Dragons feel ready for start of district games

The Carroll boys basketball team completed a tough three-game stretch during the Whataburger Tournament over the holiday break, and coach Eric McDade said it was a good way to knock off any court rust prior to the start of district play.

The Dragons opened up district on Tuesday night with Coppell after the press deadline, and will play at 8 p.m. on Friday at Richland where McDade said that he expecting the Dragons to have their hands full.

“Richland is very talented,” McDade said. “They have excellent guard play, like they typically do. Coach (Richard) Bacon does and excellent job, so it should be a fast and furious game. I look at which team can get the most stops and can withstand the other team, (that one) is going to come out victorious.”

Carroll went 1-2 in the Whataburger Tournament over the holiday break, and McDade said that he was pleased with how his team utilized the games to get back on track as district gets set to start.

“We had kind of a lay off, so we wanted to get some games in before we started up district, and we just happened to pick one of the best tournaments around,” McDade said. “The first game, we were just trying to get our legs back, and we ran into a really, really good Lake Ridge team, and we just had to work on some things in terms of defensive transitions and just getting back into the flow of things.

“The kids really bounced back and played well against Plano East in the second game, which I think they were ranked 19th in the state at the time, so we pulled off a big win against them. We played well in that game, and then finished it out with North Crowley, where we actually led most of the game.”

Carroll ended up up losing to final game to North Crowley by five points.

Kirk Mason and Hunter Summy, whom Carroll recently got back from injury, played especially well in the tournament for the Dragons.

McDade said that he is feeling good about the progress Carroll has made this season and said that when he reflects on the season from the beginning, his team is exactly where he hoped it would be as district gets started.

“I'm really pleased with how we've developed,” McDade said. “We would put our schedule up against anybody out there.

“We've played the best out there, and I really feel that has gotten us ready for that second season. So right now, everything is starting over. Everyone is 0-0, and we're about to get it started. I think we've set our goals in terms of where we want to be when district started, and I think we are there.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Dragons feel ready for start of district games."