Local hoops teams hone skills in summer league

Stats weren’t being kept and wins and losses weren’t the ultimate goal — but as Thursday’s summer league basketball game between West Orange and Osceola entered the final minute of play and the Warriors trailed by just a basket, that all went out the window momentarily.

West Orange fell to the Kowboys, 71-70, but the value of having play stopped for a timeout with 27 seconds left in a live game was one that Warriors coach Eric Jones — who helps put together the summer league each year — says can’t be overstated.

“Any time you can work on situational tests … that is always beneficial for kids’ knowledge enhancement,” Jones said. “Any time you can get that, that’s valuable.”

The West Orange Summer League runs each summer over the course of five weeks and this year it has 12 teams participating, including West Orange, Olympia, Ocoee and Foundation Academy.

Each week, four host sites are selected with three teams participating at each location. Three games take place (at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7p.m.), with each team playing both opponents.

The league offers coaches and players an opportunity to increase continuity within the program and get inexperienced players real game experience.

“It’s an opportunity for us to get everybody involved,” Ocoee coach Rob Gordon said. “It’s not really about winning and losing at this time of the year, it’s more about developing the player and seeing what role they might be able to play for us come the regular season.”

Because the results are deemphasized during summer play, coaches can experiment with lineups and strategies and increase the confidence of their bench unit.

“It’s vital to a successful program. … You’re only as good as your bench,” Jones said. “Your assistant coaches get to coach more during the summer.”

The value isn’t limited to up-and-coming young players or role players, either.

Grant Riller, a rising senior for the Knights, had a breakout season in 2013-2014 before an injury cut his campaign short and Gordon says the talented guard has been making the most of his summer.

“He [Riller] has taken his game to a whole other level to where he was as a sophomore, or even a junior,” Gordon said.

“Just more explosive, much more consistent and much more mature, overall.”

Riller — who has garnered interest from a variety of college programs including Florida Gulf Coast and Floridaw International — showcased a balance attack in Ocoee’s 74-58 victory over Leesburg on Thursday, draining 3-pointers while having success driving the lane, also.

Thursday marks the final week of regular season play for the summer league, with games at West Orange, Apopka, Olympia and Wekiva. The Warriors will host Foundation and Lake Minneola, Apopka will host Lake Brantley and Leesburg, Olympia will host Dr. Phillips and Osceola and Wekiva will host Boone and Ocoee.

The following Thursday, June 26, will play host to end of season tournaments, with groups of four teams meeting at three separate locations for a round of semifinals and then championship games.