WS Chronicle

When Chris Geter took over as head coach for the Parkland Mustangs boys basketball team, he knew it was going to take some time to rebuild the program. Now entering his third year, he is seeing the fruits of his labor, as he has a very competitive team. To kick the season off, Geter held a media day to give his players something they may have never seen before.

“It’s just to give them a whole new experience, man. A lot of these kids don’t get to play on the next level so I was just trying to give them a little taste of what it is on the next level by having the opportunity to be interviewed and building camaraderie,” said Geter of why he decided to have a media day for his team.

There was a lot of turnover on this year’s roster as compared to last year. Geter only has four returning players from last year and he filled in his team with players from the junior varsity squad and those who transferred in. With so many new players, it was a priority to build chemistry in the offseason.

“We just played a lot of competition. We played at a lot of team camps. We played Mt. Zion over the summer; we beat them by 30. We played Southern Durham and beat them in overtime, so we are battle tested,” Geter said. “We are battle tested, so a lot of kids got to grow up quick and you can tell the confidence now when we come out and play. Even when we had the scrimmage a couple weekends ago, you just see the confidence level is different.

“There are four things we are going to do. We are going to play with 110% effort. We are going to play selfless. We are going to play with some grit and defense is our offense. And that’s the philosophy that I always preach to them and that’s what they are buying into.”

There are things that Geter saw during the offseason he liked a lot and there were other things he did not. He knows it’s early in the season, so there is time to fix any issues that may arise.

“I like the camaraderie,” he said. “I like that everybody likes each other and everybody pushes each other. They like to compete against each other. I think where we need work is everybody knowing their job and playing to their strength.  

“I have a saying, ‘Everybody is important, and nobody has a bigger role than the next man,’ so that’s what we have been rolling with. They are young but they are learning the philosophy and what I like. We are coming together.”

Geter says he has high hopes for several players on his roster. Guys like Bryce Jackson, Joshua Moore and Brock Jackson will be relied upon heavily this season for their leadership, scoring, defense and intangibles.  

Bryce Jackson is a senior who has been playing on the varsity level for three years. Geter says he isn’t the most vocal leader, but instead prefers to lead by example. Jackson says he wants his senior season to be the best he’s had at Parkland and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

“First we started off playing AAU together, conditioning in the weight room, getting our bodies right and just being there and playing for each other, really helped us get our stuff together,” said Bryce Jackson. “Building chemistry was big for us.”

Jackson says he did a lot during the offseason to improve as a player. He says he hit the weight room heavily, worked on his footwork and even played football. Playing football gave him the necessary break from basketball.

Geter says that Moore is a very versatile player that he uses as a “swiss army knife” on the floor because he can do so much. For Moore, it was about development and chemistry this offseason, to achieve the team goals they have set.

“We just got in shape. We went out on the track, ran, hit the hill, lifted and at the end of practice, we would go in and maybe shoot free throws,” said Moore of what the team focused on during the summer. “We really didn’t touch the ball all summer, we just wanted to work on our bodies.

“We know we are better than last season, so we are trying to win at least 13 or 14 games. We know we can win these first five. Get these first five out of the way and keep it pushing.”

As another one of the leaders on the floor, Moore likes to use his knowledge of the game to his advantage to put his teammates in the right position on the court.

“My leadership on the court … I got a pretty high basketball IQ, so I know where everybody is supposed to be, where they need to be and how they got to do it,” Moore continued. “So, if they don’t know what to do, I’ll tell them on the court. If you go to a game, you will see me pointing out where to go. So, if I get everybody where they need to go, then the play is going to work, and we are going to score.”

When it comes to Brock Jackson, Geter says he is getting “thrown in the fire” as the point guard of the team. Geter feels even as a sophomore, he can step into that role and be the coach on the floor.

Geter and the Mustangs have gotten off to a hot 3-0 start to the season. With some hard work and some luck, Geter and his team are hoping to make a playoff run, get two players on the All-Conference team and win at least 14 games. Geter feels all of their goals are achievable if the team continues to buy in.

The Parkland boys varsity basketball team roster consists of 12 players; Riley Horton, SaMaurie Moses, Aiden Hughley, Isaiah Thomas, Brock Jackson, Bryce Jackson, Nasir Allen, Joshua Moore, Kurkeli Kurkeli, Brandon Rorie, Angel Salazar and LeAndre Thomas.