Long County Blue Tide head coach Deshon Brock recently sat down to discuss where his team is at the mid-season break.
Q: How do you rate your offense up? Are there areas you want to improve?
A: I rate our offense at a 7.5, but I want us to have more consistency. For the most part we can score at will, but at times we have poor shot selection and make some bad passes. That can lead to turnovers or long rebounds and fast break points for the other team.
Q: Are there any standout players on the offense?
A: Right now our big three scorers are Jimmy Bacon, who’s averaging 18.5, Robert Gamble, who has 13.5, and Justin Boyd with 12 points.
Q: What about on the defense, how do you rate it, and are there standouts there?
A: I think our defense is about a 7 right now, there still are some aspects I would like to fix. We play great in spurts, but I want us to be able to shut teams down and limit their opportunities. Not just for a period or two, but for the entire game. As for standouts, the overall hustle of the team as a whole allows for Justin and Prince (Moody) to lead the team in steals. When it comes to blocks, Lazorous Baggs gets about four a game when healthy, and Jimmy (Bacon) is getting about three.
Q: Are there any players who surprised you with their performance?
A: I have been pleasantly surprised with the play of Eli Guest. He is averaging about 8 points a game and getting around 2 blocks. He also has gone over 12 points a couple of times, and his role on the team has only gotten bigger in recent weeks. I will need him to not only continue his level of play, but to exceed it, if we are to get where we want to get. And that is get to Macon.
Q: Any other players you want to mention?
A: Well, right now the team is playing very unselfish basketball. They are doing a good job of finding the open man, or whoever is hot. Prince is doing a good job of distributing the ball and making sure everyone gets their touches, while still finding a way to score himself. It’s not really any one guy that makes us go; anyone can lead us in scoring.
That works well for us, because if an opposing team targets one of our guys to shut him down, we still have two or three other guys who can go off. Guys like Ricky Rivera, Donte Brown, and Deandre McCall do a great job of coming off the bench providing energy and effort.
Q: What do you think your record needs to be for your team to make the playoffs?
A: As we enter the meat of our schedule, we have to stay mentally focused and hungry every night. We learned early this year, that we can be beat, if we don’t play up to our ability. We have to bring our A-game to the court every time or we will fall short like we did against Savannah Christian and Lovett. I’m not so much concerned with our record, as I am with how we are actually playing going into the region tournament. I want to leave there (tournament) as the number one seed, going into the state playoffs. That has been our goal for the entire season, since the first day of school. Get that number one seed, so we can play at home in the state tournament.
Q: What teams do you believe are your biggest threats for winning the region tournament?
A: At this point, everyone is a threat to us, just because we have been getting so much recognition. Being ranked in the state polls, has painted a giant target on our backs. Now everyone circles the date they are scheduled to play us, and they bring their A-game with them.
The Blue Tide is currently ranked number ten in the State Coaches Poll.
Q: How do you rate your offense up? Are there areas you want to improve?
A: I rate our offense at a 7.5, but I want us to have more consistency. For the most part we can score at will, but at times we have poor shot selection and make some bad passes. That can lead to turnovers or long rebounds and fast break points for the other team.
Q: Are there any standout players on the offense?
A: Right now our big three scorers are Jimmy Bacon, who’s averaging 18.5, Robert Gamble, who has 13.5, and Justin Boyd with 12 points.
Q: What about on the defense, how do you rate it, and are there standouts there?
A: I think our defense is about a 7 right now, there still are some aspects I would like to fix. We play great in spurts, but I want us to be able to shut teams down and limit their opportunities. Not just for a period or two, but for the entire game. As for standouts, the overall hustle of the team as a whole allows for Justin and Prince (Moody) to lead the team in steals. When it comes to blocks, Lazorous Baggs gets about four a game when healthy, and Jimmy (Bacon) is getting about three.
Q: Are there any players who surprised you with their performance?
A: I have been pleasantly surprised with the play of Eli Guest. He is averaging about 8 points a game and getting around 2 blocks. He also has gone over 12 points a couple of times, and his role on the team has only gotten bigger in recent weeks. I will need him to not only continue his level of play, but to exceed it, if we are to get where we want to get. And that is get to Macon.
Q: Any other players you want to mention?
A: Well, right now the team is playing very unselfish basketball. They are doing a good job of finding the open man, or whoever is hot. Prince is doing a good job of distributing the ball and making sure everyone gets their touches, while still finding a way to score himself. It’s not really any one guy that makes us go; anyone can lead us in scoring.
That works well for us, because if an opposing team targets one of our guys to shut him down, we still have two or three other guys who can go off. Guys like Ricky Rivera, Donte Brown, and Deandre McCall do a great job of coming off the bench providing energy and effort.
Q: What do you think your record needs to be for your team to make the playoffs?
A: As we enter the meat of our schedule, we have to stay mentally focused and hungry every night. We learned early this year, that we can be beat, if we don’t play up to our ability. We have to bring our A-game to the court every time or we will fall short like we did against Savannah Christian and Lovett. I’m not so much concerned with our record, as I am with how we are actually playing going into the region tournament. I want to leave there (tournament) as the number one seed, going into the state playoffs. That has been our goal for the entire season, since the first day of school. Get that number one seed, so we can play at home in the state tournament.
Q: What teams do you believe are your biggest threats for winning the region tournament?
A: At this point, everyone is a threat to us, just because we have been getting so much recognition. Being ranked in the state polls, has painted a giant target on our backs. Now everyone circles the date they are scheduled to play us, and they bring their A-game with them.
The Blue Tide is currently ranked number ten in the State Coaches Poll.