BROOKSVILLE- The mantra remains unchanged for Nature Coast’s boys basketball team coming off a 27-win season and a spot in the Elite 8 of the Class 6A playoffs.
Sharks coach David Pisarcik has continued to build one of the top programs in the Tampa Bay area and despite losing a couple of the team’s top scorers from a year ago, the goals for this Nature Coast squad have remained the same: Win districts; reach the postseason; give themselves a chance to make a deep playoff run.
Pisarcik says his team lost 75 percent of its scoring from last season’s club, but there’s several players he expects to step up into their place.
“Coming off of winning 27 games and going to the Elite 8, that’s the standard that we’ve set here,” Pisarcik said. “Being able to go to the Elite 8 last season is definitely an accomplishment for this team.”
“The kids have the same goals that they set last season. We lost 75 percent of our offensive production from last season and our motto is next man up. Some of those guys who were reserve guys last season have to step into the spotlight and show what they can do.”
The Sharks have started to find out a lot about themselves early in the season, as they’ve picked up early victories over district contender Crystal River on the road and Weeki Wachee. Pisarcik pointed out that the win over the Pirates is a confidence builder for his inexperienced bunch.
Pisarcik lost his two top scorers from last season in Kaine McColley and Anthony Valante, whom both combined for 31.3 points per game for the Sharks. Pisarcik is looking towards Robert McAfee, who averaged around 10 points last season, to become the team’s leading scorer this winter.
“We played two tough teams in the preseason and it’s early on in the season and beat Crystal River and squeak out a win, and I feel like they’ll be in the top three in the district on their home floor, that gives us confidence,” Pisarcik said. “District championships are important as well.”
“We got Robert McAfee returning for us and we moved him to the two guard spot to get him some more looks. With a couple guys gone, he’s gonna have to pickup a little bit of the slack. Austin Rivera is one of the best shooters I’ve seen come through the program. We have Robert Gomez and we expect him to have a breakout season this year.”
Nature Coast has filled its regular season with several intriguing matchups, including games against Jefferson, Mitchell and Academy at the Lakes. Pisarcik adds that the tough matchups in the regular season will only help the Sharks when it counts come districts and postseason time.
“Our Christmas tournament is getting pretty big,” Pisarcik added. “Most of the teams in the tournament have been either in the postseason or been really close to it. We were very fortunate last season and we won a lot of close games. Jefferson is a little bit more athletic and uptempo and put ball pressure on us. Everything we do in the regular season helps us get ready for the postseason if we can get there.”