South Pemiscot's coach McGowan navigates January's grueling schedule with a shortened bench strategy

South Pem hoop coach shortening bench - for now

TOM DAVIS

Fifth-year South Pemiscot High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Jordan McGowan is taking a strategic approach to getting his team through a harried month of January from a physical conditioning perspective.

After not playing a game for 20 days over the holidays, the Bulldogs will play 13 games in 24 days this month, and today’s game with Gateway Legacy Senior High will be number 6 in that rigorous schedule.

South Pemiscot will face the Lions at 2:30 p.m. in Poplar Bluff.

“January is jam-packed,” McGowan said. “We’re probably going to practice only one or two times this month due to playing games.”

In a recent win over Class 2 No. 11 Hayti in Hayti, McGowan only utilized six players (sophomore Ty’Riquis Campbell, sophomore Damarius Mayberry, junior Robert Farmer III, junior Jaterion Smith, senior Torrell Boyd, and junior Logan Southern).

“We are going to get there,” McGowan said of lengthening his bench. “Right now, with (Bootheel Conference) play, and with our situation of not playing a lot of games, we are definitely trying to get some of our core guys in shape quickly.”

Playing a lot of minutes – in this style of play, which is frenetic – is physically taxing on the Bulldogs.

“Luckily,” McGowan explained, “I have been with this group for five years and we have made some adjustments when it comes to this type of play in this (Bootheel Conference) because Hayti isn’t the only ones who play that way.”

The Class 2 No. 8-ranked Bulldogs (6-2) fell at home to Caruthersville (78-68) on Thursday.

“Caruthersville tries to put a lot of pressure on you,” McGowan said.

McGowan’s distribution of varsity minutes does not mean his bench players aren’t gaining experience.

“Those guys who didn’t play off our bench,” McGowan said, “played four quarters of (junior varsity) as hard as they could play. We’re basically giving everybody 30 minutes of balls-to-the-wall (action), trying to get them in shape.”

McGowan explained that getting minutes, be it in varsity or junior varsity games, is imperative for the development of young players. Being on the court for a significant amount of time in a junior varsity game is more important than playing limited minutes at the varsity level.

“(Our players) know because we preach that,” McGowan said, “that it is so important to do this.”

The Bulldogs’ varsity lineup includes a pair of sophomores, which results in an extremely young group for the South Pemiscot junior varsity, according to McGowan.

“They’re struggling right now,” McGowan said of his junior varsity team. “But I think they will be OK once the (Bootheel Conference Tournament) comes around (in February).”