Panthers coach James McDonald is running an old-school playbook in North Long Beach, and he’s asking his school’s fans to have a little patience as a result.
The Jordan basketball team’s roster is stacked with two-sport athletes that were late arriving to the hardwood because of football season.
“We’re not in sync yet, we didn’t play together much during Fall League,” he said. “The best for us is still ahead, we haven’t developed that chemistry yet.”
McDonald said his team is more talented than last year’s squad but that he expects it to be a rocky takeoff.
Julian Chambers and Aaron Savage bring some hard-nosed intensity, and McDonald said he has his first true point guard in Eddie Medina.
McDonald, a Poly alum who coached at his alma mater before taking the head varsity job at Jordan, said that he’s hoping to develop some 1600 Atlantic-esque continuity in the house that Ron Massey built.
“What they’ve got is seniors telling the younger guys what to do, passing on that tradition, we haven’t had that yet,” said McDonald. “That’s what we’re trying to build.”
The Panthers got off to a 1-3 start and will play in the Artesia Winter Classic next week before opening Moore League play. With his roster just now starting to come together, McDonald is hoping to see some progress from his team before they open up league play against Wilson on Dec. 12.
“We’re going to get better the more we play, we’re going to get there,” said McDonald.
