Snakebit Rays Hope to Finish Strong

Rays coach Jim Watt was optimistic entering the 2023-2024 basketball season. There was no way he could envision the run of bad luck his team had coming. You could say this year’s Rays team has been snakebit. On Thursday, January 18, the Rays hosted Naples Classical - a team they beat early in the season - and went down 79-60,  finishing the game minus three starters.

"This season's been rough for us,” said Watt. "It's been a tough season. We are missing three starters. And a lot of our kids that are playing right now are sophomores. We're basically a JV team and I think what happens is when you're stretching the kids out like we're doing right now, then other things start happening. Other injuries start creeping in because they're just getting stretched out. They're exhausted. They're all putting in more time than what they need to rest. So you start making mistakes. But yeah, snakebit, we are. Snakebit is the right word. It's been a tough season.”

But like most dark clouds, there is a silver lining for the Rays. This year’s Rays team is very young.

“They're getting better for next year,” Watt said. “That's the good part. Next year they're getting bigger. They're getting stronger. They're understanding what it means to play varsity basketball. You've got to figure most of these kids were all playing JV last year. The JV games aren't as aggressive. So they're understanding what a varsity game means and what happens. The kids that are getting playing time are getting good knowledge."

The Rays lost Watts’ son Jacob Watt early in the season to a hand injury. What ensued was a dizzying stretch of injury and health setbacks for the Rays, who rarely had more than three starters available in any given game. Sometimes they had even less.

The good news is that the Rays graduate just one starter in Grayson Jones. Jones is wrapping up a very productive career for the Rays. They will miss his physical style of play. Jacob Watt will be back for his senior season. But the majority of returnees will be juniors next year, including scoring leader Nick Sadler, who is averaging 16 points a game as a sophomore. Leading rebounders Jordan Rodden and Mathis Fontes both return. The Nazarko brothers, Veleon and Mekyle, have shown great improvement this season. Lincoln LaButte, who was thrust into a starting role when Jacob Watt went down for the season, will join Watt as the team’s only seniors next season. Lincoln Garwood is another member of the strong sophomore class that benefited from extended minutes this season.

Senior Grayson Jones and sophomore Veleon Nazarko led the Rays with 19 points each against Naples Classical (6-11). Sadler had 10 before leaving the game near the end of the third quarter. Garwood had eight.

The Rays (4-11) traveled to Moore Haven (11-4) Monday night, after the Coastal Breeze News deadline. They conclude their regular season on Thursday, 1/25, against Everglades City. Then comes the Paradise Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

“Anything can happen in the PCAC tournament,” Watt said optimistically.