Taveniere Brings Holiday Hoops Cheer

SEBRING -- Princeton Harris can't remember when the annual Taveniere holiday basketball tournament started, but he has a pretty good idea of where his team will be when it finishes.

"The Taveniere is my judge," said Harris, Sebring's boys basketball coach, who noted the tournament's been going since he graduated SHS in 1987. "I'll go into my office Saturday night and know where we're at, and what kind of things we need to work on the rest of the season."

The eight-team tournament tips off Thursday, when Inlet Grove takes on Mulberry at 3 p.m. That game is followed by a 4:30 p.m. meeting between Gateway (Kissimmee) and George Jenkins, a 6 p.m. game between Avon Park and Lakeland, and, finally, the opening nightcap between host Sebring and Riviera Beach-Sun Coast at 7:30 p.m.

Harris said tipping off the tournament with a Class 5A squad won't give his team much time to get in the groove.

"We're going to hit the floor running," Harris said. "We're not at midseason form yet, but we're getting better. And hopefully, good competition can get us over the hump."

The same can be said for Avon Park, a team that struggled early on this season but has found a bit of momentum after two straight victories at last week's T-Mac holiday tournament.

Red Devil coach Luther Clemons said his team is likely in the same boat as the other seven squads making their way to the Heartland.

"We're just like the rest," Clemons said. "We need to play together and get some experience. We know what we need to do."

Sebring forward Jakob Trussell said the tournament is an opportunity to give something back to the home crowd and stuff a few opponents' stockings along the way.

He noted that having a home court advantage could mean a lot, and that the entire team is hoping for some big crowds when they take the floor.

"It's a good way to show what we can do and what we're doing wrong," Trussell said. "It helps us work on things and hopefully get our heads straight for district championship."