Braden River High basketball is hungry for more

After winning its first Class 5A-District 10 basketball title since 2012 a season ago, Braden River wants more.

Head Coach Dwight Gilmer likens his roster to the ingredients of a cake.

“You don’t want to eat raw eggs or flour, but once you put it all together and put it under the heat, all of a sudden you have this magnificent cake," Gilmer said. "That’s what we’re in the process of baking.”

Gilmer, now in his third season as the Pirates' head coach, will need to be adept at baking with different ingredients. 

Gone from last season are Gilmer’s top three scorers. Guards Marcus Schade, Isaac Heaven and Jacobi Murray have all graduated. Point guard Tatum Spikes, who led the Pirates in assists per game last season with 3.5, transferred to Manatee High and 6-foot-4 guard Dudache Belony transferred to Parrish Community High.

That doesn’t change the fact that opponents now see a target on Braden River’s proverbial back after its title last season.

When Gilmer took over the program in April of 2022, Braden River had undergone three straight losing seasons. Since then the Pirates have steadily climbed, going 16-9 in the 2022-23 season and 19-9 last year, en route to defeating Sebring High School in the district championship.

This year, the Pirates are attempting to win back-to-back district titles for the first time in the history of the school. 

“What I’ve been trying to preach to the kids is that no one’s going to take you lightly," Gilmer said. "When you come into the season as a district champion, everyone wants to see what Braden River is all about,” said Gilmer. “It doesn’t matter that we’ve graduated players. It doesn’t matter that whoever was here last year isn’t here this year. When opposing teams come here, they want to kick your face in and it's up to us to not only defend home court, but to defend that district championship.”

It takes a village

For Braden River, which has started the season 2-0, Gilmer said defending its district title will have to be a complete team effort. This year’s Pirates are more guard heavy, as they lack some of the height and athleticism that made the group a district champion last season. In turn, the game plan has changed.

Offensively, Braden River will look to up the pace, putting pressure on opponents by flying up and down the court. Gilmer aims to have his players in constant motion — something they worked tirelessly on during a practice over Braden River’s fall break — swinging off ball screens to get open looks from inside the paint and beyond the arc.

Playing together as a team is something easier said than done. During the offseason, players often scatter, playing on AAU or travel programs. The game that young players learn — and that they can post on their highlight reels — is one of isolation. Crossing up a defender or hitting a step-back 3-pointer looks great. Setting ball screens, cutting to the basket and boxing out on rebounds, however, helps the team win. 

Even so, Gilmer said the ability to create one’s own shot is a valuable asset when managed correctly.

“The greatest thing that a basketball player can learn nowadays is how to do both.

"A lot of them don’t know how to play within the system and show their individual skillsets,” Gilmer said. “We’ve got some guys who individually can do some impressive things, but in order for them to be more effective individually and us to be better as a team, we’ve got to incorporate those things within our schematics.”

Defensively, Braden River looks to use its speed and tenacity to its advantage. Ever determined to leave a lasting impression on its opponents, Gilmer wants his team to be tough, no matter what the final score might be. That grit is built on Braden River’s defensive non-negotiables — keeping pressure on the ball, staying in the defensive stance, getting back on defense, communicating and rebounding. 

For the Pirates to repeat last season’s success, new faces will have to step into leadership roles. Gilmer points to players like 6-foot-3 senior shooting guard Deven Womack, who transferred into the program from Lakewood Ranch High in 2023. Womack has a long, rangy build with a knack for getting to the rim. During practice sets, he routinely dunked the ball with authority, often followed by a sheepish grin shared with his teammates. Womack, who emerged as a starter halfway through last season, will be expected to take on more of the scoring load in the absence of Schade and Heaven. 

Initiating Braden River’s offense are two of the program’s promising young guards, 5-foot-9 sophomore Anquan Polynice and 6-foot-2 sophomore Jerrod Long. Through two games, Polynice and Long are leading Braden River in scoring, averaging 18 and 17 points per game respectively. Long and Polynice are joined in the backcourt by 6-foot guard Jaron Fields, a two-way football star who transferred from Lakewood Ranch High half way through the 2023 season.

Fields has made the most of his first taste of Braden River basketball. In Braden River's 69-53 win over Southeast High on Nov. 19, Fields filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.

Braden River’s belief that it can make history by winning back to back district championships, is fueled by the players' belief in Gilmer.

“Before Coach Gilmer came, it was a losing program,” Long said. “Coach Gilmer brought a great culture with him when he arrived here and that’s changed the school in positive ways. If we as players carry that culture with us, like we’re doing with our junior varsity team, then Braden River basketball is going to be a force in this county for years to come.”'