basketball Archive

It has been five years since the Crestview boys basketball team won a state championship.

And while Bulldog coach Greg Watson isn’t predicting his team will cut down the nets at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland come March, he does see some similarities between this year’s Bulldogs and the team that won it all.

If you don’t think things cost more these days, just as Baker basketball coach Brent Zessin. The Gators will pay officials more than $4,000 for 10 home dates. A set of home uniforms cost about $1,500. The price is the same for a set of road uniforms.

The summer workouts have come to an end for Laurel Hill School’s girls basketball team.

The arrival of July means it’s time for most of the basketball players to turn their attention to volleyball season, which starts next month.

Life in the fast lane never ends for Baker coach Chelsea Medley, at least not before softball season.

In addition to being a wife and mother of two small children, Medley coaches volleyball and girls basketball.

Crestview High School boys basketball coach Greg Watson and the other Bulldog coaches that use the CHS gym will tell you there is no place like home. Last summer required the coaches and their teams to be road warriors for practices and games as the school replaced the original hardwood court that had been in place since the school opened in 1969. This summer the teams have all the comforts and benefits of being at home.

June is a busy month for most high school teams no matter what the sport. Teams only have so many days of summer to work and get better before the start of the school year. Football teams usually spend the entire summer putting in the time before practices officially start on July 31.

At this time last year Connor Williams was an assistant coach for the Crestview High School girls basketball team helping his father, Steve Williams, with the Lady Bulldogs. When Steve accepted a job at Paxton a few weeks later, Connor was promoted to head coach. All Connor did in his first season was lead the Lady Bulldogs to the district championship and the second round of the playoffs.

Crestview Lady Bulldog star basketball player Elesi Simmons will be trading the sugar white sand of Okaloosa County with the snow of Colorado.

Simmons, who shared this year’s most valuable player of the year honors for the Lady Bulldogs with Katiya Casey, has committed to play for Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo.

Elesi Simmons is finally coming back into form.

Simmons, a senior post player for Crestview’s Lady Bulldogs basketball team, suffered a season-ending knee injury as a sophomore. She was still recovering much of her junior year.

One glance of the statistics for the Baker Lady Gators basketball team and one name stands out.

McKenzie McGraw leads the team in almost every category of importance. She leads the team in scoring, steals, assists, blocks and rebounds. She is second on the team in shooting percentage. And the best part, said Baker coach Chelsea Medley, is McCraw is just a sophomore.