Pasco: Gators dominate together

Gators dominate together

By JOHN COTEY

Just looking at the records, just looking at the stats, you can't be blamed for assuming that if anyone can beat Land O'Lakes in boys basketball, it's Gulf and Ridgewood.

Then the Bucs and Rams try to do just that, and get clobbered.

The problem: you used the records, you used the stats, you broke it down with numbers.

And why not? It only makes sense that a team with the county's best center in Donny Lotz would have a fighting chance. You figure between the 6-foot-10 intimidator, and Joe Anders, who looked so great over the summer, and a decent supporting cast, the Rams could keep it close. Keep it close, have a chance.

Land O'Lakes won 63-41.

The problem? You used the records, you used the stats, you broke it down with numbers.

Any why not? It only makes sense that upstart Gulf could pull off an upset. Still young and still learning how to do this winning thing, the Bucs were 11-2 when they took on the Gators on Friday. They had a puncher's chance, you're thinking, because Nate Goad is having such a wonderful season and Joe Phillips and Mike Stanzione can be dangerous guards when on, and if on, the Bucs could keep it close. Keep it close, have a chance.

Land O'Lakes won 57-27.

The problem? You used the records, you used the stats, you broke it down with numbers.

By dispatching the two teams most likely to spoil a perfect county record, the Gators all but wrapped up a second consecutive Sunshine Athletic Conference title. That's no surprise. That was a 5-star lock when the year began.

But no one thought the Gators would be feasting on a steady diet of 20- and 30-point wins. They aren't just better than everyone else, they are much, much, much better.

Land O'Lakes does not have the tallest, the fastest, the highest-jumping or even the best player in the county. It does, however, have the best players in the county.

"They really do a lot for people who advocate team basketball because that's what they are, they're a team," Ridgewood coach Gary Anders said. "They may not have an outstanding basketball player on the floor, and don't get me wrong, they have good players, but they are a team. They do as individuals whatever it takes for the team to be successful.

"Those teams win championships."

Land O'Lakes coach Dave Puhalski has had it both ways. A few years back he had a great individual player in Brad Baisley, a 6-foot-10 South Florida signee who was Pasco County's best player. And while the Gators had some good seasons, they were far from a great team.

Puhalski's last two teams are much closer to great than good. He has no one as talented as Brad Baisley was, but his twin brothers, Jeff and Brian, along with Ryan Van Blarcom, Sam Weatherford and David Starkey all, as a unit, make it tougher on teams than Brad probably did.

"When I had Brad Baisley, all we had was Brad Baisley," Puhalski said. "We have no stars. ... we have kids, though, that when they play together get the job done. I'd rather have it that way."

Puhalski estimates his six seniors have more than 200 games together, including summer league. No wonder then that passes seem to come before a player is even open, that rarely do you see two Gators in the same spot, and that they seemingly do things with such ease.

"Their movement and the fact that they've played together 4 to 5 years is big," Anders said. "They're doing the same things they did as freshmen and they just repeat it (over and over). They do a good job of moving the ball and moving their bodies and wait for you to take your eye off your man and boom, they got a layup."

Conversely, opponents are not allowed to do the same when they go on offense.

"They all rebound," Anders said. "They have five guys on the floor, and any one of those five can get a rebound. That's huge. They limit you to one shot."

Little things. Lots of little things, numerically undefinable yet at the heart of this team's success.

Beating the Gators then? It probably won't happen within the county this year. If it does, according to Anders, it won't be because Land O'Lakes has a bad night shooting, or plays lazy defense, or rebounds poorly, or gets mired in foul trouble, or even misses out on all the game's breaks.

Nope. Anders said you won't need any one of those things to happen.

You'll need all of them to happen.