The 2015-16 basketball season was a success for the Yazoo County High School Panthers.
No, their record would not indicate that things were going according to plan, but the signs were there behind the scenes that things were trending in the right direction.
To second year head coach Phil Turner, things went much better than people realized.
“We had a disappointing season last year on the court,” Turner said. “Off the court, we made tremendous strides. We should make huge strides on the court this year, as well as maintain what we have achieved off the court.”
The biggest adjustment that the Panthers had to face was learning what to expect from each other.
“They learned me,” Turner said. “They understand what we’re trying to do. We’re changing discipline and culture. We’re focusing on pride and character. Basketball is secondary. If we can instill pride, discipline, culture and how we relate to one another, basketball is easy.”
The learning process was a difficult one due to the sheer amount of things that had to be changed.
Discipline was a major focal point.
“Last year we didn’t have much of those things,” Turner said. “That’s why we struggled on the court. Guys weren’t getting to class. They were in trouble. The grades weren’t there. We had a bad rapport. If you want to be a part of this, you have to change those things.”
After some difficult days over the course of the past year, Turner finally believes that his team is on the right track.
“We’ve had no discipline referrals, other than maybe one or two minor things,” Turner said. “It has been a huge turnaround from a year ago. It’s also fixed things in practice. We had guys with attitudes last year. I was the new guy. They didn’t know me from Adam, and I didn’t know them. They were set in their ways. Change is always difficult, and there is always some push back. But I think they have bought into what we want to do now.”
The Panthers return all but three players from last year’s team, so they now have a bit more experience.
But that’s not the only reason the Panthers should be better.
Turner thinks they will be better because they have a sense of consistency and reliability.
“Coach Nutter has helped me a lot this year, and we start every practice by sitting down and talking the first 15 minutes of practice,” Turner said. “They know exactly what to do. We don’t have to get up and tell them a thing. Nothing changes. They know what we expect out of them. They’re on a structure and a schedule.”
Still, Turner isn’t worried about winning and losing games.
That isn’t the priority yet.
He’s still concerned with the process.
But he feels that as the process goes, the wins will come.
“Wins and losses are not a focal point right now,” Turner said. “We’re focused on putting out a better product. As long as we do everything with maximum effort and the best attitude, wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
Yazoo County will open the season on Thursday at 1 p.m. when Clinton High School comes to town.
The game will be a “White-Out.”
