Hoops notebook: Deltona boys care about one stat; DeLand girls enjoying major turnaround
DAYTONA BEACH — On the stat sheet, it looked more like a football drive than a basketball possession. Time elapsed: two minutes. End result: three points.
But when Deltona needed a bucket to clinch a win against Seabreeze Friday, the Wolves got it.
They had rattled off 10 points in a minute and a half to erase a 50-41 Sandcrabs advantage in the fourth quarter. Then, leading by a point, they slowed the pace down. They dribbled and passed the ball around from the 3:30 mark of the fourth quarter until Ethaniel Valazquez-Rivera drilled an open 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining.
Deltona finished it with a few free throws, 61-55. Any means necessary.
“The only stat that we care about is the win or the loss,” coach Brad Fraser said. “And I feel like that’s the way we’re playing now.”
Typically, the Wolves like the tempo to resemble Daytona International Speedway. Wednesday, they raced to an 86-62 victory over Spruce Creek. It set a new season-best point total and was the fourth time this year they eclipsed 70 points.
But Friday, when they decelerated in crunch time, it represented Deltona’s maturation. Fraser never instructed his players to kill time. They just knew it was the smart thing to do.
“It just kind of happened,” said senior Anthony Proenza, who had six points. “We were trying to look for the best play, and it just took a while.”
The best play was a scoring one. It gave the Wolves a sixth straight win and moved their record to 11-4.
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After struggling in Fraser’s first year, Deltona enjoyed winning records each of the past two seasons. This winter has continued that trend, but the squad feels different. It’s smaller in stature but more balanced and unselfish with the ball.
“Any of those guys could be the leading scorer on any given game,” Fraser said. “That’s what makes it exciting.”
Sophomore Jaheem Curry poured in a team-high 15 points against Seabreeze. Seniors Jabari Gill and Gabe McPherson tallied 14 and 10, respectively. Overall, seven Wolves scored.
“Now, we’ve gotten to the point where we actually play team basketball,” Fraser said. “We’re making the extra pass. We’re getting it to the open guy.”
Whether it takes two seconds or two minutes.
DeLand girls in midst of huge turnaround
In the first week of January, the DeLand Bulldogs already have more wins this winter (10) than their last three seasons combined (seven).
They sit at 10-2 after a 1-18 campaign a year ago. Who is spurring the change?
Young talent.
Mimi Ross has been an all-around threat during her freshman campaign. She leads the Bulldogs in points (16.2), assists (4.1) and steals (5.1) per game.
Sophomores Frantashia Williams and Jada Rawls and senior Rakayla Hill also average double-digit point totals. Williams is contributing 14.3 points a game while Rawls adds 11 and Hill 10. Sophomore Hailey Banks paces the team in rebounding with 10.1 boards per night.
The last time the Bulldogs won 10 games and maintained a record of .500 or better was 2019-20. That season, they went 12-12.
Winter break tournaments
Not all boys teams were quiet during winter break in Volusia and Flagler counties.
DeLand hosted the annual Gus Gibbs Memorial Tournament that featured eight squads, including four from the area. Seabreeze topped the local field by placing fourth. DeLand took sixth, and Spruce Creek beat University for seventh.
New Smyrna Beach put on the Barracuda News Years Shootout and went 2-1.
Mainland was 1-2 in its own Christmas Shootout.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school basketball: Deltona boys just win; DeLand girls surging
