New coach has Cougars boys basketball on the prowl

Sophomore Meko Mayes blocked a shot at the buzzer, and the Cardinal Mooney High bench exploded.

The block came at the end of double overtime Dec. 5 and handed the Cougars boys basketball team a 65-63 win over Sarasota Christian. As Cardinal Mooney players sprinted to Mayes, their first-year coach, Mike Urban, slowly walked the other direction, expressionless.

The Cougars had reason to celebrate. The win propelled them to 3-0, just two victories short of their 2016-17 season total. Urban was a volunteer coach then, but carries with him 18 years of head coaching experience in Indiana and more than 30 years of experience coaching in general. When Stefan Gates stepped down after 11 seasons, no one else was more qualified to replace him. Now, he’s in charge of leading the turnaround, and he’s doing it the only way he knows how: by playing old-school basketball.

After the win against Sarasota Christian, Urban mentioned his dissatisfaction with how his team played defense in the first half — multiple times. Accountability, too, is big with Urban, he said. Making a mistake is one thing. At the high school level, it’s going to happen. Making the same mistake over and over is unacceptable, he said, though he didn’t have to say anything. His mannerisms on the bench gave his philosophies away.

Against the Blazers, following an uptick in defensive play after the slow start, the Cougars allowed an end-to-end drive and layup with less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter. Urban could only shake his head and grasp his water bottle tighter. It was a rare moment of wrong in a season that, thus far, has gone right for Cardinal Mooney. As long as those moments remain rare, Urban will be happy, but there’s a long season ahead of his team.

"We're just trying to instill a program, and the kids have bought into it," Urban said. "They're trying to do everything we want to do."

“Everything” is a lot, in this case, Urban conceded. A new coach means new philosophies, new terminology, new attitude. Defense, if it was unclear, will be the focus for the Cougars. It’s fitting that after his team’s first-half struggles, their undefeated season was kept intact by a block.

Senior point guard Dante Pascarella said the effect has been felt.

“The intensity level at practice (is higher),” Pascarella said. “Coach is trying to change the culture.”

Pascarella added that Urban got on his team at halftime of the Sarasota Christian game, and that helped the team play the second half with renewed energy.

"We're just trying to instill a program, and the kids have bought into it," Urban said. "They're trying to do everything we want to do."

Urban praised his point guard for his effort down the stretch against the Blazers. They’ve been on him all season about being a leader, Urban said, and in that game, he was. Pascarella had six steals overall, and three came in the waning minutes of regulation, leading to layups that helped Cardinal Mooney stay in the game. Pascarella finished that game with 30 points, but Urban was most impressed by his ability to get his teammates where they needed to be to find success.

Cardinal Mooney’s previous two wins came against Class 5A-9 rival Sarasota Military Academy and Class 8A’s Sarasota High. With 19 games left, anything can happen, but barring an unforeseen catastrophe, the Cougars will put their win total from last season to shame.

“I’m pleased with the effort the kids have put in (this season),” Urban said. “I couldn’t be happier. We’re trying to do the right things and we’ll continue to get better.”