Twenty-win seasons do not define elite or greatness to Brighton boys basketball coach Taylor Langley.
Neither do 10-game winning streaks or making a big run in December or January. He still dreams of his team becoming an elite program by winning championships on a consistent basis.
There are two title runs Langley strives to make each season, One is winning the KLAA conference championship. The other is winning a district title to advance to regionals.
Winning the KLAA is out of reach because Friday night’s opponent, Hartland, (17-2 overall, 11-1 in the KLAA} got on a championship roll, while the Bulldogs (12-7 overall, 7-5 in the KLAA) lost six of eight games, which dropped them into a third place tie with Plymouth Salem and Howell.
The KLAA is a no go, but a second consecutive district title is not. Brighton not only wants to beat a rival Friday, but wants to take the next step to becoming a better basketball team in order to win the Howell district which begins later this month.
Last season Brighton finished third in the conference, but thumped Hartland and Milford to advance to regionals.
“I think elite is winning championships,” Langley said. “We did not play well enough to win the KLAA. Being an elite program is not being great once in a while. It is being great consistently. We are still on that journey. It is to be determined if we can reach that. I am here to win championships, not win games.”
At one point this season Brighton sat atop the KLAA standings with Hartland and Canton with a 10-1 overall record. Things began to unravel following a 64-57 loss at Hartland.
Brighton runs a motion offense where anybody is liable to touch the ball. That’s a good concept. The problem is guys who are not ready to take big shots at the end of games are putting up shots at the wrong time against the wrong defense. It often leads to missed shots and close losses.
Brighton needs that go-to man who thrives on last minute pressure. It is surprising that guard Brandon Lovejoy or center Dylan Edgeworth have not become those guys. Lovejoy is a no-nonsense guy who can take his man off the dribble and feather three-point bombs over the defense. Edgeworth is a guy who loves to work the inside, but is comfortable shooting three-pointers also.
“It can happen,” Langley said. "We have multiple guys who can make those plays. The question is do we have the matchups based on how this game is going and who is on him. This is where I have to do a better job as a coach to put our guys in that position. What I’m looking for is he ready to make that shot. Is he hungry to make that shot.”