Land O'Lakes thinks it fell off this season is because it was cocky and did not work as a team.
By JAMAL THALJI
Published February 19, 2004
LAND O'LAKES - Don't believe the hype.
Coach Greg Robinson is afraid his Gators may have done just that.
Land O'Lakes entered the season with every player from last season's 19-9 playoff team and added 6-foot center Alison Foster, who missed her junior year to concentrate on her studies.
"I thought that would put us in that state caliber (level) of play," he said. "Because of the team we had last year, I thought Alison would be like that final step to get us there."
It hasn't worked out that way.
The Gators have been successful, going 14-6, winning the Class 5A, District 5 championship and playing host to tonight's region quarterfinal against Haines City.
Foster has done her job in the post, and the team boasts a deep lineup of some of the county's best players.
But just being good hasn't been good enough for Land O'Lakes.
The Gators fell to third in the Sunshine Athletic Conference and were swept by SAC champion Ridgewood and runnerup Pasco. In Land O'Lakes' losses, the team led in the fourth quarter, only to surrender it.
"I've been real concerned about it for the last three or four weeks, and we've been talking about it," Robinson said. "You can't play three quarters of basketball and win a game. I don't want another team to come back on me."
What has Land O'Lakes done wrong?
"I talked to the girls, and they seem to think they were just overconfident," Robinson said. "That they thought if the game got close, they could pull it out and they didn't. That was their answer."
Here's another one: fourth-quarter points have disappeared.
"We're not scoring in the fourth quarter," Robinson said, "and we're not taking as many shots in the fourth quarter until it comes down to the end. By then we get behind and we have to play catch-up ball."
Even while defeating River Ridge 54-41 for the district title, Robinson said his team looked subpar, shooting 34 percent from the field.
To fix things, he has held tougher practices. He also has looked for a psychological fix.
"Last year, before the games, they were always getting themselves ready as a team," Robinson said. "I noticed recently that they stopped doing that stuff before games. Last year we had more teamwork, and this year I don't see that."
That's why after winning the district final, the Gators ran onto the court with their jerseys over their heads, revealing sports bras that read "district champions." The team designed and painted them together.
