By the time the Greenport High School boys basketball team plays in the Southeast Regionals of the New York State championship tournament on March 15, 35 days will have passed since the squad’s last game.
That’s right: 35 days.
The Porters last competed on Feb. 7, capping an impressive regular season in which they finished second in Suffolk County League VIII play (17-3, 15-3).
The only game they have played since then is the waiting game, and head coach Justin Moore has found ways to keep the team in shape, physically and mentally.
“It’s just hitting the reset button,” he said. “We’ve been going back to square one. It’s almost like preseason all over again. We’ve been doing a lot to keep the kids motivated, getting in shape, going back to the basics.”
Keeping his team sharp without actual competition for more than a month has been the big challenge.
There is a certain rhythm to the high school basketball season, in which teams become accustomed to playing two or three games a week. Five weeks without a competitive encounter is uncharted territory.
“That’s the challenge for us,” Moore said. “It’s important to keep on getting as many scrimmages as we can, keep having intense practices and just staying focused.
“That’s the hardest part of this whole journey. Almost getting halfway through, we’ve been doing well.”
Greenport has scrimmaged other teams that were still alive in their respective playoff divisions, including Mattituck and Port Jefferson (Class B) and Riverhead (Class AAA).
“The scrimmages are definitely good,” Moore said. “But it’s also challenging too, because we have been out so long.”
Moore said that he has been encouraged by his players’ training habits.
“They are working very hard and putting in a lot of work and staying focused,” he said. “They haven’t felt that it’s been repetitive, which has been a good thing. We still have a long way to go.”
After the Porters recorded a 60-45 win over Ross in their final regular season game on Feb. 7, Moore gave the team five days off before starting training sessions.
To keep things fresh, he has added new wrinkles to practices in a bid to stave off boredom.
“We have been definitely doing more individual drills, working on our skills,” Moore said. “With us having so much time, things can get repetitive. We definitely have been trying to have different styles of practices. It’s been going well for us.”
Things would have been a bit different for the Porters had Southold qualified for the Class C final. The rivals would have faced off at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue on Sunday, March 2. They still would have faced a sizable layoff, but there would have at least been a game to focus on.
As Class C county champs, Greenport will play the winner of Section I (Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester counties) and Section IX (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster counties) at Center Moriches High School on Saturday, March 15.
What makes the delay even more frustrating and challenging is that those two sectional tournaments are on going at the moment, while Greenport waits.
“We’re never going to take it for granted, being in the Southeast Regional game,” Moore said. “This will be the biggest game of our lives.”
This has been a special season for the Porters, as they strive to return to the state final four for the first time since 2018, when they lost in the semis.
“That’s been the ultimate goal, to make it upstate,” Moore said of the tournament in Binghamton on March 21-22. “That’s been our goal all year since we lost to Southold last year [in the county final].
“They definitely are a special group that works hard, a bunch of seniors, who are very committed to basketball. We don’t really have to force them to be in the gym. They want to be in the gym. That definitely makes it easier for us as a team.”
The Porters are led by three seniors — guards Nelson Shedrick (21.8 points per game) and Kal-El Marine (12.5) and forward Taiquan Brumsey (10.0).
There is little doubt that the threesome loves basketball. They attended Mattituck’s regular-season finale against Port Jefferson on Feb. 6.
“They have friends on teams,” Moore said. “They love going to games and supporting their friends.”
Moore wouldn’t be surprised if they attend the Class B final between the Tuckers and Port Jefferson at St. Joseph’s on Sunday, March 2.
“I’m 90% sure that we will be there,” he said.