Minutes aplenty for Panther youngsters

For an offseason that’s supposed to be all about rest and relaxation, the Porterville basketball team has been rather busy this summer.

The Panthers are in the midst of playing their third and fourth summer leagues — simultaneously.

Last month, Porterville High was the host site of its first league — an eight-team affair featuring the likes of Clovis East, North Bakersfield, Lemoore and, of course, Monache.

Now, with nearly 20 players on the roster, Porterville has fielded two teams while splitting time between McDermont’s High School Basketball Summer League and another hosted by Tulare Western.

“That’s what the summer’s all about,” assistant varsity coach Chad Moody said. “Just get the kids involved and keep them active.”

But summer plans have several on the roster coming and going, which presents a challenge for coach Lance Wallace and his assistants to develop a chemistry with a consistent group.

Last year’s varsity regulars Joey and Jordan McIntire are currently vacationing in Fiji while Eduardo Llamas has attended to other plans the past several weeks, which effectively leaves the Panthers without their starting frontcourt.

Moody instead pointed out the positives with the suddenly extra minutes.

“We’ve had some younger kids — Jordan McCoy and Zack Ward — step up and they’re just gonna be sophomores,” Moody said. “Overall, we’ve played some very good teams and some not-so-good teams, but we’ve been able to use our younger guys.”

McCoy originally started last season with the varsity squad but decided to head to JV for more playing time. With six seniors departing from a squad that finished 11-12 last season, Moody expects some of the young guys to fight for those open spots — beginning with their performances in summer league.

“There may be a spot for one or two of them,” Moody said. “We’ve told Jordan to be a little more aggressive and today he stepped up a little and he’s getting more physical.”

The few returning varsity players in attendance during Tuesday’s win over Strathmore included Courtland Duckworth, Zach Wilkins, Tyler Moody and Michael Lopez.

Duckworth appears to have made strides after being thrown into the starting lineup as a point guard — a tough position for anyone, let alone a freshman — to pick up on the fly.

“It was a lot of pressure,” the soon-to-be sophomore Duckworth said. “(Varsity) is a lot faster, more intense. But I matured a lot in the way I played, the speed, ball control.”

Wallace said Duckworth needed work on his playmaking decisions while preventing turnovers.

“At the beginning of the season, I turned it over too much, but I got rid of that,” Duckworth said. “I think I’m playing a lot better than last season.”

Duckworth easily picked apart a Strathmore defense on multiple occasions, occasionally taking it to the rim himself, but often dishing to teammates for easy looks.

“Courtland, right now, is our best player,” Moody said. “He’s our best ball-handler, he gets to the basket better than anyone else. He’s a leader and he can rebound because he’s got a good body at such a young age.”

Another who appears to be on the verge of a breakout season next year is Wilkins.

“I think by the time Zach is a senior, he could be the best player in the EYL,” Moody said. “He’s probably the most athletic kid in school but he’s gotta get stronger. If he dedicates himself to the gym, he could be really good.”

While Duckworth admitted the competition isn’t up to the par of regular season varsity games, he and the other Panthers would still rather spend their summers on the court.

“It’s helping us with the chemistry and coming together as a team,” he said.