Tony Leamon loves the look of his Nacogdoches boys’ basketball team.
“We’re an old-school team that does things the way they once were,” Leamon told Texas Scorecard. “Not much about us has the look of the way a lot of teams seek to play these days.”
After their blistering 22-4 start, a lot of those same teams might be more than a little interested in changing places with the Dragons.
Nacogdoches has done it all with defense, allowing just four opponents to top 60 points this season and holding 19 under 50. Over one nine-game stretch, the Dragons held opponents to an average of just 35 points a night.
“We take the floor thinking defense,” Leamon added. “We’ve done a great job of locking down teams and that in turn has created a lot of opportunities for us at the other end.”
The quartet of point guard Deonte Jackson, guard Devious Whitaker, forward Bobby Phillips and center Nana Antwi-Boasiako have led the way for the Dragons and their by-committee offense.
“Our offense has been so balanced I don’t think we’ve had the same top scorer in back-to-back games,” Leamon said. “They’re all close in scoring for us and that makes the game so much easier to play because you have to respect everything we do. We play as a team and really feed off one another and taking what the defense gives us.”
Leamon said it does the coaching staff proud to see their players all cheering for one another and genuinely happy to see one of their teammates doing well.
“That’s the philosophy and attitude we’ve tried to bring since the first day,” he said. “It was a bit of a challenge last year in my first season here, but this year all the guys have bought in and our success so far is a real reflection of that.”
