Oviedo Boys basketball came into the season with massive expectations, coming off an impressive 25-5 season that ended with a run to the third round of the 6A playoffs. This season, many fans expected similar success. Instead, through nineteen games the Lions have attained a measly record of 12-8, eclipsing their total losses from a season prior in just eleven games.
Although expectations were high coming into the season, a deeper dive into the roster before the season showcased major warning signs of regression for the Lions. Although the Lions were able to retain star forward Cameron Bryant the Lions still graduated four of their five leading scorers from last season and thus far, no one has stepped up in their absence.
Bryant, the lone bright spot on the season, has improved his scoring averaging 17.3 points per game, a 4.2 jump from last season while shooting an efficient 54% from the field. Bryant thanks coaching for his improvement on the season.
“Coach Young has really helped me evolve my game and it’s turned me into a better player,” Bryant said.
Besides Bryant, the Lions offense has been widely inefficient, shooting just 29% from three as a team while averaging 2.5 more turnovers than assists. It’s nearly impossible to run an efficient offense when teams only have one or two formidable shooters on the floor at any given time.
Compare this to last season, where the Lions shot 35% from three and had multiple players on the floor at all times who were able to space the floor, opening up lanes to the basket leading to easy efficient baskets.
The Lion’s most impressive victory on the season came against a top-50 squad in Masters Academy, a game in which multiple players stepped up besides Bryant including forward Ethan Diaz and guard Dominic Tejada.
Diaz scored an efficient 15 points while Tejeda stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six steals, and six assists. Performances like this are necessary from role players if the Lions expect to remain competitive and meet their pre-season expectations. Tejada knows what he needs to do to continue putting together good performances.
“I just need to keep giving 100 percent every play and every game,” Tejada said.
To give the Lions some credit, they did start their season off playing multiple superstars and top-ranked teams in the nation including 55th-ranked Oak Ridge and 54th-ranked Blake High School. These early losses had to be hard on team morale.
After suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of TFA and Lake Brantley by a combined score of four points, the Lions have started to get their season back on track, winning three straight against the likes of Hagerty, Altamonte, and Lyman. In each of these wins, Bryant has still been the Lion’s dominant player, averaging nineteen points a game. But the x-factor in these victories has been sophomore point guard Carter Oden who has scored in double figures in all three games.
“I’m a young starting point guard, so seeing all the coaches believe in me and lift me up before games has been really impactful,” Oden said.
There is a very obvious theme when it comes to Lions games, Cam Bryant is going to score a lot and he’s going to score efficiently almost every game, but whether the Lions win or lose falls on the rest of the team’s shoulders.
The Lions are playing consistent hard defense which could not be said about teams of the past, it is truly just about one or two other guys shooting efficiently. When the Lions lost to Oak Ridge, a team with multiple four stars and future NBA draft picks, Bryant scored 25 points shooting 67 percent from the field, the rest of the team shot a combined 27 percent from the field including an 0-5 performance from Oden.
The Lions were one more player away from competing with and possibly beating the state title runner-up from just one season prior. This exact formula can be seen again when the Lions faced off against Windermere Prep. The Lions were able to stifle Brandon Bass Jr. holding him to 18 points on a very inefficient 25 percent from the field, but on the offensive side of the ball yet again Bryant was hung out to dry leading the team in scoring with twelve points on 71 percent from the field while the rest of the team was ice cold, shooting yet again 27 percent in a high leverage game.
On the surface it may look like guard Terell James had a good performance scoring eleven points, but it took him sixteen shots to get to this number. Basketball is all about efficiency and the Lions are severely lacking in that category.
Friday night, the Lions will face off against one of the hottest teams in the area, the Lake Howell Silverhawks. The Silverhawks are 15-3 on the season earning them a top 40 ranking in the state and the respect of a legitimate contender for the 6A state title. Although the Silverhawks are intimidating, the path to victory is still clear for the Lions. Cam Bryant is going to have an efficient and high-scoring game that part is not in doubt, but in order for the Lions to upset the Silverhawks they’re going to need at least two other players to be scoring threats all night. It doesn’t matter who it is, it can be James lighting it up from three or Oden carving his way to the basket but if the Lions are to secure what would be their most impressive win on the season, Bryant is going to need help.
