All about love: Coach Joe Giddens hosts Mainland High's sixth annual summer basketball league

In June, 11 high school basketball teams converge on the Vince Carter Athletic Center courts to play fast-paced games, enjoy some camaraderie and gain skills.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 2:28 p.m. June 20, 2024
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Mainland High School basketball coach Joe Giddens said starting a summer basketball league was all about love. 

This is his sixth year hosting the summer league. He said he started the league when he began coaching at Mainland where there is plenty of space for multiple games played simultaneously. The school is home to the Vince Carter Athletic Center which houses a main court and three additional courts on the second floor.

“You don’t win championships in the summer, but you get a chance to build up to become champions,” he said.

Giddens has been coaching at his alma mater since 2017, and the Buccaneers have since been reigning district champions, playing in every regional tournament and blazing through top-tier opponents to the state final four the past two years. In 2023, Mainland lost 49-30 to Belen Jesuit in the Class 5A state championship game and fell to Blake 53-40 in the Class 5A state semifinals in 2024.

He said when he was in high school, his team played in a summer league at Father Lopez High School, which was then off Nova Road between Madison and Mason avenues in Daytona Beach.

The main thing the summer league does, like I told my principal, it keeps the kids out of trouble. If they’re in the gym, they’re doing something right. If I can keep kids here Tuesdays and Thursdays from five o’clock to eight o’clock then they won’t get in any trouble ...You never know whose life I’m going to save by having kids come here.
— JOE GIDDENS, Mainland head basketball coach

“When I was in high school, we got better in the summer time,” Giddens said. “I just thought it would be great to get teams in here so we can get better. This is a great way to build character and for teams to come together. It’s good for my kids and for the community. They get a chance to see teams from different places.”

Eleven varsity and junior varsity teams are playing this year including Atlantic, Deltona Trinity, Matanzas, Olympia, Pine Ridge, Seabreeze, Spruce Creek and Viera in addition to the Bucs. The games, scheduled throughout the month of June, are fast-paced with four 10-minute quarters, three 30-second timeouts, a three-minute warm-up and halftime.

The Seabreeze JV team lost 60-59 to Matanzas on Thursday, June 13. The Sandcrabs led 31-26 at the half but could not reclaim the lead following a 17-point run by the Pirates in the third quarter. 

Seabreeze JV coach Chris Wilson said most of the players on the squad played, and a few will be selected to play on the varsity team next season. 

“We only play varsity teams in these tournaments because we want to get them better,” he said. “I like that they’re able to compete against high-level teams that automatically get us better and gives us more confidence. Today we lost by one but that gave them the confidence to say ‘We can still hang with these big boys.’” 

Jordan Anthony scored 19 points for the Sandcrabs with Jeremiah Outler and Christian Simmons each adding eight points. Outler led the team with eight rebounds, and Simmons dished out five assists.

Incoming freshman Roman Sword said he played pretty well but turned the ball over too many times down the stretch. He scored six points, had four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

“The Mainland summer league is a great league,” he said. “It gives me more reps against bigger, stronger players.”

Seabreeze varsity coach Ray Gaines took over the program in 2022 and changed the team's culture. The Sandcrabs went from 1-19 in the 2021-22 season to 10-13 the following year. Gaines said it is about teaching the kids to have pride in the program and pride in themselves. Six of his players graduated this year. He said he has six open spots and the summer league gives the coaches a chance to evaluate the players in a competitive environment.

“It’s good because a lot of times these younger guys don’t get a chance to play varsity competition,” he said. “We make sure that every game they play has to be a varsity game because a lot of those guys that played tonight have aspirations of playing varsity next year.”

Henry Robinson is going into his fourth year as the head coach of Matanzas. Overall, he has been coaching for 19 years. The Pirates’ summer league team consists of three rising juniors along with sophomores and freshmen.

“It’s a huge benefit (to play in the summer league),” he said. “They are getting varsity minutes. Most of them have only played middle school basketball. It’s a big jump. Them getting to see it now is beneficial for us instead of us going into the season and that be the first time they see real competition.” 

Giddens said he is excited to see all of the young talent coming out of the middle schools. The summer league is an opportunity for coaches to evaluate their players and for players to increase their skills in a positive environment, he said.

“The main thing the summer league does, like I told my principal, it keeps the kids out of trouble,” he said. “If they’re in the gym, they’re doing something right. If I can keep kids here Tuesdays and Thursdays from five o’clock to eight o’clock then they won’t get in any trouble. They’ll be too tired. They’ll go home. You never know whose life I’m going to save by having kids come here.”

 

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