Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller creates new basketball culture

The instructions come at the start of the game.

They last all the way through the final buzzer.

In a close game, it’s expected. But in a blowout?

Jeremy Schiller coaches the same, giving the same devotion to role players that may only log a few minutes as he does to the starting five.

“I’ve always felt everyone deserves to be coached,” said Schiller, who is guiding Lakewood Ranch High School in the Class 8A state semifinals against Tampa Sickles on Friday, following the Mustangs’ region semifinal victory over Palmetto. “... We want those guys prepared, because if their moment comes up, they need to be ready for it.”

Schiller arrived at Lakewood Ranch on the heels of the boys basketball program’s best season in history.

The Mustangs won 20 games the preceding season, yet Schiller was going to change things.

With a player like Brian Cobb, who later played collegiately at Eckerd, Schiller possessed the remaining parts to a successful Lakewood Ranch team.

But through Schiller’s prior coaching experience in college, first as a graduate assistant with the University of South Florida and then as an assistant at Eckerd, things were about to change at the East Manatee County school.

And for the better.

Primarily owing to his time at Eckerd under Tom Ryan, Schiller incorporated a college structure to his new high school post at Lakewood Ranch.

“We kind of created (an) infrastructure of these are going to be our standards, these are going to be the expectations ... and they either bought in or they didn’t,” Schiller said

That meant hitting the weight room, understanding each drill in practice and dedicating time to the program during the winter holiday break for tournament action.

It has worked, but it took time.

“This year, I don’t think they’d want to play any other way,” Schiller said. “They love it. We average 73 points per game, and we’re 27-2 and haven’t lost to anyone in Florida, so obviously the system works. But part of it is we’ve always said our one through 11 is going to better than your one through six.”

The Mustangs reached the playoffs as a district runner-up in Schiller’s first season, despite winning nine games. The rebuilding process continued, before the current crop of seniors became varsity players.

In 2014-15, the team won 21 games and returned to the postseason as a district runner-up.

A trio of juniors in Damien Gordon, Evan Spiller and Jack Kelley earned their varsity promotions.

Last season, the Mustangs improved by winning 23 games and winning the program’s first playoff game. Not content, Lakewood Ranch advanced to its first region final.

Now this year, the Mustangs have gone even further with a state semifinal appearance after avenging 2016’s region final defeat to St. Pete High last Friday. That victory over the Green Devils was in front of the largest crowd for a boys basketball game in program history, and University of South Florida interim head coach Murry Bartow was there.

Bartow enjoyed Lakewood Ranch’s style so much he sent Schiller a text last weekend following the victory.

“A head Division I college coach that’s been doing it for 30 years likes our style of play and how we do things? That’s pretty cool,” Schiller said.

Now the Mustangs face the Gryphons (27-4) with the winner advancing to the 8A title game on Saturday against the winner of Tallahassee Lincoln and West Palm Beach Palm Beach Lakes.

But no matter what the score looks like on Friday against Sickles, there’s one certainty: Schiller will coach every second like it’s the first one.

“It’s pretty awesome,” senior point guard Devin Twenty said. “It really takes a toll on you how much he cares about you and how much you guys want to win. So when he does that, it just shows his character and how good of a coach he is.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller creates new basketball culture."