TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

HCA tries to start new holiday tradition

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Published: December 27, 2007

Several Hernando Christian Academy senior basketball players came to athletic director Mike Drummond with an idea.

"These guys have been working hard," Drummond said. "We had a couple of seniors that said they wanted to play in a Christmas tournament. I put the ball back in their court. I told them to get a list of teams together, go out and get some sponsorship money. They pretty much did this themselves.

"I think if this is successful it could become an annual thing. We'll see how it works; see what kind of fans we get."

Drummond was referring to the Hernando Christian Holiday Invitational that HCA will host Jan. 3-4. The four-team shootout marks the first such event the school has ever held.

Berean Academy will play Genesis Prep at 4 p.m. on Jan. 3 followed by HCA versus Academy at the Lakes at 5:30 p.m. The respective winners and losers will play one another the next day.

"Basketball has always been a tough deal for us," said Drummond, who coached boys hoops for 11 seasons before becoming the athletic director. "When we started football, basketball got pushed into the shadows, and moving soccer to the winter, that forced our athletes to choose between those two.

"The bottom line, we're coming back now. Basketball is doing really well. We've got to make commitments like this if we want the program to grow and that's what we're willing to do," said Drummond.

The Lions, at 6-2, are off to their best start in years after going 11-11 in their first season under current Head Coach Bill Brooks.

Marti George leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, representing the team's only double-digit scorer. Clay Kessler paces the Lions in rebound at 9.4 per contest.

"I think we're progressing slowly but surely," Brooks said. "We have a fairly young team in that they haven't played together. I'm trying to find the right blend right now. Everybody is playing, everybody is contributing.

"And that's what we're trying to build in the program, the team concept from start to finish, both offensively and defensively. Hopefully we'll improve as the season goes on and be ready for the district tournament."

Central keeps busy

Only one team will be in action this week, as Central High takes part in the Jim Clark Hornet Holiday Classic at Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic.

The tournament runs from Dec. 27-29. The Bears (3-7) have drawn the host school in the first round, the traditionally strong Hornets, at 8 p.m.

The rest of the rugged eight-team field includes Ben Lippen (S.C.), Orlando-Boone, Ft. Myers, Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.), St. Pete Catholic and South Aiken (S.C.).

"The first objective is we want to win the tournament," Central Head Coach Eric Hayes said. "I like the fact we get a chance to play different teams from different areas with different styles.

"I think it will help us as we continue on in the season, especially in the postseason. If we keep improving at the rate we are, I think by the end of the season we'll be creeping up on a lot of teams."

Though the Bears still have a losing mark, Hayes believes his squad has improved vastly from a similar point in last season's 2-22 campaign.

"It's been up and down," Hayes said. "Record-wise it's not what I expected. There are games I think we left on the court. Games we could have won, we had the opportunity to win those games and we didn't.

"Overall, I'm not looking down on the season like it's a bad season. It's a definite improvement from last year at this time. As long as I see improvement in certain areas, the wins will come eventually."

Central will also take part in two shootouts this holiday season, playing Orlando-Lake Highland Prep this past Saturday in the Berkeley Prep Shootout and taking on Zephyrhills Jan. 3 in the Ridgewood Ram Shootout.

Hernando High will participate in the Ram Shootout at Ridgewood High, as well.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT