Center Point boys’ basketball coach Paul Harris and his Pirates have had to learn to adjust on the fly this season.
“We expected it to be a really good year, but things started to change after we lost the backcourt of upper-classmen we were counting on having when one of the guys left the team and the other one decided not to play this season,” Harris told Texas Scorecard. “From there, it’s turned into a rebuilding season, where our focus has centered on keeping everyone committed and just trying to hold it together.”
The Pirates’ struggles in their 2-16 start to the season have been apparent, especially when compared to last year’s team that won district and advanced through two rounds of the playoffs.
“Last year, we had three good scorers and now on any given night it can be tough for us to score,” said Harris, whose team during one recent six-game losing streak averaged just 35 points per night. “But we’ve got a tough bunch of kids and we’ve played a schedule filled with bigger schools and stiffer competition, so we’re still optimistic things could turn for us in district play.”
The Pirates and their motion offense are led by the inside-outside junior duo of center Joseph Carmouche (14 points, 11 rebounds) and point guard Cody Daily (10 points, four rebounds).
“He’s been great in the post,” Harris said of Carmouche, while praising Daily for gaining a grasp of the system so quickly in his first season with the program.
“We take small steps and set incremental goals for ourselves like winning a quarter or a half at a time,” Harris added. “We’re confident things will be better for us in district and we’ve challenged our guys to stay the course to get to that point.”
