El Dorado set to face Little Rock Parkview

El Dorado varsity boys’ basketball coach Jimmy Porter has lamented his team’s lack of success on the glass this season. The Wildcats aren’t particularly large, so rebounding was always going to be struggle. But Tuesday’s 71-59 loss at home to Maumelle was especially galling.

“The good news is the sun is going to rise and we’ll go play Parkview on Thursday,” Porter said after the game.

“That will seal up our non-conference play, a really tough non-conference schedule. I’ve been proud of this team because they’ve continued to play through a lot of adversity.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what they do on Thursday and how they perform in conference.”

El Dorado has struggled against big teams such as Bryant, Sylvan Hills, Conway, etc.

The perennially powerful Patriots represent another tough challenge on the glass.

“Parkview is really good,” said Porter. “Scotty Thurman has got some kids that can really play. They get up. They press you.

“They play that 40 minutes of hell, Nolan Richardson-type of basketball.

“We expect to be pressured, which will be good for us. We expect them to be very aggressive on the boards.

“They’ll send five guys in to rebound every time. It’ll be another game for us where we get an opportunity to battle on the boards and prove we can be a good rebounding team.”

El Dorado’s inside play was hampered Tuesday when 6-foot-6 sophomore Laronte McHenry suffered an injury in the first quarter and did not return.

Porter wasn’t sure about McHenry’s status for this week but expects him to be back by conference.

Six- foot- four David Ayree returned to the lineup and saw extensive minutes, scoring seven against the Hornets.

“I think he will,” Porter said when asked if Ayree would help El Dorado’s rebounding.

“I think him and Bubba, both. You’re talking about someone that’s 6-6 and someone that’s 6-4. It’s one of those things.

“It’s a next man up mentality. If somebody goes down or somebody can’t be there, especially in a year like Covid, next man has to step up.

“There’s going to be a time when a 5-8 has to box out their 6-4. We’re not going to make excuses.

“We’ll have to get in there and battle.”

Porter said that will have to be the Wildcats’ mentality for the entirety of the season if they hope to contend on the glass.

“From a rebounding standpoint, there is a technique to rebounding as far as hitting, getting low, using your hips and not just jumping. We will continue to work on that technique. We’ll watch film and show the areas we’re messing up in and where we’re not rebounding and who’s not rebounding. We’ll continue to fix those issues,” he said.

“It’s one of those things that’s constant. We work on rebounding every day. Even though we work on it every day, we’ll still struggle with it. It’s one of those things, you have your kids and you rep it, rep it, rep it.

“That’s the reason we play these types of non-conference schedules and play teams that have those hosses that will battle you on the board. So, when we get into conference, nothing is new.”