Those on the outside might see the situation differently.
Laurel’s success on the gridiron in recent years, including five straight trips to the Class 5A South State Championship – a some beyond Thanksgiving week – has coincided with the success Laurel’s also had on the basketball court.
Its gridiron success also comes at a price on the hardwood. Several weeks into the basketball season Laurel is made to do without (in some cases) its more talented athletes. It’s a curse that is its own blessing and opportunity according to head basketball coach Marcus Price.
“It allows our younger guys to gain experience against quality teams,” says Price. “These are the guys we rely upon down the road.
“And I know that with our football team going as far as they go, they’re getting invaluable experience that they’re going to be able to bring to the court and share with our other players that will be playing in some big-time games.
“We know that [basketball] state championships aren’t won in November and December, so we use that as a time to get better. We obviously want to win, but we aren’t that concerned about records [in the early going]. We say that our record will reflect who we are at the end of the season.”
Nearly every year the same number of Laurel players make the sudden transition – gridiron to the hardwood. This season Price retained nine players on the football team to join him on the hardwood.
“On average we have about nine or ten [that make the transition],” Price says. “We have nine this year, and every year we try to maintain that number. Kids sometimes don’t understand how much basketball helps their football and vice versa. We have incredible coaches in both sports that help our players develop.”
Football has benefitted from a solid core of wide receivers in recent years. Several receivers have been known to be two-sport athletes: some of the most notables include Dontario Drummond from a year ago and Omar Bayless in 2014.
The success of each other’s program can be linked to the other.
“The same skill sets that are required for athletes to be elite in both football and basketball are one in the same,” says Price. “There is a difference in a kid that’s working on hand and eye coordination versus someone who’s taking the season off and just lifting weights. That’s why we have so many good receivers and defensive backs, and even our big guys have good hands because [in the football offseason] they’re in here doing something that helps them. They’re staying in shape, gaining comradery with teammates and – I’d like to think – getting quality coaching from our coaching staff.”
The transition from one program to the other is relatively smooth, largely in part to the friendship between each of its coaches.
“It takes two people with a friendship between them to make it work,” says Laurel head football coach Todd Breland. “We both understand that our sports complement each other. I love seeing our receivers go up to the gym and run up and down the court catching a basketball. Its similar to what we do down here.
“And sometimes our linemen need to work on their footwork, so we send them up to the gym [to play basketball in the offseason]. It goes hand and hand and makes them better athletes. Obviously, both of us have benefitted from that.”
Another area that the transition has benefitted Laurel basketball is its physicality.
“Every possession is a battle, and we want to win it,” Price says. “To do that we have to be physical. We make a statement about who we are as a basketball team by our physically. We aren’t here to hurt anyone, but at the same time, we want to win every possession. It helps to have guys that are physical on the football field to come over and be physical on the courts.”
While Laurel football has a five-year semifinal streak currently in the process, Laurel basketball has advanced to “The Big House” in its last four seasons, pending a fifth this season.
“We work hard, but our kids need to understand that we work hard for a reason,” says Price. “There’s a process we have implemented, and we have a pretty good thing going we think.
“It’s a blessing to have Coach Breland working alongside us, and that’s going to send guys over and not try to hold them out. It portrays the idea that we are a family.”
