Leto High boys basketball team strings together record breaking season
Leto hoops strings together record breaking year
When Dan Delgardo took over the Leto High School boys basketball program four years ago the Falcons were in disarray.?
TAMPA, Fla. - When Dan Delgardo took over the Leto High School boys basketball program four years ago, the Falcons were in disarray.
"As a competitor, it was tough," Delgardo remembered.
In his first season as head coach, Delgardo's Falcons won just a single game, yet he truly believed brighter days were coming soon.
"When you can build your way through the hard times, it prepares you for the good times," said Delgardo.
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Fortunately for the Leto High Falcons, those good times have officially arrived. Four years after winning just one game, the Falcons have strung together 20 wins this season and captured the program's first district title in 28 years.
"It's been beautiful," said senior center Quamar Hobbs. "Just to watch it happen and actually be a part of it has been great."
Now, the Falcons head into the state playoffs as a No. 1 seed – a far cry from winning one game four years earlier.
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"We just talked about it, believed in ourselves, believed in one another and took it to the next level," says senior forward Jamar Edwards.
But just when it looked like everything was turned up, the universe threw the Falcons another curveball. At the end of their season, it was deemed that the bleachers in Leto's gym needed to be replaced, which meant the Falcons could not provide enough seating to satisfy the minimum required of 900 to host a state playoff game.
Though they earned the right to host every game through the postseason, the Falcons could not. Even that, however, couldn't break their spirits.
"At least we can still practice," said Hobbs. "A lot of teams can't practice still. The fact that we're still in this thing is enough for me."
So far, the Falcons have played their playoff games in a middle school gym and "hosted" the district championship at Alonso High School. Now, they practice and will play the remainder of their games down the road at Chamberlain High.
Once again, adversity came knocking, but once again, the Falcons answered.
"It makes a better story," said Delgardo. "If we continue to succeed, the story becomes greater."
The story of the Falcons' season, however, has yet to write its ending. Thursday, Leto High School will host Palmetto in the regional quarterfinals at Chamberlain High School.