Polk County basketball getting early look at season during summer play

LANDRUM – For a few minutes late Monday morning, Polk County head basketball coach Josh McEntire would have loved for it to be the heart of winter.

Jamal Tanner and Daniel Painter were drilling 3-pointers. Wes Mullis and AJ Searcy were grabbing rebounds. The Wolverines were keeping the scoreboard ticking and building a double-digit lead over St. Joseph’s, a 1A school from Greenville.

But while McEntire loved what he saw, winning isn’t the primary goal for Polk County during the two days of the Landrum Summer Shootout, being held Monday and Tueday at the school. Rather, the six games the Wolverines will play at Landrum are the first steps toward building for the 2014-2015 season.

“It gives us a chance to play everybody and get people some minutes and put them in sports maybe they haven’t been before,” McEntire said. “Our goal is to get better every game.”

The games are played in two 20-minute halves, with the clock running continuously except for normal stoppages during the final two minutes of each half. In the game with St. Joseph’s, Polk County saw its lead erased in the second half before a late basket gave the Wolverines a 54-52 win.

“I could have called a timeout when they made that run,” McEntire said. “But the young kids haven’t been in that situation and they need to see it. In Novemeber or December, that’s not going to happen.”

Rising freshmen such as Holden Owens and Kendal Wilkins mixed with returning starters such as Tanner and Mullis, the Wolverines fielding a single team mixed with players from last year’s varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams. A handful of players not present Monday are expected to join Polk County on Tuesday, when the Wolverines will play at 9 a.m. (Byrnes 1), 10:40 a.m. (Laurens) and 4:30 p.m. (Westside).

“When we played with intensity, we did pretty good,” McEntire said. “Summer basketball has ups and downs so much it is unbelievable. But it’s about getting the kids on the court another time and seeing how they do.”