Prior to the first day of practice, Carrollwood Day coach Karim Nohra had a meeting with his team. Everything was new for the Patriots, including Nohra, who had just taken the job after resigning from Academy at the Lakes.
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There were no seniors. There weren’t even any juniors. His squad of 10 players included just two sophomores, six freshmen, an eighth grader and a seventh grader. His entire team was young enough to play junior varsity.
But there was Nohra, telling his team that if they played to their potential they could end up in Lakeland at the Class 3A state tournament. Mind you, this was a school that had never won a district championship, let alone played in a region game. They didn’t even have an on-campus gym until this season.
"Talked to them about it from Day 1," Nohra said. "The hope around here was to win a district championship. Heck, I thought we could do way more than that. I knew that we needed to be good enough to beat Orlando Christian Prep. That was likely who we would play in the regional final. So the objective from Day 1 was OCP, OCP. We’ve got to beat OCP."
And beat them they did, 51-43.
The Patriots will play in Lakeland on Tuesday night at 8 against Bradenton Christian. It is the first time they have played in a state semifinal, and it doesn’t look like it will be the last.
All five starters are freshmen. All are new to the school. The top player has been Tiasia McMillan, who averages 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. But she is not the only contributor.
Weeyah McGill scores 13.5 points and leads the team with 9.5 rebounds. Tarriyonna Gary scores 12.2 points. And CC Mays averages seven points and five rebounds.
The Patriots are 27-2, with the losses coming against Lakeland McKeel in early December and Plant in overtime. It would stand to reason that the future is certainly bright, but Nohra isn’t ready to look ahead just yet.
"You never know what is going to happen," he said. "What I do know is that we have this chance right now. Why not try to win it all now? We’re not just going to be happy to be here because it’s our first time. We have this opportunity right now. We might not have it again."
Nohra believes his team has a chance against Bradenton Christian (28-1), whose lone loss came against Bradenton Bayshore. The Patriots are boosted by some quality wins, including one over Robinson, another playoff team.
Should Carrollwood Day advance to the state final, it would be a case of deja vu for Nohra. Tallahassee Florida A&M High could be the opponent. As the coach at Academy at the Lakes last season, Nohra’s team lost to FAMU in the state final.
But Nohra said he will not look ahead. He believed his young team could get to state. And to make his team believe as well, he coached them the only way he knows, with intense practices and perhaps some high volume criticism.
The players responded.
"We all just clicked right away," McGill said. "It’s been really fun. Coach may yell at us sometimes but he only wants us to get better."
Nohra downplays his role in this season of firsts.
"The orchestra has to have a conductor," he said. "But the musicians make the music. They do all the work. This is their team. They can be as good as they want to be."
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