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NewslettersHilton Head High coach only focused on basketball now
smcdowell@islandpacket.com
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For the past 10 years, Greg Elliott's duties have stretched well beyond coaching the Hilton Head Island High School boys basketball team.
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Transportation, athletic eligibility, event scheduling -- a short list of the many things just as much at the forefront of the former Hilton Head High athletics director's mind as directing a team. Basketball was simply just a part of the equation.
"I think what I'm going to miss the least is trying to worry about all those things come January and February, which is the meat of our season,"Elliott said. "It took up a lot of my time on a daily basis. I didn't realize exactly how much until now."
After stepping down as the school's athletics director following last year's spring sports season, that's no longer a concern. Instead, Elliott was able to spend his afternoons during the fall sports season watching sports TV programs, traveling to various basketball clinics with other coaches and, most importantly, preparing for the Seahawks boys basketball season.
"Since July, I've just been thinking about basketball," Elliott said. "I was ready to get going right away. I've been talking and planning with my assistants since the first day of school."
In less than a week, Elliott and his staff will have the chance to see if the extra preparation helps the Seahawks improve on last year's 5-19 finish. Hilton Head High begins its season Tuesday when it hosts Wade Hampton, and it will have three contests in the first eight days of the year.
Several Seahawks have confidence they'll be able to make the necessary strides this season. Most mentioned the team's athleticism as a primary reason for it.
"We're real athletic and real fast," junior guard Victor Frazier said. "That can make us dangerous because we do a lot of things other teams can't do."
The key for the Seahawks will be finding a way to utilize that athleticism and turn it into more victories. Elliott has found the time this year to look for ways to do just that.
"We aren't just looking for more offense," Elliott said. "We've got to use it on the defensive end as well as the offensive end."
Hilton Head High will have a couple of new ways of going about it. The Seahawks plan to use full-court pressing defense throughout the game to go along with various traps. That, Elliott hopes, will help create turnovers that will lead to the team's offense.
"We want to get it done on the defensive end and try to get some transition baskets," Elliott said. "We're not going to call a lot of plays on offense, maybe as few as five a game. We'll rely on our defense to create our offense."
The strategy is also a way to mask the Seahawks' biggest weakness -- ball handling. Elliott said the team struggles to complete more than a few passes on a single possession, though senior guard Ronnie Guilford said he expects the team to get better quickly now that they've played with one another for a year.
"I think we're starting to get on the same page," Guilford said. "Last year, we didn't know each other that well. Everybody knows each other now. We know each other's capabilities. I think we can surprise some people."
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