{"id":821,"date":"2015-12-02T10:25:56","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T15:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/?p=821"},"modified":"2015-12-02T10:25:56","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T15:25:56","slug":"shreves-start-shows-team-with-big-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/?p=821","title":{"rendered":"Shreve\u2019s start shows team with big potential"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Toronco<\/a>

Toronco Loston of Capt Shreve shoots past Plain Dealing’s Tyjuan Thomas for a layup.
DOUGLAS COLLIER\/THE TIMES<\/p><\/div>\n

Captain Shreve believes complacency ruined its season a year ago after an impressive run to take the title at the prestigious Bossier High<\/span>\u00a0School Invitational.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Gators coach Todd Martinez and his players don\u2019t want to celebrate too much after an unbeaten start that includes wins over Huntington and Bossier. But it\u2019s already clear this team has what it needs to compete with anyone so long as it stays on the<\/span>\u00a0right track.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c(We have) a lot of ability and a lot of different pieces to use and it\u2019s just a matter of finding how the pieces best fit,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI\u2019m real pleased with the start but I\u2019m partially optimistic about not being satisfied winning four games because the season\u2019s 30 games long. If you\u2019re satisfied winning four<\/span>\u00a0you\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Plain<\/a>

Plain Dealing’s Dezmond Ford spins past DeJavious Evans of Captain Shreve during firstperiod action of their game Tuesday night.
DOUGLAS COLLIER\/THE TIMES<\/p><\/div>\n

Significant foul trouble for star guard Keldrick Carper cost Plain Dealing any chance at upsetting Captain Shreve, which cruised to a 72-52 win at home Tuesday night. As usual, senior guard Toronco Loston scored a game-high with 17 points, and his teammates offered him plenty<\/span>\u00a0of support.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An especially strong backcourt also features DJ Evans and Chris Wilkerson, two more seniors capable of scoring and applying heavy pressure on opposing offenses. Graham Smith paced a solid inside game with a season-high nine points, including his team\u2019s first<\/span>\u00a0five.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Depth should be an advantage most nights and proved especially beneficial against a young Class 1A team in a game marred by whistles on both sides. Captain Shreve broke a 14-14 tie with a 13-0 run \u2013 part of it with Loston on the bench \u2013 and 11 different Gators added their name to the<\/span>\u00a0points column.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, they appear to have true leadership in Loston, the lone returner from The Times\u2019 All-City first team. He\u2019s not afraid to say Shreve lacked discipline and a true leader last season, and he\u2019s committed to changing that dynamic<\/span>\u00a0this time around.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re not working hard, when we\u2019re not getting after it and I see something, I tell them, \u2018hey, you\u2019ve got to work harder,\u2019\u201d Loston said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to<\/span>lead the right way.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Martinez said so far his high expectations for the smooth playmaker have been exceeded \u201cin every possible way,\u201d noting he recently found out<\/span>\u00a0Loston texts one of his younger teammates every night just to ensure his confidence stays high.\u00a0That drive to make everyone else around him better also shows up on the court, where Loston knows he can find his shot when needed, but scored only four points while dishing out several assists in the second half against Plain Dealing.<\/p>\n

Fullcourt pressure kept the Gators from playing their best on a night when they were<\/span>\u00a0without one of their starters, and Martinez wasn\u2019t thrilled about 17 firsthalf turnovers. He said that\u2019s more than Shreve had committed in any one of its first three games, but it still took a sevenpoint lead into the locker room thanks in part to offense from Lions\u2019 turnovers.<\/p>\n

A fourth District 1-5A title in five years looks well within reach, and Loston said he\u2019s got his sights set on even higher goals, such as a Top 28 appearance and a state<\/span>\u00a0championship. The Gators should get a better idea of where they are and where they need to be in the opening game of the Northwood tournament tomorrow, when they face North Caddo and Louisiana\u2019s top recruit, Robert Williams, at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in the same boat,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThey\u2019re not just him. They\u2019re great when he\u2019s on the floor, but they\u2019re pretty doggone good when he\u2019s not on the floor, too.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

by\u00a0LUKE THOMPSON, SHREVEPORT TIMES<\/b><\/span>
\nLTHOMPSON@GANNETT.COM<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Captain Shreve believes complacency ruined its season a year ago after an impressive run to take the title at the prestigious Bossier High\u00a0School Invitational. That\u2019s why Gators coach Todd Martinez and his players don\u2019t want to celebrate too much after an unbeaten start that includes wins over Huntington and Bossier. But it\u2019s already clear this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ka5C-df","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":824,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions\/824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblog.captainshreve.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}