Prep notebook: Carolina Forest boys flourishing thanks to unselfish play

Brian Brunson has been preaching unselfish basketball.

Carolina Forest’s winning ways mean the players are doing something right. Their success distributing the ball to each other means they’ve taken their coaches’ words to heart.

Heading into the third week of region play, the Panthers are the area’s top-scoring team. What’s more, their 16.2 assists per game is by far the best figure among the 13 area boys programs.

“As long as we stay within the framework of taking the shots we are supposed to be making, that [assists] number will be high,” Brunson said. “The guys’ stats are taking a backseat because we’re starting to understand we don’t have to be in a hurry and we don’t have to settle. Earlier in the season when we were settling or now, it doesn’t go well for us.

“That’s not downplaying it. Because the finishing shot is the just as important as the pass. ‘I’m going to make this shot because you gave me a good pass or I was open.’ When we don’t share the ball, we don’t do well.”

But Carolina Forest is sharing the ball, and it is doing well.

Brunson’s team entered the week tied for first place in Region VI-AAAA. It was also the top-scoring public team in the immediate area, averaging 61 points per game (about three-quarters of a point behind Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach). Those two go hand-in-hand with how the Panthers have been looking out for each other on offense.

Junior guard Richmond Collier’s 3.6 assists per game placed him second in the area to Waccamaw’s Kenley Vereen, who is averaging 4.1 per game, coming into this week. But it’s by no means just Collier doing it for Carolina Forest.

Ismael Garcia is averaging 2.4 per game and Duane Moss and Damon McDowell each average 2.3. Those three comprise the 11th-, 12th-, and 13th-best individuals in the area in the statistics category. No other school had more than two players in the top 13 spots.

The ball distribution is music to the coaching staff’s ears – Brunson was unaware of some of the specifics Monday – but it is also partially by design. Carolina Forest’s offense is based on ball movement, spacing and cutting toward the basket, something that naturally boosts the assist figures across the board if done correctly.

Still, hoping to get the most out of the system and actually doing it don’t always jive.

“I don’t know that they get it completely because we’re still teaching some of the things that we did at the beginning of the year,” Brunson said. “But this is a very cohesive group. … They are connected. They are one unit. They don’t mind seeing somebody else be successful.”

Carolina Forest plays at Socastee on Tuesday before heading to South Florence on Friday.

CBCA WEEKLY HONORS

The Coastal Basketball Coaches Association released its Week 8 honors on Monday. And for the first time this season, Carolina Forest is ranked as the top area program. Rounding out the top five squads were Conway, Andrews, Carvers Bay and Waccamaw.

Additionally, the CBCA announced its Fab Five for last week. The list included Damon McDowell (Carolina Forest), Juwan Moody (Conway), Bryce Schneider (Myrtle Beach), Jackson Hurston (St. James) and Wanyae Moore (Andrews). Each of those five averaged at least 14 points per game last week.

HTC GAME OF THE WEEK

On Friday, HTC’s Game of the Week program will head to Little River for the North Myrtle Beach’s doubleheader against St. James.

The girls teams will tip off at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow. Both will be shown live on HTC Channel 4 and livestreamed at HTCConnect.com. Each will then be re-broadcast multiple times next week. The remaining schedule includes Myrtle Beach at St James (Feb. 5) and Carolina Forest at Conway (Feb. 12).

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Carolina Forest boys flourishing thanks to unselfish play."