Smackover Buckaroos are ready to resume their season
EL DORADO – The Smackover Buckaroos have been off for a long time.
But Smackover will finally continue its basketball season Tuesday at Drew Central after not having played a game since losing to Strong back on Dec. 20th. It’s an unusually lengthy hiatus. However, Buckaroo coach David Preston is confident his team will be prepared to play when they face the Pirates in their 63A opener.
The coach is optimistic that it will be the re-launch of a successful campaign for the Buckaroos.
“We’re ready to get on the court. We’re tired of practicing and we’re ready to start playing. We’ve only had two games so far anyway, so all we’ve done is practiced,” he said. “We’ve worked on a lot of funda- mental stuff. We’ve had to make some adjustments. We worked personnel groupings and things like that so when we get on the court, we have our best guys out there in the best situations.
“So it’s been good to get some practice in. But - we’re ready to play.”
By no means has focus been an issue for the team. That’s something which Preston takes pride in.
“The guys came in ready to work. They’ve done well. We’ve worked them hard, especially coming back from break. We’ve worked them extremely hard trying to get them ready and in basketball shape,” the coach said. “Everything we’ve asked them to do they’ve came out and done it. We’re looking forward to getting back on the court.”
That eagerness is keyed by a desire to finish atop the league standings, Preston added.
“We want to come out and work hard and play hard. I think we’ve got enough talent on our team that if we stay within ourselves and go out and do what we’re capable of doing, I believe we have a good shot at making a run at the district championship. That’s the first goal and the primary goal right now. If things come together and we play like we’re capable of, we can accomplish that.”
The Buckaroos adopting a selfless M.O. gives Preston a solid foundation to