Remaining Scott County Central players face tall task: four straight

~ SCC will return just two big contributors from this year's team

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Scott County Central junior Dominique Porter said his senior teammates have told him what they expect from him and the other returning players next season.

"I don't want to say what they say," Porter said with a big smile not long after the Braves won their third consecutive state title Saturday.

"To be honest with you, they ain't got faith in us. We're just going to have to prove everybody wrong and come up here and try to win another state championship."

When asked why his teammates lacked faith, Porter answered, "Because we're losing Otto Porter," with a tone of disbelief that the question was raised.

Otto Porter, Dominique's cousin, will graduate and take his 29 points and 12 rebounds-a-game averages with him to the Division I college of his choice -- either Missouri, Georgetown or Kansas at last check.

Nine other seniors, including four starters, will not return.

Dominique Porter and Lamarcus Steward are the only regular contributors who will be back.

"I just expect them to fit into their role," senior Stewart Johnson said. "They're the leaders next year, and I know they're going to do a good job of it. From them seeing me and Bubba [Otto Porter] do it, they've learned a lot from it. I know they have. Even if they don't admit it, they have."

Dominique Porter scored 18 points in the championship game, well above his season average 11 points, but his eyes didn't have tears in them like those of many of his teammates.

"No, no, no," he said. "My time ain't over yet. I've got to try to get us up here next year."

Steward, who played 10 minutes Saturday and scored three points, said he has also been getting the same ribbing from the upperclassmen -- that no Otto Porter will mean no state championship.

"All of them, except the juniors," Steward said had been saying the same thing. "But basically we told them we would prove to them that we'll come up here and do the same thing that they did."

Outside of the locker room and away from the joking, senior Reggie Woodson offered a different assessment.

"We expect the same thing from them next year," he said. "They better be back here next year."

And while he wasn't tearing up after the game, Dominique Porter said he was sad to say goodbye to the seniors.

"We're all going to miss playing with each other because we've been playing with each other since we were real, real small," Porter said. "Just to know that they aren't going to be here next year is like a heartbreaker for us."

Whatever the follow up to this season's 29-2 record and state championship, Porter said he knows his former teammates will be OK with the outcome.

"They just want us to try our hardest," Porter said. "That's pretty much all -- try our hardest and if we get beat, we get beat."