Role players help SCC stay on roll

A new cast of supporting characters has emerged during Scott County Central's run to the Class 1 boys basketball final four.

The Braves lost 10 players from last year's state championship team, but they've filled the holes with three juniors and a sophomore.

"It ended up not being that easy, coming in, filling big shoes like Drew Thomas and Des Williams," junior Trey Johnson said. "It hasn't been that easy. Going through practices, coach telling you what to do and all that, you get used to it. It's fine after a little while."

Johnson, Calvin Porter, Dominique Porter and Bryan Freed have taken on more responsibility this season. They've added some scoring while learning to play together in the Braves' pressure defense.

"Last year, it was enjoyable to watch it," Johnson said. "But being a part of it now, I'm on the court, it's a lot more fantastic."

The Braves (27-2) will continue defense of their state championship when they play Dadeville (29-1) in the state semifinals at 6:40 p.m. Thursday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

Johnson is the lone player of the four who played in last year's final four, and that only was for a minute in the title game. Now he's joined the starting lineup, along with Freed and Calvin Porter, while Dominique Porter is the first player off the bench.

So much of SCC's offensive success springs from the team's constant defensive pressure. Braves coach Kenyon Wright expects his role players to understand the defense and contribute to creating chaos.

"Since seventh grade we've been working on this," Freed said. "We've pressed since seventh grade. Right now we just go trap. It's not really nothing hard to learn. We learned it since we were little."

The Braves try to wear out opponents with constant pressure. Wright doesn't use many players off the bench early in games, so the players know they must be ready to run.

"Come in and watch one of our practices," Dominique Porter said. "Coach runs the crap out of us. We work on that press over and over and over and over. We just keep going and going. He tells us if you work hard, it will pay off in the long run. What you put into it is what you're going to get out of it."

The toughest part for the new contributors isn't adjusting to placement on the floor when running the press. The difficult part is avoiding fatigue.

"With all the running we do, we should be able to do it," Calvin Porter said. "We pretty much stay in shape with all the running we do. That's what we want. We want to wear out the other team. That's how most of the time we break them."

The four role players also have helped shoulder some of the scoring load. Bobby Hatchett and Otto Porter, who is nicknamed Bubba, handle most of the scoring, but the other players aren't afraid to contribute offensively.

"When we played Risco [in the quarterfinals], they played a box-and-two, holding Bobby and Bubba," Johnson said. "That leaves other key players like me and Calvin. What we try to do is find open space and we try to score from there."

Dominique Porter has featured the hottest hand in the group during the postseason. He's averaging 12.8 points per game in the Braves' four playoff games. He even led SCC in scoring with 23 points in its sectional win.

"I get good passes and good stuff from Bubba and Bobby," he said. "I just go out there and try to help them out and take some of the stuff off their back."

He's listed at 5 foot 10, but he's asked to mix it up for rebounds. It's an assignment he doesn't mind.

"You've just got to think big," he said. "If you think big, you can do anything. I just try to play big and get boards and stuff like that. I think the big guys don't think I won't go up against them. I think they're underestimating me."

Wright said the sophomore has a lot of room to grow, but adds a spark off the bench.

"He comes off the bench and has given us lately some scoring and defense too," Wright said. "He comes out there and works as hard as he can work. He makes a lot of mistakes here and there like all of them, but he gets in there and for the most part he does a good job of working so hard to make up for it."

Johnson also has added some scoring. He's averaging 8.3 points per game in the postseason and helps out Otto Porter with rebounding.

"He looks to get in there and go to the boards hard and crash the boards on both ends as best he can," Wright said. "He does a good job of playing hard."

Calvin Porter is listed generously at 6-3 and often draws the assignment of guarding taller players. He's only averaging 4 points per game in the postseason, but Wright said he's smart about trying to score.

"Calvin gets in there in the middle and guards one of their bigger guys most of the time and helps Bubba out in there on the boards," Wright said. "He does a good job of catching the ball, and when he gets the opportunity to shoot it and score, he puts it in the hole."

Wright asks Freed to make his presence felt on defense. He moved into the starting lineup early in the season, a move that took some time to adjust to. But Wright's been pleased with his progress.

"Bryan goes out there every day and works his butt off," Wright said. "He comes out and plays good defense. He's a great defender. He's developed a pretty good shot throughout the season."

The four players will be crucial to the Braves' success in Columbia. But they said they don't feel any pressure as the team prepares for its third consecutive appearance at the final four.

"I'm just ready to play," Dominique Porter said. "I'm pumped up to be honest with you. I'm just trying to go out there and play basketball and have fun with it."