Boys district basketball has teams focused

Basketball coaches sometimes take a different view of district tournaments.

Port St. Joe coach Derek Kurnitsky called the semifinals on Friday night “really important, you’ve got to get in first. Saturday (championship game) is no pressure. Saturday is fun night.”

Rhondie Ross at Rutherford has been stressing not only the importance of winning his team’s first game to guarantee a regional appearance, but bringing home a district title.

“It’s huge, because if you win the district you play the runner-up in the regional playoffs and you’ll always be the home team,” he said. “If you lose, you’re on the road the whole time.”

District tournaments for area schools begin as early as Monday night this week, and all culminate with finals on Saturday.

Ross and the Rams (17-8) travel to Godby, where a victory vs. Wakulla on Friday will promote a third game against Godby this season. The teams split during the regular season.

“I emphasize it with the kids, even let them see brackets from other years, put things like that up in our locker room,” Ross said. “Coaches always talk about living in the moment. This gives them something to shoot for, some kind of visual. They can see the importance of the game.”

Ross said that his team hasn’t lost consecutive games this season, and thinks a difficult schedule in the final weeks could help the Rams.

“We know we have to beat Wakulla to even be in the playoffs, but we feel confident that we can play with Godby,” he said.

Sophomore John Wade continues to lead the team in scoring, and post player Stefon Barfield is critical to the Rams’ success. Freshmen Keke Williamson and Jai Jencks have become contributors.

“We’ve changed our style of play, a lot faster, we press more,” Ross said. “We have a lot more depth, and a big part of what we do is suited to our small guards. Our freshmen have done a great job when called upon.”

Mosley is the No. 4 seed in the District 2-5A tournament that starts Friday in Niceville. Arnold meets Walton at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 1-3A tourney hosted by Marianna. Bay is the second seed and awaits the Chipley-Pensacola Catholic survivor on Friday.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Bozeman meets Graceville in the opening game of the 2-2A event at Blountstown. Port St. Joe is top seeded in the 3-2A tourney in Bristol hosted by Liberty County.

Bay’s 13-11 record certainly isn’t imposing in the 1-3A draw, but the Tornadoes did gain the second seed and have been bolstered in recent weeks by the return from suspensions of Desmond Taylor and Alton Mills.

They not only give Coach Michael Grady added size in the 6-foot-6 Taylor, but extend Bay’s rotation to eight or nine players.

“The way we like to press and get after it, we can rotate in fresh bodies,” Grady said. “Our main thing is we have been inconsistent. Some nights we’re pretty good, some pretty bad.”

The Tornadoes have been led by the scoring of David and Kenny Jones, with Alex Hamilton a solid contributor and Kevin Russell keying Bay’s defensive effort.

Although Grady still feels the Tornadoes are a work in progress, he’s excited about the transition taking place with Taylor and Mills.

“I think we’re a different team,” he said. “Des is 6-6; he’s not a bruising player but give us some length that we didn’t have. Alton brings a football player mentality.”

They could help Bay peak at the perfect time, with the district tournament initiating the postseason playoffs.

“I think it’s a chance for us to show that we’ve been working hard, making adjustments,” Grady said. “Hopefully we can show the area that Bay High is going to compete hard.”

Port St. Joe has been putting that on display for area basketball fans for decades, and likely will do so again in the 3-2A tourney. The Tigers Sharks are 20-4, and Kurnitsky feels have overcome a brief plateau period of sometimes mediocre play.

His players, he said, have an internal clock that knows when the playoffs arrive.

“When it comes district time they know, no question,” Kurnitsky said. “This group has been through it so many times. They’re ready. I wish the playoffs started tonight.

“The other night we won our 20th game and they were like, OK. To me, 20 wins is a pretty big plateau, but they’ve got some other goals. We’ve got six seniors, and even the juniors have been on varsity since they were freshmen. These guys have all been together since they were 5 years old. They’re a unique group.”

• District 2-5A at Niceville
• Friday: No. 2 Fort Walton Beach vs. No. 3 Crestview 5:30 p.m., No. 4 Mosley vs. No. 1 Niceville 7 p.m.
• Saturday: Semifinal winners 7 p.m.
• District 2-4A at Godby
• Friday: No. 2 Rutherford vs. No. 3 Wakulla 6 p.m. CST
• Saturday: No. 1 Godby vs. Rutherford-Wakulla winner 6 p.m. CST
• District 1-3A at Marianna
• Tuesday: No. 4 Arnold vs. No. 5 Walton 5:30 p.m., No. 3 Pensacola Catholic vs. No. 6 Chipley 7 p.m.
• Friday: No. 2 Bay vs. Chipley-Catholic winner 5:30 p.m., No. 1 Marianna vs. Arnold-Walton winner 7 p.m.
• Saturday: Semifinal winners 7 p.m.
• District 1-2A at Freeport 892-1201
• Tuesday: No. 3 Jay vs. No. 6 Ponce de Leon 6 p.m., No. 4 Freeport vs. No. 5 Northview 7:30 p.m.
• Friday: No. 2 Baker vs. Freeport-Northview winner 6 p.m., No. 1 Pensacola Catholic vs. Jay-PDL winner 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Semifinal winners 7 p.m.
• District 2-2A at Blountstown
• Monday: No. 7 Bozeman vs. No. 2 Graceville 6 p.m., No. 1 Cottondale vs. No. 8 Vernon 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday: No. 4 Holmes County vs. No. 5 Blountstown 6 p.m., No. 3 Sneads vs. No. 6 South Walton 7:30 p.m.
• Friday: Semifinals 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Semifinal winners 7 p.m.
• 3-2A Liberty County
• Tuesday: No. 5 Wewahitchka vs. No. 4 Liberty County 6 p.m. CST
• Friday: Port St. Joe vs. Wewa-Liberty County winner 5 p.m. CST, No. 2 Franklin County vs. No. 3 West Gadsden 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Semifinal winners 6 p.m. CST