Last year, Monsignor Edward Pace High School’s boys’ basketball team finished the season at 9-20 and missed the playoffs.
This season, the Spartans are 11-6 and tied with Booker T. Washington for the district lead, and averaging 84 points per game, which is ranked 12th in the nation. Head coach Anthony Serro credits the regular season success to an offense that takes more shots than their opponents.
Serro said his team shoots about 80 shots per game, half of them are three-pointers. In one game, the Spartans shot the ball 115 times.
“It’s the perfect model of quantity over quality,” said Serro. “It’s a college style type of offense, taking more shots and more three pointers to outscore your opponents.”
Serro said his defense has forced a lot of turnovers to help the offense score quickly. He said it took two seasons for his players to learn how to execute the offense well.
“Last year, it didn’t work for us,” Serro said. “Last year we did a 180 to what they were taught before I become the head coach. It was a rough road last year but the kids finally adapted to the offense.”
The offense put away Random Everglades, which was ranked in the top 10 in Florida, as the Spartans won by 26 points. Pace split the season series against Booker T., and before winning its first six district games, including a sweep over Mater Lakes Academy.
The faces of the potent offense are leading scorers senior guard Danny Durape and junior guard C.J. Fisher, who both are averaging 21 points per game, and junior forward Josh Ferguson is the team’s top rebounder.
Serro also named Sebastian Jean, Armon Del Castillo and Don King among the unsung heroes of the team, not scoring a lot of points but doing the little things to help Spartans win.
“These are the main guys,” Serro said.
Before he became the head coach, Serro was an assistant under Mark Liberman, who guided the Spartans to three state titles. He said the expectations are different now he is at the helm but he loves the job.
“I love it,” he said. “And the players make you love the job.”