Frenship boys basketball coach Jason Dear knew his team would struggle with youth and inexperience in 2009-10, but he never imagined it would put the Tigers in the position they’re in now.

With just three games left in the District 4-4A season, the Tigers (11-14, 1-4), last year’s league champions, are dangerously close to being eliminated from playoff contention, which would be the first time to miss the postseason under Dear’s tutelage.

“By now I think we felt the kids would have gelled a little bit better and would have found their roles and become more consistent offensively,” Dear said. “We’re still not there, but we’re leaving ourselves openings. We’ve lost 14 times and been in the game 11 of those where we’ve been tied in the fourth quarter or been down two, and sometimes even had the lead. We’re giving ourselves opportunities to win but we’ve got to find a guy to help get us over that hump.”

Dear had hoped to begin turning things around Tuesday at Plainview, but a 72-66 loss dropped the Tigers to last in the five-team district.
Thanks to four teams going to the postseason in 4A, though, Frenship is still in the hunt for a playoff spot as the Tigers host San Angelo Lake View (14-9, 2-2). The Tigers go into the night tied with Plainview for fourth, and the teams split the season series, each winning at home.

After tonight, however, the Tigers must end the season with second-place Abilene Cooper (3-2) on the road and first-place Big Spring (5-0) at home, which further accentuates the loss to the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

“We’d been talking all week about Plainview and how we needed to win at Plainview if we were going to try to get second or third,” Dear said. “We felt if we got a win at Plainview we could win two of our next three and even have a chance at second place. Now, it’s a must-win for us (tonight). If we don’t, we’re looking at being out of the playoffs for the first time in eight years.”

Dear said youth has been part of the season-long problem, but he said the team’s struggles have been due more to inconsistency in scoring than anything else. The Tigers are shooting only around 20 percent from the 3-point line, and too many players, he added, are worse than 50 percent from the free throw line.

That has put more pressure on Dear’s lone experienced player from last year in senior center Zach Kittley, who is drawing more and more double teams with no consistent outside shooting threat.

“We’ve got to do a better job of blocking out and getting the defensive rebounds and we’ve got to have someone else step up and score besides Zach,” Dear said. “We’ve got to learn to finish around the basket.

“I think a lot of my frustration is rubbing off on the kids where now they’re playing tighter when they wouldn’t be, so that’s my fault. I’ve got to let the kids play through their mistakes more and let them take ownership of the team and help us win some games. It’s been frustrating because there’s been so many years in a row where we’ve had a guy who’s gotten us over that hump, but this year we’ve struggled.”

Johnsons set to return
Two of Coronado’s top players are expected to be back in the lineup today when the Mustangs travel to Odessa for what is now a huge clash with Permian.

Leading scorer Quay Johnson and starting forward Thomas Johnson did not play in Coronado’s 46-44 loss to crosstown rival Monterey.
Head coach Randy Dean held the duo out for what he called disciplinary reasons. Quay Johnson is one of the top scorers in the area, averaging 20.3 points per game, while Thomas Johnson averages 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Dean said Thursday both will be back in action “barring any unforseen abnormalities.”

Tough road in 1A
With just 11 days remaining before the beginning of the girls playoffs, Region I in Class 1A looks as though it might generate another state champion.

Going into this week, the top five teams and seven of the top 11 in the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 1A, Division I poll, came from the South Plains and Panhandle. Wellington from District 3 tops the list at 23-1 followed by defending state champion Sudan (25-5) from District 5 at No. 2 and District 4 leader Anton (26-2) at No. 3. After that comes Gruver (25-3) out of District 1 at No. 4 and Canadian (18-8) from District 2 at No. 5.

Down the list just a bit are District 7 co-leaders Smyer (26-3) and Tahoka (24-4).

Should make for a great regional tournament in Levelland in three weeks.

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