The Taylor Ducks varsity basketball team will be hosting a showcase at the Duck Pond next week.
Starting Thursday, Dec. 8, at 9 a.m. the Taylor Ducks will be hosting 14 teams and head coach Stephen Gibson said it is not going to be a tournament style of play.
“We have 14 teams coming and I changed it a little so it guarantees every team five games so we are calling it a showcase,” Gibson said.
Gibson did this because he wants his team to have as much experience as possible before district starts on Dec. 20 against La Grange.
Amongst the teams, the Ducks will play are a couple of bigger 5A schools. Three of the Ducks five matchups in this showcase are against 5A schools and it is a challenge Gibson said they will meet head-on.
“We are not running from anything we are going to face this challenge head on and give it everything we have,” Gibson said.
One of the teams Gibson is anxious to see his team matchup against is La Vega (Waco). La Vega has been one of the top schools in the state when it comes to basketball and Gibson wants to see where his team stacks up as well as having a little friendly competition.
“My good friend coaches over there, coach Cartwright he’s a real good friend of mine and I know he is going to bring it and I plan on doing the same,” Gibson said while chuckling. “They have a good team so we look forward to that matchup.”
Gibson said even though they are playing really good teams and they always want to win, the ultimate goal is to prepare and improve for their first district game on Dec. 20.
“We have a lot of big games coming up but the one we all have circled on our calendars is December 20th when we open up district against La Grange,” Gibson said. “I know this team is good enough to make a good run we just have to show people.”
The Ducks will tip off their first game against Bryan (Rudder) at 7:30 p.m. and get their first crack at a 5A school on Thursday, Dec. 8.
