Archbishop Carroll, Powered By 'Small Ball', Ready For 3A Semis

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The time of the "traditional" big man in basketball seems to be all but over.

More and more coaches are going with smaller lineups – putting as many skilled and versatile players on the floor at once.

"Small ball" has worked for Archbishop Carroll.

The Bulldogs – who don't have a player over 6-foot-3 – have used its high-energy, floor-spacing style to reach the state semifinals for the first time in school history as they will face Windermere Prep Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in the Class 3A state semifinals at The Lakeland Center.

Archbishop Carroll (28-3) head coach Juan Hernandez said his team's style of play works for them.

"We're not a big team but we're deep and we guard really well," Hernandez said. "We play extremely hard. It's an exciting style to play – running up and down, shooting threes and pressing. We have to do that because we have no size."

That hasn't hurt the Bulldogs up to this point though. And Hernandez said reaching the state semifinals has made the past couple of days like a whirlwind.

"It's definitely a dream come true to make it to states," said Hernandez, whose team defeated SLAM Academy 74-51 in the regional final. "It's crazy here at the school. They are preparing a sendoff ceremony for us and everyone is excited. Ever since we won Saturday night, everything started to go really fast. We had to make preparations to go…thankfully we had a great group of parents that helped."

"We're excited though, this is an awesome feeling," Hernandez added.

What adds to the awesomeness of the achievement is that Hernandez has built up the Bulldogs program in a short period of time. Taking over the job in the 2010 season, Hernandez led the team for three years – totaling a 62-20 record – before he left to pursue an opportunity at Florida International University in 2013.

Hernandez returned at the start of the 2014-15 season and Archbishop Carroll went 20-7 that year before losing in the regional quarterfinal.

The Bulldogs' had a young roster that was returning its core players and the early playoff exit motivated Hernandez and the team.

"We weren't ready last year," Hernandez said. "We had pretty good team, but we just weren't ready. We kept the team together the whole year…and we're reaping the benefits of that right now. They are an extremely close group and they get along so well. They play so hard for me and I just couldn't be happier for them right now."

"We had our top nine or 10 guys come back, so we're benefitting from having that closeness and trust," Hernandez said.

What they lack in size, Archbishop Carroll makes up for by having multiple players that make big contributions.

A duo of Christian's – 6-foot-2 senior forward Christian Anglada and 6-foot-2 junior Christian Silva – is in the forefront. The two combined for 50 points in Carroll's big win Saturday and will play be huge in any success that the Bulldogs have in Lakeland. Anglada is averaging a team-leading 15.4 points per game while also getting 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.8 steals per contest. While Silva has added 12.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.4 steals a night.

"Anglada is one of our energy guys," He only has one speed – 100 percent. He plays hard and fast all the time. Sometimes we have to rein him in. But I'd rather have to rein a player in than try to push them to play harder. He gets us going a lot on both ends of the floor."

"And Silva has transformed himself from just a shooter to an extremely well-rounded player. He's our leading rebounder at 6-foot-3 and he's been handling the ball a lot for us this year. He has a high basketball IQ and he's someone who can guard all five positions on the floor," Hernandez said.

Also, Carlos Villamil, Chris Garcia, Daniel Cordero and Luis Fred – who returned to the team this season following knee surgery – all combine to contribute nearly 30 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs.

"We don't have that one player that opposing teams can say 'if we stop this guy, we'll beat them'," Hernandez said. "We're deep and we defend really well. I've always played that way – always pressing full [court], always spacing the floor, getting to the rim and kicking out for threes. The kids like to play that way. We play nine or 10 guys…almost every quarter. Everyone knows that they're going to get in the game. It builds up the trust factor within the players and the coaches."

What Archbishop Carroll will have to deal with Tuesday is a Windermere Prep team that has three players who are at least 6-foot-5 – including 6-foot-9 junior center Ryan Swoboda – and is led by 6-foot-7 junior guard David Nickelberry.

Nickelberry, who holds offers from Central Florida, George Mason and Miami, and Lakers senior guard Parker Davis both average 16 points per game.

"[Windermere Prep] is an extremely long and athletic team. They have a lot more size than we do. It's a huge task in front of us," Hernandez said. "Hopefully, we can shoot the ball well there. What we're banking our season is how we guard defensively and how hard we play. That's what gotten us to this point."