Basketball: One observation from each area team at Day Two of the Esca-Rosa Challenge

The Esca-Rosa Challenge at Pensacola Catholic High School has concluded. Plus, Monday was the official start to the boys basketball season.

So, after two days of area teams battling it out under one roof, what was noticed from certain teams as the beginning of the regular season really gets going after the Thanksgiving break?

Here's one observation from area teams at Day Two of the Esca-Rosa Challenge.

Pace: The big players down front made a difference against L.E.A.D. Can they do it all season?

Pace head coach Houston Ramsay noted that his team has a lot of players with limited varsity experience, plus he's trying out several players at point guard right now to make them "run" the offense," and "learning on the fly." The Patriots have two notable tall and lengthy players down low in Joeseph Skipworth and Tylon Lee.

Both players showed their value on the football field for Pace during the fall. Now, can they get the ball enough to make a difference for the Patriots on the hardwood?

Skipworth found success on Tuesday getting some fast passes underneath the basketball and going up for easy layups, especially on a couple put-backs after snagging rebounds. He and Lee got things started for Pace early in the game against L.E.A.D. Academy in Day Two of the Esca-Rosa Challenge.

"The only question is: can we get it to them? Can we get it to them without turning the basketball over? … When we don’t turn it over and get it down to them, we usually look pretty good on offense," Ramsay said. "When we turn it over and don’t get it to them, we usually look pretty bad on offense."

L.E.A.D. Academy: The Energizer Bunny effect.

L.E.A.D. Academy knows it is undersized, with only a couple players over 6 feet tall. But head coach A.J. Ward said he'd like for the Lions to use that to their advantage. While they might not win the battle on the boards, Ward said a lot of his players had "a good intensity and good effort" especially at the end of the game, despite the lopsided score against Pace.

Not did his starters provide some energy, but he noted a few players off the bench "provided a good spark" for the team, running around the court and trying to disrupt several passing attempts from Pace.

"We've got to push the ball, play fast and trust each other," Ward said. "No matter what your team looks like, there's always positives and negatives."

Pensacola Catholic: The Crusaders could look a lot different after football season. But it's still up in the air.

The Pensacola Catholic boys basketball team had a decent-sized student cheering section behind their bench on Tuesday. Some of the students, however, could've been on the court.

Head coach Mike Dimick said that there are several players still on the Crusaders' football team – which plays in the Region 1-2S title game on Saturday at Florida High (Tallahassee) – who could still come out for the basketball team once the football season concludes, whenever that may be.

But who actually comes out for the team remains up in the air. For now, Dimick has his roster getting valuable playing time "trying to keep it together the best (they) can" as the early season progresses.

"Until (those players) are out (on the court), you never know if they’re coming," Dimick said. "But, if they don’t, then those guys are getting the minutes they need for us in the second half of the season to be ready and produce.”

For now, with what Dimick has on his roster, he said it comes down to fundamentals. There were several times early in the game where the Crusaders threw the ball away with errant passes, with a teammate either just out of reach or getting the ball tipped by a Spanish Fort defender.

"There’s a little bit of a skill gap there where we’re trying to bring them ahead to where we can make some of those more athletic passes," Dimick said. "But really, it comes down to fundamentals: ball fake one way, and go the other way. We just didn’t do a great job of that.”

West Florida High School: The Jaguars are tall and lengthy, but they have some 'quick' and 'aggressive' guards to round out the court.

Head coach Phillip Childers noted the length of some of his taller players: John "Big John" Anderson, who stands at 6-foot-8, Devin Bonner, standing at 6-foot-6, and Dominick Nicholson, who measures at 6-foot-5.

Those three players had a field day laying down some dunks, grabbing rebounds and even connecting on a few alley-oops throughout the Jaguars' game against the West Florida Baptist Academy.

So, West Florida High School has that part of the court covered. But Childers emphasized that the team isn't "going to hold back on anything," pointing to some of his guards. Most of them just eclipse 6 feet tall. While they didn't have a lot of deep jump shots or 3-point attempts, Childers said his guards are "quick and they're going to be aggressive."

"They’ve gotten faster, stronger," Childers said. "Small, big, we’re going to dominate inside and outside the paint. … 'Big John' is going for a lot of blocks. He loves it. We’ve learned from how to avoid fouls from doing that.”

Pensacola High: How quickly can the Tigers' 12 new players adjust game-to-game?

Focus one is to "take care of the ball," head coach Terence Harris said after Tuesday's win against Jay. Now, it's trying to find the "groove" as Pensacola advances throughout the regular season.

Pensacola played a tight, aggressive defense against the Royals, forcing a lot of turnovers and errors on behalf of Jay. That's what aided the Tigers in a lot of breakaway and quick passes down low.

"Each win is based on different personnel. … Whatever we feel is going to take to win that night, we’ll do it," Harris said. "We’ll try to mix it up with a little bit of everything.”

Jay: Adjusting to playing against a pressure defense.

Pensacola's observation brings Jay to light: the Royals struggled early against the pressure-filled defense from the Tigers. With several players returning from Jay's football team as their season ended a couple weeks ago, head coach Hank Hullett said the basketball team has only had a few practices together with the whole roster back on the court.

While Jay was able to find some offensive success late in the game, that was thanks to getting into the driving lanes and understanding the Pensacola defense a bit more. But either way, that type of defense is hard to duplicate when the Royals are practicing against each other.

"When they’re (bringing) hard pressure on the ball or they’re (bringing) full-court pressure, I could put eight guys out there and it’s not going to replicate what they’re doing," Hullett said. "This is really our first time seeing anything like that."

Booker T. Washington: This looks like one of the deepest benches in the area. Anyone is a scoring threat at any given time.

Similar to West Florida, Booker T. Washington also boasts some length on the court.

But the Wildcats have a lot of seniors on the court – which also means a lot of experience – that could translate to a decent run throughout the season. All but just a few players are 6 feet or taller, helping down low play. That helps with extended jump shots from within the arc as well.

Alex Jasquith also showed off his athletic ability with a couple dunks.

"We’re a little bit longer than the average team. We want to start taking advantage of it. But we can’t take advantage of it if the ball isn’t moving," head coach Dwayne Louis said.

Louis noted that the Wildcats are a pretty "unselfish team" and during their win against Lighthouse Private Christian Academy, the focus was more "team-oriented stuff." That came out during the second half.

"When we start doing more one-on-one stuff, we get selfish and it gets us in trouble," Louis said. "We’re better when all five players are touching the basketball. All five people are a threat to score when they touch it – so if you have a shot, take it."

Pine Forest: The Eagles have some athleticism. Now it's time to mature.

Late in the loss to Milton, a couple Pine Forest players ran around and got some incredible height to intercept some long lob-like passes from the Panthers. That was when the game on Tuesday was within reach, and the Eagles reached the foul line a few times to keep the game close.

But, other times, Pine Forest just had trouble closing out a game. Head coach Ty McCants said he has a fairly young roster, but "that's not excuse."

"They're very athletic. They give a total effort," McCants said. "That's definitely one of our staples. ...

"We couldn't make a shot when we needed one and we had some dumb turnovers."

Milton: For the Panthers, that's just the opposite. They've been able to close out games early on.

First-year head coach Joey Nieves said the players are "believing what (the coaches) are preaching" as Milton continues its regular season. Nieves believes he has a deep bench as well, but he's been playing a select handful of players in the early stages of the season.

The Panthers were on the losing end of a few tight games last season – with the exception of a 49-48 win against South Walton in overtime – and now that they have a few wins under their bel, including Escambia on Monday, plus preseason games against Gulf Breeze and Pace in the preseason that aren't on their record – Nieves said his team has matured a lot.

Plus, different players have been "stepping up to the challenge." Late on Tuesday, heroics came from Mateo Robinson and Treymar Jones to keep the game out of reach from Pine Forest

"They didn’t have the season they wanted to last year. But I think they want it this year – and they’re showing it. To get two big wins early on in the season like that, it’s huge for their confidence.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Observations from Day Two of the Esca-Rosa Challenge for basketball season