two Oklahoma schools vs. two Texas schools. The other Texas school was Mt. Pleasant. Paris and MP were both 2-0 against Broken Bow and Idabel.

Broken Bow did a good job in the first game of controlling the tempo and frustrating us in the first hal. The kept the score low and controlled the clock. The halftime score was 19-17. We made some adjustments at halftime and turned up the heat defensively a little bit and got some easy scores and controlled the tempo in the second half and won 54-43.

The Idabel game was just as I expected. They were MUCH improved from when we played them on 11/28. We kept telling the guys not to expect the same result because they would be much better. The shot the ball much better and played tough at home as usual. In fact it was the first time we have beaten them there in recent memory. The final score was 62-52.

The other bonus was we got to see Mt. Peasant play twice. They are very quick and athletic and will be even better once they get two key players back after Christmas from football injuries. This district is going to be a battle!

J.J. Redick

2006-12-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

I'm a big Duke basketball fan and it's just not the same watching them this year without J.J. Redick. These are the highlights from the Duke-Texas game last year when Redick lit up the Longhorns for 41. When you watch the film notice how many of his shots never hit the rim. He was unbelievable.

Frisco Tournament Champions

2006-12-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

We've been fortunate to accomplish a lot goals the last couple of years in the program, but one of the things we had set out to do hadn't been accomplished until this weekend: win a tournament.

We went 3-0 this weekend to win the Frisco Invitational tournament, defeating Denton Ryan 61-49, Frisco Centennial 67-61, and Wylie 56-54. We played two games on Saturday due to the games being cancelled on Thursday, and the fatigue was evident in the championship. However the kids fought through it and showed a little mental toughness and found a way to win. It was a great accomplishment for our program and I am very proud of our team.

Game added

2006-11-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

We left the date of Dec. 12 on our schedule as an open date hoping to find an opponent. Luckily we have. However, instead of Dec. 12, we will be playing on Dec. 14 at McKinney. All three teams will be playing beginning with the freshmen at 4:30.

We faced McKinney in the area round of the playoffs last year and were able to get away with a win. They have a great program and it should be a good matchup. I'm pleased that we not only were able to fill the open date, but that we found such a quality opponent.

Frisco Tournament update

2006-11-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

We were scheduled to play Denton Ryan today at 5:30 at Centennial High School in the opening round of the Frisco Tournament. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and all of the first round games were postponed. We will instead play on Friday, same time, location and opponent. We will play twice on Saturday, hopefully on the winners side of the bracket. The tournament bracket and directions can be found on our PISD website by clicking on the Paris Wildcat Basketball Link.

Idabel recap

2006-11-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

We played Idabel, OK on 11/28 and were able to win 61-34.

We played much better than we've played all year. Very few turnovers, better shots, and a great defensive effort. We will get to play Idabel again in a couple of weeks at their place, and I can assure you they will be much, much better. Their game with us was their first of the season, and they will improve with time and playing games just like we have and will continue to do.

We are starting to play better as a whole in all phases of the game, but now need to start "tweaking" things here and there. For example earlier in the year we weren't' in very good position on the helpside and weren't always seeing the ball. Now we are often in position, but don't' always see the ball. We have to get to where we are ALWAYS in position and ALWAYS see the ball to be successful. Likewise we have to do a better job of finding open teammates. We are looking, just not at the right time and not always seeing it as it is happening. Sometimes we try to make the right play but wait to long and by the time the ball is there that guy isn't open anymore.

Its the small things that will win big games.

Terrell game

2006-11-27T21:36:00.000-08:00

We were able to pull out a 54-52 victory on Friday at home against Terrell. It was a great win for a lot of reasons.

First of all, Terrell is a perennial power in our region. They have a great scorer/shooter in Antwain Thomas and a really good post player in Brandon Webb. Webb has been committed to the University of Texas at Arlington since his sophomore year, and they are getting a good player in him.

Two years ago we played Terrell three times and they beat us all three times. Last year we won both matchups. Friday was our chance to even the score and we were able to do so.

We had a lot of kids step up and play well. Defensively we were as good as we have been so far this year, and we were able to cut down on our turnovers. Those two things really helped us win the game. The stat of the game however was free throws. We were 11-19, Terrell was 13-13. Of our 8 misses, 5 came in the third quarter. However that was also our best defensive quarter so it sort of evened out.

The score was tied 52-52 and they had the ball with 12 seconds left. We got a steal and the ball back with 4 seconds left in front of our bench and called timeout to set something up. The kids executed it perfectly and we were able to get an easy shot as the buzzer went off for the win. A lot of people have asked me if it was something that we just drew up on the fly during that timeout. It was actually something we have in our system but haven't been unable to put it in yet. During the timeout we just reviewed it and went over options. It wasn't designed for any one specific thing to happen, but to hopefully draw defenders were we want them and put our guys in a position so that whoever got the ball could drive and make a play. That's exactly what happened and the kids did a great job of executing when the game was on the line.

First home win

2006-11-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

We opened at home on Nov. 20 with a 74-69 win against Pittsburg. They are the #8 ranked team in AAA and deservedly so. This game was important because it was at home and we expect to win all of our games at home. A few notes:

They have two of the best guards we have ever played against.

We out rebounded them by a large margin, which is something we need to do every time we play

We gave up 69 points, which won't win us many games down the road in district. However I think it is more indicative of the turnovers we had that led to easy points for them rather than our lack of defense. Make no mistake, we have to get better defensively, but our biggest deficiency right now is making too many turnovers.

All in all it was a win and we will take it, but we just have to get better. We play them again on Jan. 5 in Pittsburg and that will be a good "measuring stick" to see how much we have improved in that span of time.

Tough loss

2006-11-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

We took one on the chin last Friday at Sherman, 88-59.

They are a very talented team with a deep bench and do a lot of things well. They will probably win their district again and be a contender in the playoffs. It was a very physical game and we weren't ready to play at that level yet, but we will be. Even their coach, who is a friend of mine, told me after the game that a month from now it would be a much different story, and I think he is right. However it is over and behind us, and we will learn from it and move on.

We played them last year at the same time at their place and the same thing happened, and we bounced back after that game and continued to improve. I am confident that we will do the same this year.

Not a bad way to start the season

2006-11-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

We have our first game and our first win under our belt. However, by no means was it in any way pretty. In fact it was pretty ugly. But again, that's to be expected.

I told the team I had three goals for them for the first game:

1. Play hard 2. Compete for 32 minutes 3. Play together

Without question we accomplished those three things. We also got to overcome a little adversity early on (foul trouble, missed free throws that kept the score close) and it was good to see that we could overcome it.

Several of the guys were disappointed in their performance as if they had let the team down by not being on top of their game. I had to keep reminding them when it was over, and even the day after, of the circumstances surrounding this game that mad e it tough to play in, including guys fresh from football, only one one-hour practice as a team, a road game on a Tuesday night with officiating to match, two starters in foul trouble all night, not being anywhere we need to be defensively to be successful, missed free throws due to lack of practice, and not rebounding well at all. Despite all of that we still won by 19. That is a very promising start to the year and tells me that if we can win a game like that under those circumstance, once we get some practice time on the floor and figure things out we will have a chance to be really good.

Second scrimmage results

2006-11-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

A few notes -

We improved a lot from Thursday to Saturday

We are close to being in competition shape, but the football guys will probably have to catch up in this category

We played well at times and not so well at times, especially against full court pressure

Denison has some really good guards

Southlake Carroll can hurt you in a lot of different ways

We still have a long way to gobut that's ok.

scrimmage results

2006-11-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

I was very pleased, for the most part, with the results of our scrimmage yesterday against Hugo and Princeton. A few notes:

Hugo will be a lot better once they get their kids from the football playoffs.

Princeton is a very good basketball team. Pre-season ranked #10 in 3A, they have all of their kids and will be a force in their district and region.

We are a lot farther along defensively than I expected.

We are a little bit better offensively than I expected.

Our performance declined in direct proportion to our increase in fatigue as the scrimmage went on.

All in all I considered it a success because we played very hard and tried to do the things that we know we have to do.

Great practice

2006-11-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time in a long time, we had 10 healthy guys at practice and were able to get some things done. Mondays are always hard and usually it is a sluggish practice. However today was different. It didn't start great, but it only took about 10 minutes to shake the cobwebs off and really start to show some intensity and focus. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow.

We will scrimmage Hugo and Princeton on Thursday at Paris High beginning at 5:00.

New NBA basketball

2006-11-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of discussion about the new NBA ball. Some like it, most don't. They say that it feels "new" all the time, meaning it's much easier to play with a ball that has been broken in and played with.

One thing that I think everyone can agree on is that it is really ugly.

Less than a week

2006-11-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

We are now less than one week away from competing against other teams in scrimmages and games. It's time, because frankly I think these guys are tired of beating up on each other! We've had to take it easy in practices for a couple of days due to illness, injuries, etc., but will get back into full swing soon. The guys are very much looking forward to the scrimmages and upcoming games, and so am I.

Big game

2006-11-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight our football team will take on the Mt. Pleasant Tigers in Mt. Pleasant. A lot is riding on this game because it has playoff implications - we win and we're in. There's nothing more exciting than big games and playoffs. I'm looking forward to a big playoff run so those guys that come over to basketball will do so on a high note and with a lot of confidence and winning experience.

The big day is here

2006-10-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Oct. 25, marks the first official day of the basketball season. Everything is fresh and new with a lot of excitement surrounding the first practice. I hope for an intense, lively, productive practice for the first day that will set the tone for the rest of the season. It is important to have a good start to anything you hope to accomplish, and the first day of practice is no different.

Best of luck to all of those beginning their journey tomorrow.

Schedule finalized - for now

2006-10-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Scheduling basketball games at Paris High is an adventure. We are allowed 21 games (including district games) plus 3 invitational tournaments. We are allowed to replace one of those tournament with 2 additional games, which we did Other restrictions include only 2 games per week, or 1 game and an invitational tournament. Putting together a good schedule is a challenge. You want a mix of games you think you can win, games that can go either way, and maybe sometimes even an opponent that you know is a lot better than you, but will make you better. The same can be said for tournaments, but the tournaments we are in this year - Frisco and Sherman - are jam packed with quality teams and will be a great challenge.

The trick in scheduling is to find teams. That sounds simple enough, but considering our location it is tough. Being a "rural 4A" school means that to play teams in our general area we will have to play a lot of teams in lower classifications. There are plenty of good ones that will make us better, but it doesn't serve us to exclusively play class 3A teams and below. The only other 4A/5A teams in this area happen to be in our district, and playing them in pre-district is never a good idea. That leaves us with traveling to either deep east Texas or to the DFW Metroplex to find games. The problem with the DFW schools is they never want to schedule us because that means that sooner or later they are going to have to come to Paris. Honestly I can't blame them because they will drive past 10 schools on the way here that are much closer and very good competition.

Realignment also caused some problems, as we had scheduled games this year with Forney, Wylie and West Mesquite just before district play starts. Due to realignment, all 3 teams have a much bigger district, which means they start district play much earlier, which means we lost that date.

You can navigate to our schedule by clicking on the Paris Basketball link, then going to "Schedule/results" There you will find our schedule of games and tournaments. I hope to have a printable version on the site soon in the form of a Word or PDF document. We still have one open date (Dec. 12) that we will fill if we can find a suitable opponent.

Visitors on campus

2006-10-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

This week we had the first of what I hope are many visits to our campus by college coaches interested in our kids. I think they were pleased with what they saw. I was very pleased by the way our kids played and carried themselves. They did a good job of doing the things we constantly ask them to do, which is play great defense, rebound, and make good decisions on offense. The coaches in attendance were very complimentary of the way the guys played and carried themselves and that says a lot about the quality of the kids in our program.

Unfortunately, that's just the way it works

2006-09-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

We are in a good situation in that we have more than one kid that is being recruited to play at the next level. That says a lot about those kids and their future and it makes me proud as their coach. Unfortunately, it isn't always as warm and cozy as it seems.

College basketball is a business. Coaches are hired and fired based on their success more than high school basketball coaches. They need to be sure they are doing what's best for their program. Unfortunately, sometimes it is at the expense of a high school kid just looking for an opportunity.

I'll be the first to say that most of the guys we have dealt with are top notch and of the utmost character. However that is not always the case. Sometimes you run across some real characters who will gladly tell you what you, your kid and their parents want to hear but have no intention of following through with it. They are only as interested in one player as another player is interested in them. For example, they may be recruiting three guys at a position, and one of them is my guy. They write, they call, they text, offer to come watch him workout, the whole bit. Then suddenly it all stops. Soon we find out that another guy they were recruiting at the same position has committed. Suddenly, the other guys are an afterthought, without even a common courtesy phone call or email. It's not always this way because the majority of these guys are top notch and will tell you the situation up front and let you know how it shakes out in the end if it isn't going to work out.

In a way its a blessing because I wouldn't want to encourage my guys to go play for a program with guys like that involved. Better to know now than to know when its too late, but it would be even better if they were all up front all of the time. These are high school kids we are talking about, and they don't deserve to be treated this way.

Offensive and Defensive Efficiency

2006-09-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is a discussion that came up recently amongst some coaching friends of mine. The basic premise of the discussion was, can you be a great defensive team and score a lot of points, and can you be a high octane, high scoring team and be a great defensive team as well?

We are known for our pressure defense and deliberate offense. Not to say that we don't encourage the transition game, but with our personnel it benefits us as a team to have a more deliberate attack. Under different circumstances, could we be both a great defensive team and a great offensive team? In my opinion, yes.

When you look up defensive and offensive leaders in the newspaper, you see that they are measured by points per game on offense, and opponents points per game on defense. While these are certainly good measuring sticks of how a team plays, it doesn't portray their effectiveness. In addition to these stats we also track points per possession on offense (offensive efficiency), points allowed per possession on defense (defensive efficiency) and average scoring differential (margin of victory or defeat).

By using these statistical categories it gives a better indication of how well your team is really playing. While we are always amongst the leaders in our class and area in team defense, I would still think that we would be among the leaders in defensive efficiency, but it would be near impossible to track. Likewise a team that gives up a lot more points than we do might also be among the leaders in defensive efficiency because their style of play leads to more possessions and more points scored, but just as many points per possession.

Bottom line, if you look at it on a game by game basis or season average you will get skewed statistics. In order to get a true picture it has to be broken down by possession.

Good - The Enemy of Great

2006-09-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

I came across this recently and found it very applicable to the situatio we were in. Las tyear we proved we were good, but we have to find a way to become great. Complacency will prevent greatness. I had the guys read this and we discussed it as a group, and they really had good thoughts about what it would take to go from good to great.

Good-The Enemy of Great

The biggest gap and the hardest jump is going from good to great. Your responsibility is to decide whether you like being good…or whether you can not live without being great.

At first glance, we all say we want to be great, yet only the select few truly understand that “good is the enemy of great.”

Only a select few are unable to sleep at night when they put forth a good effort and not a great one.

Good is easy. Great is the hardest thing you will ever attempt in your life. Good is rewarding…great is everlasting. The transition requires more than hard work; it requires working hard on the right things; it requires working hard and working smart. You’ve got to practice with purpose.

Great Quote

2006-09-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

"Basketball is not a game of great plays; it is a game of eliminating mistakes." - Kelvin Sampson, Indiana Basketball

Some would argue that while both are important, a lot of times games come down to who can make the last play. This is true, but making plays does not always mean doing the spectacular, but doing the routine or the ordinary - an extra pass, a big rebound, a defensive stop. Smart, ordinary, routine actions, when performed consistently, make the most difference. How do good players make these plays over and over again? By eliminating the mistakes that would prevent them from making the play.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

2006-09-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

I find it amazing that for whatever reason, a lot of kids are oblivious to the resounding impact a single decision that they make can have not only on them, but on those close to them (family, teammates, etc.)

I read a great quote recently that really sums this up. Can't remember the exact quote, but it goes something like this:

"The reason most people fail is they are not willing to trade what they want right now for what they want the most"

Sometimes we don't always see the big picture, and get caught up in the moment and what we want in this very instant, and that can have a very negative effect on our long term, greater success, which is what we really want the most. Unfortunately kids don't always know how or why to make the right decision, and more importantly don't understand that the decisions they make - even as teenagers - can affect a lot of people. No matter how many times they are told or how many options they are given, a lot of kids will still continue to make the wrong decision only to later wish they had listened to those that were trying to help them do the right thing.

The bottom line is we are all responsible for our actions and decisions and need to understand that the choices we make are usually more far reaching than we realize. Some people can be shown the right way, some people can be told the right way. Some people have to learn the hard way.

What a difference a week makes

2006-08-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Right now our time in the gym is very limited. We usually spend the first four days of each week conditioning and lifting, then scrimmage on Friday. The first week, the scrimmage was awful, but that's what I expected. I told them that if I freaked out on the first week about how we played my priorities were skewed. However, I did tell them that if they played the same way the next week I would freak out, and with good reason.

To their credit the guys really did a better job of transitioning on offense and defense, taking better shots, boxing out and sharing the ball. The funny thing is we didn't work on any of that stuff all week. We did, however, get in better shape physically and mentally in a week's time, and that makes a world of difference. The whole key to the fall offseason is not to be ready to get in district form as soon as possible, or to even be game ready. I don't want to teach them plays right now, but I want to teach them how to play, and to be a better conditioned athlete both mentally and physically.

I'm really hammering home the fact that to get to the next level we have to have an edge. Our edge isn't going to be athleticism or skill level, because our region represents the best the state has to offer in skilled athletes. Our edge will be that we will be tougher, stronger and in better shape, both physically and mentally, because the difference will not be who has the better athlete, the better rebounders, or the best shooters. The difference will be who will still have their legs to get the rebound, and the focus and mental toughness to take the shot when the game is on the line.

Small world

2006-08-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Found out shortly after creating this blog that a friend of mine, John Harmatuk, had created one as well. He is the basketball coach at Cypress Springs High School in Houston, and should have one of the best teams in the state this year. He and I share a lot of thoughts and opinions about many things. However, we have a totally different approach as far as how we run our programs. The great thing about it is, neither one of us are wrong. Although neither one of us agree much with what the other one does, we do learn from each other. You can read his blog at http://coachtuk.blogspot.com.

Getting back into the swing of things

2006-08-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a hectic week but a good one thus far. Between unexpected students, family illness, and one of our very own being hospitalized, it has been a very busy start of the new year. I was busy taking care of personal business the first two days but am glad to be back.

It has been too hot to go to the track. I need these guys to be in shape both mentally and physically, which is why we do the things we do during our offseason. However, common sense prevails when the thermometer is over 100 degrees. Physical and mental conditioning is not worth jeopardizing a kids health. There will be plenty of time for conditioning on the track when the weather allows. Until then, its lots of weights, plyometrics and skill development.

The kids are off to a good start with their work ethic. During our weight sessions there has been hardly any chatter among them. This means that they are working too hard to be talking and visiting, and that is a good thing.

Welcome

2006-08-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will be a great means by which those that are interested can keep up with our team and program. I plan to update as much as possible, as time permits.

We are looking forward to getting started with our offseason program when school starts next week with plenty of conditioning and weight lifting to get the guys mentally and physically ready for the grind of the season. I am looking forward to it and hope they are as well, especially the 2 mile runs and the 200m sprint buildups!

We have eight 10-12 graders in 7th period offseason to start this year and only 3 freshmen. These numbers are low, but they are all guys that we feel can contribute to our program in some way.

Coach B.