The varsity basketball Jaguars played host to 11 other participating teams on July 15-16 at the annual Summer Shootout Tournament at Windsor High School, a two-day event that featured some 140 high school athletes looking to hone their skills.
This year’s tourney featured a list of boys summer teams that included Ukiah, Cardinal Newman, Piner, Healdsburg, Marin Catholic, Novato, St. Vincent, Cloverdale, Roseland Prep, Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa and Windsor.
Unlike a traditional tourney, the shootout included five games for most teams, (Windsor and Carrillo played four) with a total of 68 games played on Saturday and Sunday.
Each contest had a running clock, with games lasting about an hour.
Despite missing several players during the weekend, the Jaguars were among the top winning teams, posting a 3-1 record.
After opening the tourney with a five-point loss to Novato, the Jags notched wins over Roseland Prep (by 11), St. Vincent (by 24) and Cloverdale (by 10).
“It was a pretty competitive tournament overall, with only one team (Maria Carrillo) going undefeated,” WHS coach Travis Taylor said. “We were definitely missing some key guys and missed a lot of open shots and a ton of free throws.”
Busy summer
The Summer Shootout signaled the end of a productive off-season program for the Jags, playing in a total of about 20 games since June, with participation in Marin County tournaments that included San Rafael, the Golden Gate Shootout (Redwood) and Sir Francis Drake.
“We had a tough time getting a consistent commitment for the summer program this year,” Taylor said. “We’ll take a break for a while and resume open gyms when school starts. Going forward there will be a heavy focus on weight training and conditioning.”
