CC set for four in four

After opening the regular season with a win last weekend, the No. 13 Chipola Indians kick it into high gear this weekend with four games in four days.

Chipola, which defeated LB Wallace 96-74 in Friday’s opener, heads to Jasper, Ala. Thursday to take on Bevill State.

On Friday and Saturday, the Indians take on Atlanta-Metro and Georgia Perimeter in Decatur, Ga., before traveling to Muscle Shoals, Ala. to take on Northwest Shoals on Sunday.

Four games in four days — all on the road — is a grind.

However, first-year Indians coach Jake Headrick said it would be a good early test for his team’s focus and resolve.

“To make it to the national tournament, you’ve got to win three games in three days at state,” the coach said. “I think it’s something early on to see how much focus our guys have for four days. We can see how the guys will stick together when things get tough.

“Adversity kicks in when guys get tired, so guys will have to be super focused to play their best ball for four straight days. We’ll find out if they’re mentally ready for that right now. We’ll learn a lot.”

Chipola will have another four games in four days stretch later this year, taking on Georgia Perimeter, Northwest Mississippi, USC-Salkehatchie, and Albany
Tech from Dec. 28-31 in Panama City and Pensacola.

“The biggest thing is that with a state tournament game we play at home, but (this weekend’s games) are on the road,” Headrick said. “They’re on the opponents’ home floor. I want to see how they all stick together and handle adversity on the road. If we walk away from this weekend with four wins, I’ll be really proud of these guys.”

The Indians should be much better-equipped to handle the heavy workload after getting back several players who missed the opener due to injury.

Steadman Short, John Taylor,  Delwan Graham and Rodderick Lanon all missed the opener due to injury.

Only Taylor will miss this weekend’s games.

“I feel like with us being so banged up last week, we weren’t able to really practice like we wanted to, and that carried over into the second half of that game,” Headrick said.

“The last two days, we’ve had our best practices of the year. Even though they might not be 100 percent and still have to get back in rhythm, they’re back out there.

“When you have your guys there, everything picks up. You’ve got guys competing against each other for spots. I think we’ll be able to hold guys more accountable for how they practice and play now. Monday was the best practice of the year because guys were competing.”

Headrick said Taylor will be back to practice Monday.

Thursday’s game will be a special one for the Indians coach, who played his first two years of college basketball at Bevill State.

“It means a lot to me because it’s where it all started for me,” Headrick said. “It has a little extra meaning for me. I’m going back home in front of a packed house. I’ll have a lot of family and former teammates there, so I’m excited about it.”

It’s the first road game for a brand-new Chipola team, and Headrick said the Indians would be in for a very loud and vocal reception.

“It’s going to be a hostile environment,” the coach said. “Their people want to win like our people want to win.

“Our young guys will really get to feel how it is when Chipola goes on the road. It’s us versus everybody else, and everyone in the gym will be rooting against
them. We’ll have to stick together when things get tough.”

Headrick said he wasn’t familiar with Atlanta-Metro, but almost all Chipola fans are familiar with Georgia Perimeter.

“That’s another rivalry game,” the coach said. “That has always been a big game.  They’ve had the same kind of success in Georgia that Chipola has had in
Florida. They’ve dominated the state of Georgia for the last 10 years.

“They’ll play really hard, be a really disciplined team and compete really hard. It will be a war for 40 minutes.”

NW Shoals is 1-1 on the season, but the challenge of winning the fourth game in a row should prove significant for the Indians.

“It will be a big test because we’ll get to see how these guys can complete a road trip,” Headrick said. “It’s almost like an NBA team making a West Coast or East Coast road trip.”

With nearly a full complement of players for the first time this season, the challenge for Headrick will be distributing the minutes and keeping his players satisfied with the idea of sharing.

“Obviously when you have 10, 11 guys instead of eight, there will be less minutes for some guys,” the coach said. “But in the past, Chipola basketball hasn’t been about one guy averaging 25 points per night. It has been a team effort.

“This team does a good job of playing together, so that’s what I want to see. I want us to continue to play together and handle adversity when things get tough on the road.”