I had a great time talking to Coach Jeff Tobin about his upstart squad who has lots of momentum heading into the state tournament.
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With all the turnover, how does it feel to get back after last season’s finish at state?
It’s a huge boost for our teams’ confidence. Not only now but moving forward. Like you said, we’ve got a really young group. Expectations coming into the season, we didn’t really know how to frame what we expected from ourselves. Our goal was just to get better every game and by this time of year, you know we wanted to figure out who we were a little bit and be playing good basketball and we’ve done those things.
We’ve put some great weeks together and played some really good basketball and now to put it all together in a sweet 16 game and get into a state tournament, it’s a great experience for our guys to be under those lights and be in that moment and then be able to go compete and figure out how we’re going to put three days of good basketball together against the top eight teams in the state.
Let’s talk a little bit about that Pierre game. Obviously a pretty tough opponent, even at 10-10, coming into your place. Talk to me about your thoughts on the game and what went right.
Yeah you know I mean Pierre was a good basketball team and this year there’s so much parody across the board. Records are kind of thrown out the window, just because there were so many 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-win teams that were jumbled up, especially with all the movement in those last few regular season games.
It could have gone either way, so we knew with Pierrethey were going to come in and they were going to play really hard and be really physical and they were going to do some things really well that we’re going to have to find answers for. And luckily we had players step up and make plays and we were able to get some stops defensively when they were making shots and playing well.
Pierre always brings a great crowd, so it was a great atmosphere at our place and everything you kind of want in a sweet 16 game. It was electric. There were times where you just kind of had to figure out how to survive and luckily we were able to do so and punch our ticket.
Obviously you have a pretty young group, but can you talk to me about Lubab Kambalo and just kind of his leadership so far this season?
Lubab has been a really steady presence for us. He’s a guy that works really hard, he’s always wanting to get into the gym and getting shots up. He always wants to have a ball in his hands. He’s been a great guy…and he’s been a spark plug off the bench for us.
He’s been a guy that comes in and knows that we look for him to make some shots, to make plays. And then expectation defensively is to play our team defense. And no matter what role he has been in, he has been a good teammate. He has been coachable and those are traits to look for in our players and he’s emulated that.
You have a terrific junior class led by [Lucas] Johnson and [Tommy] Hoffman. Talk to me about them and their ability to step up into one of those leadership roles.
Yeah we have seen that a lot. They have been guys that have continued to develop just throughout the season, kind of in their own ways. Just at different points they’ve stepped up, whether it’s vocally, whether it’s through their play, leading by example.
Like you mentioned Tommy and Lucas, and then guys like Sam Baskin and Brennan VerHey and even guys that don’t get the most minutes like Sam Glasudt, he stepped up to starting roles here and there but he’s always provided a leadership presence for us. They are just guys that want to win. They want to compete and they aren’t scared and that’s kind of shown out as we’ve gone throughout the season. It doesn’t really matter who they are playing, they are just ready to compete and prove that they are able to be on the same floor as anybody and they just want to earn everything that they get.
You guys obviously have a very athletic team, you have a lot of energy. How are you able to incorporate that into your game with this squad?
I think that we have a nice balance. Like you said, we have some really athletic people, notably Jhace Woods, our sophomore, who is one of the more athletic people in the state. I mean he does things that other people can’t match up to. He can get up and get rebounds in a different way than others.
So having him and complimenting him with a guy like Brennan VerHey. He’s a guy that is always in the right spot at the right time. He anticipates well and plays off the ball really well. So I think we’ve got a nice compliment of guys that are good on the ball and guys that are able to run our actions with the ball in their hands, but then guys that are off the ball that are always in the right spot and are understanding where to be and what their role is.
And when you have that blend of athleticism with basketball IQ, I think we are seeing how we can be successful and hopefully we can find ways to do so and in new ways as head into state.
You have five guys who are averaging above five points a game, but nobody in that 15+ level, what is it like having five consistent scorers on a nightly basis?
I think it’s really nice. If opponents are scouting us, they have to see there are guys that put the ball in the basketball. They can’t necessarily completely lay off a guy, we’re all capable of scoring in our own ways…So it’s nice to have that blend of guys who don’t necessarily demand the ball be in their hands for us to be successful but kind of fill in their own offensive roles and their style and what’s going to help us be successful on the court.
With the schedule, you play one game in 20 days. What’s the practice been like coming into the tournament?
I don’t know if tough is the right word, but when you have this many practices at this time of year…It’s exciting because we are lucky to be one of the eight teams that still gets to practice so don’t get me wrong, we are thankful we get to put on a uniform every day and compete against each other but by now, we are ready to compete against somebody else.
You try it energized, you try to keep it new, and you try to add some things that make practice a little more competitive or have a little edge to it, but at the same time you try to plan for a team you know pretty well. You are trying to keep everybody healthy and keep the mindset positive going into these next three days.
So it’s a grind, but at the same time, I think our guys really enjoy it. I think our guys really appreciate the fact they still get to be a team and still get to suit up everyday. And as coaches we are just trying to keep that mentality positive and try to keep good vibes as we head into Thursday.
Yeah and on Thursday you are playing Roosevelt. First time you lost at a neutral site. Last month you went to their place and got the win. Talk to me about the adjustment from the December to the February game.
I think it’s a blend of things. Early in the season as we went through December, we were really just trying to figure out who we were. We were growing. We knew there was going to be a ton of growing pains and times where our youth was exposed. We weren’t taking care of the basketball. Roosevelt that night at the Pentagon played extremely well and hats off to them, they were lights out.
But like we told our guys we were just wanting to learn from every experience and wanting to grow from it, and we did. We continued to figure out things that obviously have been beneficial to us.
At this time, kind of the same thing as when we played them in February, just being aggressive against their pressure. It’s taking care of the basketball. We just have to show up and believe in ourselves and believe in each other.
Yeah and what do you like most about this squad and how is this team different then any other team you’ve coached before.
I would say what I like most about our group is that they are just a coachable and competitive group. We never have to worry about when we show up each day that they are ready to work. They are always dedicated to each other. They are unselfish, and as coaches you really appreciate that.
It really is the dream of a season, to have those moments that are paying off with the hard work and the long days. With those games where we lost, you have to learn from it and I feel like this group has learned and has grown and they are believing in each other. And this state tournament is just a cumulation of all that hard work and now they get to go believe in each other for three more days and see what can happen.
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