Pinellas Park High School - Occurrences Yearbook (Largo, FL)

Page 213 text:

Sophomore Cedric McAffee, not covered by a Dunedin player, signals to freshman ]oe Kelly for a pass. IIJNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL - ROW 1: Kyle Kimball. D. . Hill, )oe Kelly; ROW 2: Terry Patterson. Derrick Crnmplon. Sean Minton fvarsi- ty|, Tymme Patterson. Andre Ciiffie; ROW 3: David Wood. John Rouse (varsity). Chris Byrd; NOT PICTURED: Cedric McAffee. |ohn O ' Hair Jumping above his Dunedin blocker, David Woods attempts to score two more for the Patriots. Paying close attention to his Osceola opponent, sophomore Andre Cuffie looks to pass the ball inside to an open teammate. A-9 JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS ' BASKETBALL 11 27 Lakewood 11 28 Dixie Hollins 11 30 Northeast 12 4 Seminole 12 7 Boca Ciega 12 11 St. Pete 12 14 Countryside 12 21 Osceola 1 8 Tarpon Springs 1 9 Gibbs 1 11 Seminole 1 14 Boca Cie Jjj 1 18 Clearwate a 1 25 Dunedin • ™ 1 29 Largo .. 2 1 Dixfe Hollins T 2 5 St. Pete I-.2 6 Countryside ' gz Clearwater J 13 Osceola 2 15 Gibbs 2 19 Lakewood . ' f BOYS ' BASKETBALL 209

Page 212 text:

Sophomore Derrick Crompton out- jumps his Clearwater opponent to tip the ball into the hands of his teammate. Keeping control of the ball, sophomore D. J. Hill leaps to get a direct pass into his forward. Progress yields confidence Striving to overcome mental pressures, the junior varsity boys ' basketball team worked to gain the experience to have a successful season this year. Coach Oscar Robinson acknowledged, A very impor- tant factor in the team ' s progess was maintaining a positive at- titude in the beginning of the season. The guys had to realize that their inexperience could on- ly fade with more playing. Der- rick Crompton, freshman, added, The main objective of the junior varsity program is to gain the ex- perience to move up to the varsity level. We worked hard at being a competitive team. As the season progressed, the team gained the experience it needed to stand as a formidable opponent. They balanced prac- tices with drills to give them familiarity in handling the ball, and scrimmaging so that they could practice under game-like conditions and adapt more easily. Therefore, they gradually organized their game. Sophomore D. J. Hill commented, Our problem at the beginning of the season was concentration. After we mastered that and prepared adequately, we then had the ability to improve our game as could be seen significantly in the second half of the season. The real turnabout for the Patriots occurred in the game against Northeast as Robinson explained. We reduced our number of turnovers. As the guys gained experience, they gained confidence and their pla became more consistent, state Robinson. The team ' s true ability Wc displayed when they wer under, noted Robinson. Esser tially the team could always ris up when they were dowi However, when the game Wc close, the guys tended to get nei vous about making mistakes. The new team members woul often look toward the experienc of players like sophomore Joh Wiser for leadership. Together the team rose abov the knocks that went with begir ning a junior varsity progran Robinson ' s primary concern wt for the guys to have a positiv feeling at the end of the seaso and he was satisfied. 208 IV BOYS ' BASKETBALL

Page 214 text:

Size of fight is immense in young varsity team— Varsity girls ' basketball coach Ed Jackson had high hopes for this year ' s team made up of what he calls the young bunch from last year ' s back burner. He add- ed, They ' ve grown a lot and have worked hard for their suc- cess. The team lost three senior players from last year, but, as shown by their record, they didn ' t suffer for it. Due to hard work in the off season and at practice, last year ' s In the game versus Dunedin, junior Bonita Holmes shoots over her opponent. underclassmen became this year ' s stars. They all realized that there was no success without sacrifice, stated Jackson. He added that there are different stars each year. Carolyn Har- mon and Sonya Simmons, the only seniors on the team, stepped into this year ' s limelight. Both had been coached by Jackson for the last three years. He emphasized how much they con- tributed to the team. Jackson ' s relatively young team surprised many opponents such as Gibbs and Bradenton Southeast who had underestimated their ability. Many of the girls were shorter than those on their rival teams. They worked harder because of it, stated Jackson. Harmon add- ed, We just had to work harder for rebounds. Jackson said he would look to this year ' s junior varsity to add to the depth of next year ' s varsity squad, just as he had this year. I enjoyed watching them grow into a winning team. Sophomore Jean Wiser strains upward to tip the ball in the Patriots ' favor in a jump ball against Seminole. VARSITY GIRLS ' BASKETBALL - ROW 1: Sonya Simmons, Trish Proper, Erica Callier, Carolyn Harmon; ROW 2: Bonita Holmes, Karen Gibson, [ean Wiser, Alicia Hames, Nikki Williams, Stephanie Dennis 210 VARSITY GIRLS ' BASKETBALL •f