Ribault boys basketball is this week's Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.
Courtesy photo by Maefred Grier-Haynes
As a first-year
Ribault (Jacksonville) boys basketball coach, Dale Green evidently knew what he was getting into.
Despite the fact that the Trojans were a combined 15-31 the previous two seasons, Green has led Ribault to a 27-3 record in hopes for a fifth state championship.
The last title was in 1995, after winning crowns in 1994, 1990 and 1989.
Nobody could have possibly seen this coming.
For their remarkable turnaround, the Trojans are the MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.
"Rebounding has been something that we knew was important and wanted to do better," said Green. "Ribault used to have a strong program, so we went back to the glory days where the expectation of Ribault was high. I tried to get the guys to buy into that and the old school ways to restore the glory. We got the students more involved and the community more involved to bring back that tradition."
After losing two of four games in late January, Ribault has won five straight games including a 62-58 regional playoff win over Trinity Christian.
The Trojans then hosted Jackson in a regional semifinal game on Tuesday and came away with a 64-61 victory.
Led by three leading scorers,
Hari Hall (16.8 points per game),
Daishon Smith (12.8) and
Torien Moore (10.0), all seniors, the Trojans opened with 12 straight victories, scoring more than 90 in three of those games, including a 110-47 win over Baldwin.
In that game, Smith led the way with 20 points, Hall had 15,
Khaliq Williams 12 and
Eric Jones and
Chris Johnson with 10 each.
"There are so many things that I could say about (Hall)," said Green. "The two words that immediately come to my mind are 'game changer.' He is a game changer and the difference for our team."
Four other players average at least 5.5 points per game. The Lions average 70.4 points per game.
Ribault will take on Pensacola Catholic in the regional finals on Friday.
"Our main goal was that we wanted to be able to compete. We wanted to be able to play at the highest level that we could and if we did that, we knew that everything would take care of itself," said Green.
MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.Do you know a team that deserves
consideration for Florida Team of the Week? Email us with your
nominations at FLteamoftheweek@maxpreps.com.
