Scott County Central boys basketball team begins state championship defense under new coach

A move up to Class 2 didn't deter Scott County Central from winning its record 18th state title last year.

The Braves will face change again this year, with Matt Cline taking over after Frank Staple took an administrative job in the Sikeston Junior High School after leading the school to its second straight title in his third season.

Cline is hoping to become the fourth coach to lead the Braves to a title since the 2008-2009 season.

In addition to Staple, Kenyon Wright (2010-12) led SCC to three titles and legendary coach Ronnie Cookson (2009) returned to lead the Braves to a title.

Cline, who has coached the last three season at Richland High School, is a 1991 Scott County Central graduate and won three state titles while a Brave. He played for legendary coach Ronnie Cookson, who led the Braves to a 30-0 record Cline's senior year.

"It's a lot of pressure to win, but it's a good pressure," Cline said. "It's kind of like back when [I] was playing, you had a streak going then, and you didn't want to be the on the crew that let everyone down. Now they've got a streak going. They've had it going through three coaches, so you don't want to be the one to drop the ball."

The Braves have also won 12 straight district titles and reached at least the state quarterfinal round the past eight years.

Cline will be attempting to keep the tradition alive despite just one returning starter in senior all-stater Jeffery Porter, last season's leading scorer and an impact player. The Braves only had seven players on their roster for the majority of last season, with junior Tyus Banks, who came in off the bench, the only other returner.

Among the graduated was all-stater Javonta Daniel and all-district performer Matthew Blissett.

"Really you have Jeffery back, which is a big one to have back," Cline said. "He was the 2A Player of the Year."

Filling in the rest of the puzzle will be the challenge for Cline, who has an inexperienced cast from an odd assortment of basketball backgrounds.

Senior guard Gerald Sanders played JV his freshman and sophomore years but did not play as a junior, while senior guard Jacob Brown has not played since eighth grade. Juniors Deven Blackmon and Deantrell Beard will get their first taste of varsity basketball since transferring from Sikeston High School.

"We kind of hit the hallways and stuff," Cline said. "We graduated so many from last year that we were going to be hurting for numbers if we didn't get some boys in the gym and get them working out. They graduated a good group last year; they're going to be tough to replace."

While the team lacks height, topping out with the 6-foot-2 Porter and 6-1 Beard, Cline said his players are quick and he promises plenty of the Braves' signature full-court pressure defense.

"We'll play a lot over the next few months and see if we can get a little bit of experience," Cline said. "It'd be nice to have a little more experience, but not too concerned with their experience. They'll get it."

Players to watch

Jeffery Porter, the younger brother of NBA player Otto Porter Jr., came on strong at the end of his junior season. Porter averaged 20.5 points per game last season, but averaged 29 points during the postseason. He scored 34 points in the second half of the Class 2 District 1 title game against Bernie, and later hit up Valle Catholic for 46 points in the quarterfinals.

"We're all going to have to help him out," Cline said. "One guy can't make a ballteam, but he's a pretty good piece to build around. He really turned it up there at the end of the year. I'm from there, so I watched them when they made their run. He turned it on when he needed to."

Porter led the team in all major categories -- scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding ( 5.8 rpg), assists (5.1 apg) and steals (3.1).

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Class 2 District 1

Conference

Scott-Mississippi

Head coach

Matt Cline

(1st year)

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ROSTER

Player Year

Jacob Brown 12

Lane Kesler 12

Jeffery Porter 12

Gerald Sanders 12

Derrick Adams 11

Tyus Banks 11

Deantrell Beard 11

Deven Blackmon 11

Brody Ditto 11

Eric Smith 11

Marshohn Woods 11

STARTERS GONE

Tre Moore

Javonta Daniel

Drake Kesler

Matthew Blissett

STARTERS BACK

Jeffery Porter

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SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

11/20 Delta 7:30 p.m.

11/30 Oran Invitational Tourn.

12/14 Meridian (Ill.) 7:30 p.m.

12/18 Malden 7:30 p.m.

12/26 SEMissourian Xmas Tourn.

1/5 Cooter 7:30 p.m.

1/8 Oak Ridge 7:30 p.m.

1/12 @East Prairie 7 p.m.

1/15 @Charleston 7:30 p.m.

1/18 Scott-Mississippi Conf. Tourn.

1/26 @Hayti 7:30 p.m.

1/29 Chaffee 7:30 p.m.

2/1 Advance 7:30 p.m.

2/2 @Kelly 7:30 p.m.

2/12 @Oran 7:30 p.m.

2/16 @Scott City 7:30 p.m.

2/18 @New Madrid CC 7:30 p.m.

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LAST SEASON

LEADERS

Points: Jeffery Porter (20.5 ppg)

Rebounds: Porter (5.8 rpg)

Assists: Porter (5.1 apg)

RECORD

27-4