The Paxton girls basketball team is ranked 21st in our Florida Classes 1A-3A preseason rankings. We spoke with head coach Steve Williams about his return to the Bobcats program and the outlook for the 2022-23 season.
Q: What about the Paxton girls basketball program intrigued you to make the move back during the offseason?
A: Paxton is a special place for me and for my family. My kids graduated from Paxton and we loved being a part of the community. Basketball is important to the school and to the community. The entire atmosphere is second to none.
Q: This Bobcats team is coming off a 2021-22 season in which they held a 23-5 record, while also making a regional finals appearance. What are your thoughts on what this group returns from a year ago and the overall potential of the 2022-23 team?
A: Graduation hit the team hard from last year. We have one player who has significant time as a varsity member. We are in a cycle that time and development will help us. We are very young and inexperienced on the varsity team.
Q: Your 2022-23 schedule includes multiple out-of-state games against teams from Alabama. How do you believe those matchups will benefit this Paxton girls basketball team later in the season?
A: We needed to fill up our schedule, and most of the Florida teams were full or didn’t want to play. We tried to find good programs without traveling too far to play games. We stayed within our state guidelines on out-of-state teams to remain in the playoff hunt.
Q: How would you say this team compares to some of your previous groups at Paxton?
A: Paxton kids are great kids and want to be successful. This group will grow as the season gets further along. I would say this team is compared to past teams by their work ethic and respect in tradition and culture – the Paxton way of doing things. We have a long way to go, but I like their approach to getting better each day. It’s the journey, not the destination, we look for. Tradition never graduates.
