Expectations High As Season Opener Nears

In every year of Newsome’s existence, the boys basketball team has earned more victories than the year before. This year, with six returning varsity players most pundits are picking the Wolves as one of the top teams in the county and expectations are high. This team earned such high regard over the summer by winning the Hillsborough County summer league tournament at Tampa Prep, defeating teams such as Wharton, Blake, and Oldsmar Christian.

 

Gone from last year's squad are several key players. Last year’s MVP, forward Charles Murphy has moved on to play college basketball at Florida Christian College. Also graduating were playmaker Andy Suslavich and center Stephen MacNeil, whose rebounding prowess will be missed. Why should expectations be so high for a team that graduated four players including it’s mvp from a 20-6 squad? Let’s first take a look at the Wolves personnel.

 

Six foot four inch senior Samal Shepherd, last year’s National Division MVP, returns hoping to improve on last year’s record setting 19 ½ points and 6 rebounds per game performance. In addition to being named a Hillsborough County all-star last season, Shepherd was named this year as the player to watch by both the St Pete Times and the Tampa Bay Tribune. Shepherd is able to score from anywhere on the court, as Tampa Bay Tech discovered last year when Samal delivered a school record 38 points. He can create his own shot and his lightning-quick hands and feet result in a myriad of points off of steals. He raised a lot of eyebrows this summer while playing for the Florida Elite in AAU basketball. Like Michael Jordan had partner Scottie Pippen for the Chicago Bulls, so go the Wolves.  Samal has a virtual twin brother, 6’4” senior guard/forward Jake Hodges, who garnered interest from several NCAA Division I schools during this summer’s AAU schedule as he scored prolifically from behind the arc as well as around the basket for the Brandon Bolts. Last year he led the Wolves in field goal percentage and showed his all around talent earning the Wolves defensive award. Both Samal and Jake are beginning their fourth season of Varsity ball at Newsome and provide the leadership necessary for success.  6’5” senior post player Cody Dowd spent the summer working with a personal trainer adding muscle, speed, strength and agility. While Cody had an excellent varsity season last year and provided much needed toughness during the summer season, he returns a much improved player. 6’4” senior Ron Noble rejoins the team after a years absence. Long and lean, Noble brings height and speed to the inside as well as drive and motivation. Joining this year’s senior class is 6’4” Shawn Boone. Boone brings a football strength, toughness and mentality to the post.

 

Continuing with the junior class, Hillsborough County all-star guard Trent Mackey returns for his 3rd Varsity season, bringing sure ball-handling ability and a hot handed shooting touch. This 6’3” guard is capable of playing either guard position with artistry. Last year Trent averaged 7 points while leading the Wolves in both steals and assists as a sophomore.  Mackey really began to hit his scoring stride at the end of the summer AAU season with the Florida Elite and he has put on some muscle in the off season.  Joining Mackey in the backcourt is 5' 11" junior Jamel Gist. Gist is a sure ball handler and excellent defender. In spite of being somewhat hobbled by an injury, Jamel was a key varsity player last season. He was among the team leaders in free throw percentage and assists. Through cunning and timing he pulled down a surprisingly large number of rebounds for a guard. Other juniors expected to contribute to this years edition include standout football wide receiver now basketball guard Jakarquisa Harris, guard Marcellus Howell, and guard Dominick Konsulis. Many fans will remember Dom for his buzzer beating game winning three for the JV at Bloomingdale last season.

 

A talented pair of sophomores round out this years squad. 6’3” guard Dylan Bridges returns to high expectations. Last year, Dylan contributed significantly as a Freshman, hitting the winning three point shot in overtime to end a hotly contested game at Wharton. Dylan's ability to play multiple positions was evident in his play for U15 SEBA Select where he played both Guard and Forward against nationally ranked competition. He is joined by 6’3” center/forward LaCorte Suber, whose emergence as a post player was a key factor in Newsome’s success in summer basketball.

 

Coaches Jon Mackey and David Cassreino return to their  Varsity and JV teams respectively.  Coach Mackey brings over 30 years coaching basketball at the High School and College levels. While the Newsome program is still quite young, Coach Mackey has built it into one of the top programs in Hillsborough county.  His offensive system is built on ball movement and off ball screens while using multiple defensive sets to keep the opposition off balance.  Coach Cassreino led the JV to the most wins in a season last year and filled in this year as varsity Coach during the successful summer league play.

 

So expectations are high due to great coaching along with talented, experienced players. With high expectations always comes a potential for overconfidence. The opposition will not give up just because people say the team is good. But these Wolves know what is at stake and are a tightly knit group who are well grounded in reality. They know how hard it is to come away with a win from schools like Durant, Wharton, Bloomingdale and Brandon. That being said, opponents know what kind of team we have and will spend extra time and attention drawing up their game plan for the Wolves.

 

So let’s take a quick look at the competition. The new district created by the FHSAA now includes Armwood, Durant, East Bay, Newsome, Plant City, Riverview, and Tampa Bay Tech. While Wharton, Freedom and Brandon are gone from the district lineup, they remain on the schedule for a single game. Bloomingdale is also missing from the district lineup, but in recognition of how important this rivalry is for both schools, they will continue to face each other in a pair of contests this season. The scuttlebutt is that the class of the district lies in the east with Newsome, Plant City, and Durant. Over the summer, the Wolves played a couple of hotly contested games with Plant City that ended up coming down to the closing seconds. In a preseason tournament, the Wolves met the Durant Cougars. In that game, the starters battled to a tie in the first half. In the second half, the coaches experimented with their lineups and Newsome’s bench was up to the challenge, coming away with a double digit win.

 

The schedule does not provide for any kind of tune-up as the team opens with probable district contenders Plant City and Durant. The Wolves will travel to Plant City Thursday, December 3 before returning home the following night to take on the Cougars. This year’s game format has changed, with the normal setup being a girls/boys double header. Girls will start at 6:30, boys at 8:00. The quality of the personnel and coaching staff coupled with some of the most loyal, creative and spirited fans should make for some hot winter nights in Lithia.

 

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