BASKETBALL

ON SCHEDULE: DeLand boys basketball rebuilds after dominant year

Myer Lee
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
DeLand (6-13) played one of the toughest area schedules.

DELAND — DeLand’s head boys basketball coach Sebastian Singletary’s program operates like clockwork: Every four years, the Bulldogs have a dominant season. 

DeLand had its first quadrennial successful year in 2018 when it went 22-7, winning 76% of its games the fourth year under Singletary. The first three years, the Bulldogs won an average of 39% of their games. 

Singletary’s Bulldogs won 27 games from 2019-2021. Then, right on cue, netted 21 wins and a Five Star Conference championship in 2022. 

Now, DeLand (6-13) is back to the beginning of its cycle: the rebuilding year. The one in which Singletary takes a group of young guys — in this case, seven freshmen and four sophomores — and starts developing them into top area players.  

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At this point, there’s a lot of teaching. Singletary has been impressed with how his team has been able to retain information. They are listening and trying, he said.

“We stress effort,” he said. “Effort’s going to make up for a lot of our youth.” 

The Bulldogs weren’t supposed to be so young this year, though. In fact, Singletary was expecting to break his four-year pattern, and have another big year with a veteran core.

That all changed when former star Nigle Cook transferred to DME Academy. That was just the start. Of DeLand's 12-man roster last year, seven graduated and four went elsewhere. Senior Gabe Snyder is the only returner. 

Freshman Beegie Gordon is one of the team's young leaders.

DeLand is back at the bottom, slowly ascending its way to the top. Freshmen leaders Beegie Gordon and Leland Fink are beginning to see the team’s progress. 

“We’re learning each other's games so we know what we can all do,” said Gordon, the team’s second-leading scorer. "We know how to get people to their spots so they can get open.”

Fink stressed communication — an important piece for a team still trying to figure out how to grow together. The Bulldogs didn’t have a summer or fall together, just two weeks of practice before they started playing games.  

With no time to jell, the young disjointed Bulldogs’ played the rigorous schedule Singletary made for his anticipated team led by Cook. He scrambled to change what he could, omitting some tournaments in Jacksonville and Orlando. The Bulldogs still played Oakleaf (18-1), Lake Brantley (15-8), Rockledge (18-4) and Seminole (15-8). They play the area’s top team, Mainland (18-5) in their last game of the season. 

DeLand has had some tough losses, but they’ve learned how to become better defenders and listen to each other. More than anything, Singletary wants accountability to be the takeaway lesson from the first year of his team's renaissance. 

“You guys stick together and hold each other accountable, the wins are going to come,” Singletary said, recalling what he reiterates to his team. “With a good second half and a summer, those guys will be ready for next season.”