Blake Poland: EW's quiet leader on the court

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on December 18, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

The sun has yet to rise.

Most kids are still sound asleep.

But inside the gym at Eastern Wayne sneakers squeak against the hardwood as Blake Poland dribbles right, stops and hits a pull-up jump shot.

He knocks down a 3 in the corner.

And then another 3 from the top of the key.

On most days, Poland is in the gym at 6 a.m. with Eastern Wayne head coach Chris Roberts before school getting as much extra shooting in as he can in an hour -- usually around 250 shots. Then he goes home to shower and heads back to school.

Poland doesn't push Roberts to come help him work out, but it's the only way he can get in the school that early. He'd probably be in the gym more often if he had it his way.

"I keep asking him to give me a key," Poland says.

"I like my job too much," Roberts jokes.

But, Roberts doesn't mind getting up when it's still dark outside to help one of his players.

"Any time a player of mine is willing to get better, I'm more than willing to help them do that," Roberts said. "It says a lot about his character (to come to the gym that early). And when recruiters and college coaches come here, that's the number one thing they ask about is what kind of kid he is.

"And he's what they're looking for."

*

Poland, a senior at Eastern Wayne, transferred this year after being home-schooled since he was in first grade. He dominated for the Goldsboro Heat, putting up solid numbers ever since he was in the seventh grade playing against varsity competition.

He was conference player of the year in his sophomore and junior seasons. But the competition wasn't great. He knew after talking to college coaches and recruiters that he would have to prove he can be the same player against better opponents.

Roberts had heard a lot about Poland before the guard decided to transfer, but was skeptical about how good he really was.

"You hear a lot of things about a lot of guys before they get to you," Roberts said. "I wanted to wait and see for myself."

But then came the first summer league game Poland played in with Roberts as his coach. During the game, Poland dribbled down the court and pulled up for a deep three.

"He took what I call a 'five-pointer,'" Roberts recalls. "I jump up and start shouting 'what are you doing?'"

Then the shot went in.

"I just sat back down and started clapping," Roberts said. "I knew then I had a player."

*

Poland still had to prove himself -- during the regular season.

That's why he started getting in the gym early in the mornings and staying after practice.

"I owe it to myself to try and be the best that I can be," Poland said. "I owe it to the Lord, he's put me a in a situation to be the best I can be and I need to take advantage of it."

He quickly got his chance to show what he can do.

The Warriors were short-handed for the first four games while the football team made its run to the regional final. Poland was thrust into the spotlight and forced to carry a heavy scoring burden.

He responded by averaging nearly 23 points per game in those contests, and shouldered the majority of ball-handling and distributing duties. He also averaged four rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Now, as Eastern Wayne's football players get caught up to speed, Poland's role as a ball-handler has diminished a bit. He's now relied on to score from the wing and get the ball into the hands of Warrior big men Malik Richard and Zeke Martin.

"It's not really all that difficult (to change roles) because I have confidence in myself and I have confidence in my teammates," Poland said.

He's still getting acclimated to the increased speed of the game at this level. He knows he needs to improve his defensive footwork, and shooting off the dribble.

Two weeks ago, his flaws showed when he struggled against county rival Goldsboro in a 10-point loss. His shots didn't fall, and the rest of his game suffered.

"I didn't get much sleep that night," Poland said. "I wasn't satisfied with that performance. I just knew I had a lot to work on."

The alarm clock went off a little earlier the next morning.