Scott County Central Boys Basketball Preview

Conference: Scott-Mississippi

Coach: Frank Staple, 3rd year

District: Class 2 District 1

Schedule:

Date Day of Week Opponent Location Time

November 28-29, 2014 Friday-Saturday Riverbend Classic NMCC TBA

December 1-5, 2014 Monday-Friday Oran Invitational Tournament Oran TBA

December 9, 2014 Tuesday Meridian (Mounds, Ill.) Away 5 p.m.

December 16, 2014 Tuesday Advance Away 6 p.m.

December 19, 2014 Friday Malden Home 6 p.m.

December 22, 2014 Monday Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) Away 6 p.m.

December 26-30, 2014 Friday-Tuesday Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Show-Me Center TBA

January 2, 2015 Friday Delta Away 6 p.m.

January 9, 2015 Friday Oak Ridge Away 6 p.m.

January 13, 2015 Tuesday East Prairie Home 6 p.m.

January 16, 2015 Friday Charleston Home 6 p.m.

January 19-23, 2015 Monday-Friday Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament Oran TBA

January 27, 2015 Tuesday Hayti Home 6 p.m.

January 30, 2015 Friday Chaffee Away 6 p.m.

February 3, 2015 Tuesday Kelly Home 6 p.m.

February 13, 2015 Friday Oran Home 6 p.m.

February 17, 2015 Tuesday Scott City Home 6 p.m.

February 19, 2015 Thursday New Madrid County Central Home 6 p.m.

Roster:

No. Player Year Height

00 Brody Carter 12 6'2

2 Drake Kesler 12 6'2

4 Tre Moore 12 5'10

10 Jeffery Porter 11 6'2

23 Javonta Daniel 12 6'2

30 Matt Blissett 12 6'2

33 Skylar Lemons 11 5'9

34 Lane Kesler 11 6'2

40 Garrett Burchard 12 6'3

Returning starters: Jeffery Porter, Matthew Blissett

Starters lost: LaRandis Banks, Juwan Owens, Kendall Blissett, Cameron Blissett

Last year's record: 26-5

Postseason result: Defeated Meadville 69-39 in Class 1 state championship

Last year's leaders:

Points: LaRandis Banks (19.0 ppg)

Rebounds: Jeffery Porter (5.4 rpg)

Assists: Porter (3.7 apg)

Team outlook

As if its relentless defensive pressure, fastbreak and continuous crashing of the boards on both sides of the court weren't enough, Scott County Central boys basketball coach Frank Staple believes his team will have another weapon this year.

"The thing about this team that's kind of different that any team I've been on at Scott Central to this point -- we may not be the most talented, but we shoot the ball so well," said Staple, who won three state championships as a Braves' assistant before claiming his first as a head coach last year. "We have about four or five guys that can really, really shoot it from outside, so that's going to be an aspect of our game that we have this year that we haven't had as consistently in years past. We should really be a good shooting team this year."

This year's team has also taken on a different personality than last year's Braves, which claimed the program's 17th state title.

"This team is really laid back," Staple said. "Last year's team had a lot of guys who were really kind of loud and outgoing. This group of kids is kind of quiet, laid back. Everybody gets along really, really well, which they did last year, too. But this bunch of kids, the maturity level is outstanding. We have so many kids who have either played of been around it for so long that they really know what to expect."

Junior Jeffery Porter and senior Matthew Blissett both started for the Braves at times last season and were key pieces of the team along with sixth-man Javonta Daniel. There will be some new faces in this season's rotation, which Staple said he hopes will include eight or nine players by the end of the season.

For now, the players are working to get familiar with each other.

"We have a saying on defense: 'Everybody's your man,'" Staple said. "We don't just focus on guarding one person. We just try to teach the kids how to guard the whole court. Everybody has to know their role. Everybody has to know where they fit and kind of what they do best, what they need to bring to the press, to the team to make us most successful."

District outlook

The Braves have won a Missouri record 17 state championships, but just one of those have come outside the comforts of Class 1.

SCC won the Class 2 title in 1980 with a 32-1 record under coach Ronnie Cookson. Now the Braves are back in Class 2 after realignment in the offseason in a tough District 1.

"You just kind of look at it as another challenge," Staple said. "We know our district is very tough. You have to go down and play South Pemiscot and Bernie and Bloomfield and some of those teams. It's a really tough district, but we just look at it as a challenge and take it day by day. I think we play a pretty good schedule that should have us prepared for when we get there, but Class 2 is just another challenge for us, and we'll do our best to try to see how far we can go."

SCC always plays a tough schedule that features many larger schools, but some adjustments were made this season.

"We picked up Notre Dame. Again, I know they're Class 4, but we picked them up," Staple said. "We picked up Malden and Hayti to maybe try to get a feel for the way some teams play down in that area. Like we always do, we'll be watching. We're taking notes and scouting some teams. We'll do everything in our power to try to get our team ready."

Looking back

Staple led the Braves to an upset in the district championship and a state quarterfinal appearance in his first year as head coach, but even those kinds of accomplishments can draw complaints at tradition-rich SCC.

Last year's state championship team, led by LaRandis Banks, provided some exhilaration -- and perhaps some relief.

"Every year is a little different, every team has a little different feel," Staple said. "From a personal standpoint, I guess I'm somewhat more relaxed this year after winning, but maybe not much. We just have a different group of kids this year, and we're just excited."