Sedlack: Sloppy play 'killing' Bears

By GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 19, 2000

The mid-season lull that accompanies the holiday break takes full effect this week.

The first half is grinding to a halt before teams head off to holiday tournaments across the area.

The week represents a last chance to pick up some momentum heading into the holidays, and no team is better poised -- or in more need of that -- than Central.

The Bears have a home game tonight against a Tarpon Springs squad that is off to a 4-0 start in Class 4A, District 8.

It has been a frustrating first month for Central (3-4, 2-2) and coach John Sedlack, who has seen turnovers and other breakdowns limit the Bears' potential.

"It's killing us," Sedlack said Monday. "It's a lot of bad passes and bad decisions, and it's team-wide. Nobody seems to be immune to it."

Central is shooting 50 percent on two-point attempts -- an impressive figure considering Springstead and Hernando are hitting 38 percent.

The statistic that Sedlack can't get past is Central's 166 turnovers in seven games. That is nearly 24 per outing. The Bears have tried addressing the problem in practice and even attempted the reverse psychology of ignoring the problem and not discussing it.

Neither has yielded results.

"I don't know anyone that works on passing and ballhandling as much as we do," Sedlack said.

If the Bears are to work their way out of their early-season sloppiness, the holiday break affords them more opportunities than most teams.

Central will compete in the Seminole Presbyterian Shootout on Dec. 27-29. It faces stiff Class A opponents, including Bayshore Christian, which handed the Bears a 78-62 loss on Saturday.

Central will meet the host team, which won 35 games and reached the state semifinals, as well as Tampa Baptist, which lost in a regional final to Seminole last season.

"They're Class A, but the competition will be as good as what we have around here," Sedlack said.

On Jan. 2-3, the Bears will play host to the Central Classic, with Crystal River, Palm Harbor University and Gulf in the field.

HERNANDO: The Leopards, who saw a three-game winning streak end with a 67-56 loss to Tarpon Springs on Friday night, are double-dipping in the holiday tournament season. Hernando (5-3, 3-1) will play in a tournament at New Smyrna Beach on Thursday and Friday, with games against Titusville Astronaut (which handed Hernando's football team a 57-0 loss in the state playoffs) and either Lake Wales or New Smyrna Beach.

Hernando will compete in the River Ridge Christmas Tournament on Dec. 29-30, playing first-year Mitchell and either River Ridge or Wesley Chapel.

Junior guard Jerrell Graham, averaging 15.2 points per game, has taken over the county scoring lead from Springstead's Steve Ferguson.

Junior Jeremy Balogh has emerged as the county's best three-point shooter, hitting 10 of 23 attempts for a 43 percent mark.

"They're playing a lot better early on than I had really imagined they would," coach Charlie Williams said.

"I've had teams that had much higher expectations and disappointed, but this is a team I thought would be in a rebuilding year and they've surprised me by playing well.

"I think it's because we have more team play," he said. "Everybody's chipping in."

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