By Kyle LoJacono
The Land O’ Lakes boys basketball team has a new set of expectations after the 2011-12 season.
Last year, the Gators (3-6) went 22-7, were co-Sunshine Athletic Conference champions, captured a district title and won a playoff game for the first time.
“The whole season was big,” said 24-year Land O’ Lakes coach David Puhalski. “The district championship was big because we’ve only won three, so I was really happy they could accomplish that and win a regional game. For the younger guys who are back this year, that showed them a lot about what you have to do to compete at that level.”
It is those younger players who are tasked with building on the foundation set last year, as the Gators lost four of their five starters to graduation from last year, including their leader in points (Ernest McClendon, 12.8*), assists (Justin Thomopalos, 4.3*) and steals (Jackson Cannon, 2.3*). Those four also accounted for 69 percent of Land O’ Lakes’ scoring in 2011-12.
“It was a special team,” said 6-foot-5 senior center Victor Obi, the only returning starter. “Most of the starters last year, we’ve been playing together for a long time. We built a lot of chemistry, got it going and finally made a big run last year. … I feel like we can go far this year too. Step for step we have probably more talent this year, but right now it’s just about building that chemistry and that team bond. As soon as we get that going, we’ll be all right.”
One of the young additions is Victor’s brother Mike Obi, a sophomore point guard. Mike said he learned a lot from watching Thomopalos run the offense last season.
“Biggest thing was he showed me to be more patient,” Mike said. “You have to let things develop and get open. He also showed me a lot about the plays we run.”
Mike does have the added burden of needing to score in order for the team to be successful.
“He’s a different type of point guard,” Puhalski said. “He’s a scoring point guard, and we need him to do that. We lost a lot of our scoring in those four seniors. We don’t need Mike to be a true point guard. He’s balancing both, and that’s new for him as a sophomore. It’ll take a little while to adjust, but he will.”
Mike has risen to the challenge so far, averaging 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Victor (13.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks).
Two other additions this year are junior guard Seth Galbraith (4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals), who moved from Ohio, and freshman guard Taddeus Dixon (5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds).
“Seth is a good addition,” Puhalski said. “He’s a hustler, he hawks the ball and he can shoot it a bit for us. Then Taddeus Dixon came up from the middle school, and he’s a neat story just fitting right in.”
Puhalski added that there is also enough leadership from Victor and senior power forward Justin Forchion (2.9 rebounds).
“Victor is a real quiet leader and leads by example,” Puhalski said. “Justin is more of a vocal leader. He came off the bench and played seven to eight minutes for us last year. Hopefully those two can combine to be that leader.”
Galbraith said he sees the talent needed for a deep playoff run, as long as they build team chemistry.
“It’s about on the court and off the court,” Galbraith said. “When we see each other in the halls and in class, it’s a different kind of friendship. It’s like he’s my brother, and just seeing each other helps. We also go out to eat before games, we’ve gone bowling together and just do stuff as a team.”
The season has started slowly for Land O’ Lakes, but the same was true last year when the Gators stumbled to a 2-3 start.
“We came together when we needed to. I think we can really come together as things go along,” Mike said. “We’re developing team chemistry. Last year, those guys had played together for a while on varsity. This year we’ve had a lot of (junior varsity) move-ups, so it’s just going to take some time.”
Victor said having so many new faces may allow them to sneak up on teams.
“We have so many young players; we’re still looked at as the underdog in our district,” Victor said. “We can come together just like last year and be even better. … Our goal every year is to win district and conference, but I feel like we can go a lot farther than that, maybe past regionals. Last year we made the regional semifinals. That was a good accomplishment, but I think we can go farther this year.”
Puhalski said making a deep playoff run will hinge on three things.
“We have to defend the ball tremendously well, like we did last year,” Puhalski said. “We’ve got to rebound. We’ve also got to cut down on the turnovers. Last year we had 12 to 13 turnovers per game with Thomopalos handling the ball. We couldn’t ask for anyone better at taking care of the ball. This team has to take care of the ball. We’ve made more turnovers in the first games than I want. That’s kind of our Achilles heel, and we’re working on that.”
Galbraith sees the progression and the potential.
“We’re going to have a great season, and this is just the beginning,” Galbraith said. “We still have a long ways to go.”
Land O’ Lakes travels to cross-town and district rival Sunlake Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
*Stats from last year
