Wildcats basketball ready to compete in TABC Showcase
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The calendar may say June and the temperature may show 100 degrees, but you’re not reading that headline incorrectly. This weekend, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Sulphur Springs Wildcats basketball team will be competing in the TABC Boys Showcase in Duncanville.
The showcase is a great opportunity for the team for a number of reasons. The showcase features over 280 teams, from all over the state and from all different classifications, giving teams the chance to showcase their talents against some of the best competitors possible.
The showcase is also an opportunity for players to play in front of college coaches, as coaches from all levels, including Division 1 will be in attendance, watching the strong play in front of them. It’s also a rare opportunity for Coach Brandon Shaver, as he will actually be allowed to coach his team during the event.
“I’m extremely excited to be back on the sidelines with this group,” coach Shaver said. “They have been working hard all spring and summer and we are just ready to compete against somebody other than ourselves.”
The Wildcats have one of the toughest schedules of any team in the showcase, though Shaver sees it as an opportunity for he and his team. “We have one of the toughest schedules of the weekend. All three teams are ranked in either 5A or 6A. It is exactly what we want, go out and compete and see where we stack up against some of the best teams in the state.”
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Shaver and his team will get things started Friday with a 1:30 p.m. start against Mansfield Summit. Mansfield Summit finished the year with a 30-6 record and entered the postseason ranked No. 6 in 5A. They also saw a deep playoff run, in which they made it all the way to the Regional Semifinals before falling to No. 4 ranked Amarillo. That game is set to be played in the Duncanville Fieldhosue on Court 1.
Saturday the Wildcats return to action with an even bigger school, this time, facing Denton Guyer. Denton Guyer also finished with a record of 30-6 last season and ended the regular season as No. 12 in the 6A rankings. They also went 10-2 in a tough district, giving them a second place finish. This game will also be played on Court 1 at the Duncanville Fieldhouse at 3:15 p.m.
Finally, Sunday, The Wildcats will make the trip back to Duncanville one more time, this time to play at Duncanville High School. Sulphur Springs will face off against Allen, who is coached by Clark Cipoletta, the winningest coach in Sulphur Springs history. In his time at Sulphur Springs Cipoletta’s teams went 106-34 and reached the State tournament.
“When I pulled up the schedule I was shocked when I saw we were playing Sulphur Springs,” Cipolleta said. “I’m excited to see the guys. I was going to get over and watch their games and definitely make an effort to see those guys, because once again, those guys are so special to me and will always be apart of my family.”
“But they made it a little easier now, now I get to coach against them so, just looking forward to seeing them and seeing how they grew. A lot of them still come over and work out with me over in Allen on some week days so, it should be a fun one, I’m just hoping they take it easy on me.”
The three teams Sulphur Springs will face this weekend finished last season with a combined record of 83-24 and each of them won at least one playoff game. “We couldn’t ask for anything better,” Shaver said. “This team keeps competing and getting better and better each day.”
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