After absorbing a 53-41 loss against Bartow in Thursday night's Class 5A state championship game, the Sickles Gryphons are bracing for something even more difficult.
Now they must play without senior point guard Jordan Davis.
"I'm not sure I'll know how to act," Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia said.
Since he arrived as a freshman, Davis started every game for the Gryphons.
"I'm not even sure we subbed much for him in four years, either," Garcia said.
Davis led Sickles in scoring with 13 points. He had seven rebounds and four assists, but also committed five turnovers.
"It's not going to be the same without Jordan around," said Sickles junior guard Rashawn Rembert, tearing up at the thought of playing without Davis. "That will take some getting used to. I think we'll have a great team again, but Jordan needs to be remembered for what he accomplished in this program. He helped put Sickles basketball on the map."
Davis is off to Monmouth University, a Northeast Conference school that got his verbal commitment two months ago. Despite Sickles' rapid rise and exposure during the state run, Davis said his commitment is solid.
What will Davis remember most from his Sickles experience?
"How we got here (to the state tournament), when no one predicted that," he said. "It was an amazing time, the time of our lives. I'm sad to lose the final game, but I can't complain about the whole thing. We'll remember it forever."
So will Garcia.
"I'm hurting right now, but I'd be ashamed if I felt bad overall," Garcia said. "These kids were phenomenal. And that's how I'd describe the career of Jordan Davis - phenomenal. We'll miss him, for sure."
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