CONCORD – There are two ways Concord (0-1) head coach Tim LaTorra can choose to remember Tuesday’s 68-35 loss to Trinity: by sophomore Brett Tuttle throwing an in-bounds pass off the bottom of the backboard or by the several times his players raced back on defense to draw offensive fouls, even after committing preventable turnovers.
Fully aware that he’s embarking on what will likely be a long rebuild, he’s choosing to think about the latter – the intangibles his team displayed in a matchup against the defending Division I champion Pioneers (1-0).
“Right now, we’re not in the same spot Trinity is,” LaTorra said. “We are starting from scratch essentially. Our boys know that. We just gotta bring the effort and energy every day and stick with the process. Eventually, the results will come.”
Here are three takeaways from the Tide’s season opener:
It was almost as if Concord did exactly what the Pioneers wanted: push the pace to try to break past their pressure. Trinity put on a full-court press for much of the game, and often times, guards Eli Bahuma and Japhet Nduwayo would race down the floor, trying to split defenders and create odd-man situations. Instead of leading to easy buckets, this often led to wild shots and errant passes that allowed Trinity to get out in transition.
For most of the 32 minutes of play, the Tide’s offense felt rushed. Indecisive passing, forcing shots and not taking advantage of opportunities to drive to the rim all added up to a subpar offensive showing.
“We gotta get a little more confidence offensively,” LaTorra said. “Credit to them. The way they play, they get out in the passing lanes, try to speed you up a little.”
The 5-11 junior led the way in scoring for the Tide with eight points. And while there’s certainly lots to clean up on the offensive side, Nduwayo displayed a deft ability to navigate through traffic in tight space, especially close to the basket. He also has a burst of speed that caught the Trinity defenders flatfooted several times throughout the course of the game.
“He is so athletic,” LaTorra said. “He doesn’t even know how athletic he is. … He obviously can make a difference out there on the floor defensively in terms of his athleticism, hitting deflections, intercepting passes, finishing at the rim. He’s developing more of an outside shot now, too. When he’s on the floor, we’re better for it.”
There’s undoubtedly a long list of areas Concord has to clean up: turnovers, rushing shots, not identifying shooters in time, among other things. But, from the opening tip, the team’s effort was hard to question. Even after turning the ball over, guys raced back on defense to draw charges; players consistently dove for loose balls, even if it was because of a mistake they made; they continued to run offense until the final whistle.
None of that added up to a ton in determining the game’s outcome, but it sets the tone for how this team is going to play in 2022-23: relentlessly. It might not always look pretty, but the effort will be there. Considering the program has gone 76-230 over the last 16 years, that’s not as small of a feat as you might think.
“We were trying to focus on the things we can control: the hustle plays, are we willing to give effort for 32 minutes? Loose balls, charges, rebounds,” LaTorra said. “I feel like we competed for two-and-a-half, three quarters with one of the best teams in the state. We know where we are. We are trying to build from the ground up.”
Concord’s best stretch in the game came early in the second quarter when the Tide started on an 11-4 run over the first four minutes to cut their 24-9 deficit to 28-20. Trinity’s offense just proved to be too much in the long run.
Now, the Tide look ahead to trying to get a little bit better each time they take the floor.
“We got a great group of guys here,” LaTorra said. “We got guys that are willing to buy into everything I’ve tried to deliver so far in terms of how we’re gonna try to turn the program around. They know it’s a process, they know it’s not gonna happen overnight, but I think they come to practice ready to go.”