Lakewood Ranch v. Plant City: What We Learned
Today Lakewood Ranch faced Plant City in the annual Court of Dreams Classic at the RP Funding Center (Formerly the Lakeland Center). This is the site where all the Florida state championship games are played. Traditionally this game features 2 teams projected to compete in a deep playoff run and it was evident as the Raiders and Mustangs battled till the end.
The Mustangs of Lakewood Ranch started fast and strong jumping out to a early lead but by the end of the quarter Plant City had cut the lead and was only down 2, 21-19. The 2nd quarter was very similar to the first, a 14 point lead cut to 5 as Lakewood Ranch led 39-34
What we learned in the first half:
Lakewood Ranch
- Has a few shooters, post guys are hustle guys who crash the glass hard
- Everyone fills lanes in transition properly (has plenty of spacing)
- plays the passing lanes well and gambles a lot
Damien Gordon 10 points Josh Young 8 points Jack Kelley 7 points
Plant City
- A good team but is inconsistent with what they want to do
- Traps well and creates turnovers but also turns it over quite a bit
- Not a physical team
In the 3rd, more of the same back and forth continued. Fouls began to mount up and a few injuries slowed up some players from both sides. The quarter ended in a buzzer beating 3 from Plant City’s Matt Simpson to make the score 44-41 Lakewood Ranch.
As the 4th got under way, the Mustangs increased its pressure and began to stretch is lead. 4 out of 5 of the Raiders first possessions resulted in turnovers. During those turnovers, frustration mounted and so did the fouls. At the midway point, 2 of Plant City’s starters had fouled out and it became evident that they were done.
What we learned in the 2nd half:
Plant City
- PG play needs to improve (several players took the role, none successfully)
- Starts quarters slow and bench was dead (once starters got going, benched slowed things back down by not being “active and ready”
- Very talented, great coaching, could be a force if game play get cleaned up.
Lakewood Ranch
- Players have high IQ’s and will not beat themselves
- Only loss 1 player from last year, could be a Favorite to return to the title game if game play continues to be as good as today
- Jack Kelley is sneaky good. He’s not flashy, doesn’t stand out much but does all the little things well. Finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds
Todays matchup was of a team who’s been there and wants to get back and a team that’s on the rise and figuring out how to get to the top. Lakewood Ranch imposed its will and won 79-63. In my opinion, if these to meet later in the playoffs it could go either way. Expect both teams to surpass the 20 win total and win their respective district title.