The Bulldogs boys’ basketball team has gotten off to a good start and is still improving

King’s Fork High School’s boys’ basketball team now has had a couple of months to get acclimated to its new coach. The Bulldogs sit with a 4-2 record in Southeastern District play, and their two losses have come to the two teams ahead of them in the standings. New head coach Rick Hite likes where his team is at the holiday break.

“We wanted just to make it to this point and see how we fared,” Hite said. “I didn’t know what the record was going to be. We just wanted to make it to this point. At the break, we knew we could get more practices in and compete with each other. We are not where we want to be, but we are close.”

The two district losses this season have come to Western Branch High School and Oscar Smith High School, both teams that are expected be competitors at the state tournament level. King’s Fork is in a lower classification than those schools but feels that playing against that type of competition helps them down the road.

“The conference is tough, because you have to step up to the plate every night,” Hite said. “Playing in the SED, you can’t dwell on wins and losses. You have to get ready for the next matchup. That’s why the break was important for us to get quality work in with each other and continue to build.”

Everything is new to the Bulldogs this season. In the previous 13 years, it had been understood what Josh Worrell expected in his program, from the type of plays the Bulldogs ran to how they run the plays. Hite knows they are learning every day while also continuing to get acclimated to each other.

Some of the players jumped right into the season because of the football team’s extended postseason. It is going to take time for them to get their basketball legs under them, and now is the perfect time for that. There are also transfers that have meshed with the returning group. Hite believes more practice over the break will help the Bulldogs get to where they want to be.

“That practice time without games in between helps you build chemistry, which leads to what you need to be successful every night,” Hite said. “Over the break, it has been exactly what we needed it to be. Every day that we are together, we will get better.”

King’s Fork will host a holiday tournament Friday. Hite wants to see his guys go out and enjoy the moment playing against other Suffolk schools and playing in front the Suffolk fans.