No. 13 CC opens season in Classic

The No. 13 Chipola Indians begin their quest for another dominant season this weekend in the Milton H. Johnson Classic.

Chipola, which set school records last season for wins (34), consecutive wins (33), and finished a perfect 12-0 in Panhandle Conference play, begins the new season Friday night against LB Wallace at 7 p.m.

The Indians take on Mississippi Elite Saturday at 3 p.m. in the final day of the Johnson Classic.

The Chipola women also play this weekend, taking on NABA Friday and Monroe Saturday, both at 5 p.m.

The Chipola men will be looking to overcome a slew of injuries, with Steadman Short, Delwan Graham, John Taylor, Rodderick Lanon and Sam Grooms all expected to miss the weekend’s games.

The injuries put the Indians at a disadvantage in the games, but it has also made preparing for the start of the season more difficult, according to first-year Chipola coach Jake Headrick.

“You’re pretty limited in what you can do every day in practice,” the coach said. “We haven’t had 10 guys on the floor to go 5-on-5. We’re trying to do as much as we can do. At the same time, we don’t want to lose another kid or two because of injury.

“It’s just one of those things. Injuries just happen. It’s unfortunate that a lot happened at the same time.”

Headrick said his team, which was hoping to have a rotation of 10-11 players per game, will have to adjust to being short-handed.

“We’re definitely going to have to change our style for the next week or two,” he said. “Three weeks ago, our strength was depth, especially in the backcourt.

“With Taylor, Grooms and Lanon out, that’s three guys who play a lot of minutes. That takes our strength and makes it weaker. Our guards will have to play hard, but they have to play smart too because we’re not as deep right now.”

Headrick said he has heard good things about LB Wallace and coach Ricky Knight.

“I’ve heard that coach Knight does a really good job and their kids play real hard,” the coach said. “They play a lot of guys and try to play fast.”

Typically, that would be right in the Indians’ wheelhouse.

However, the lack of backcourt depth could make it more difficult for the Indians to play at the break-neck pace that Headrick prefers.

“When it’s time to get out and run, we still want to get out and run,” the coach said. “We just have to play smart basketball. That will be our thing as a team, to be aggressive but play smart without fouling.

“We’ll play our style, but we may have to slow it down and run our stuff at times. We just have to tough it out and man up.”

Aside from wanting a pair of wins, Headrick said the main thing he wants from the weekend is to see the team playing the brand of basketball Chipola fans have become accustomed to seeing.

“I want to see guys sharing the ball, playing together, and being good defensively,” the coach said. “If we do those things and get better at those things every game, this team has got a chance to be special.”