Tallahassee CC men's basketball coach Rick Cabrera navigating long break before postseason

Just six days ago Tallahassee Community College men's basketball was cutting the net after winning one-third of the Panhandle Conference after beating Chipola College inside of the Bill Hebrock Eagledome ― clinching the program's seventh banner.

And the Eagles' head coach Rick Cabrera is still on a high after winning his third conference championship of his career ― his first with TCC. His first two conference crowns came with Lackawanna College during his 2004-2008 head coaching tenure.

"I'm on cloud nine and will not allow myself to jump off the cloud yet," Cabrera, the Panhandle Conference Co-Coach of the Year said. "I'm so happy for those guys and my staff. All championships mean a lot no matter what league you're in or where you are.

"But when you do it in a league like this with the respect the Panhandle has across the country, it feels a lot better than anywhere else in my opinion. This one felt a little different."

The Eagles were involved in a three-way Panhandle Conference tie with Chipola and Northwest Florida State College. Instead of having a tournament for playoff seeding between the trio, TCC earned an automatic bid along with NWFSC via a random drawing by Panhandle Conference leadership on Monday.

The selection came on the heels of the Eagles winning three consecutive games entering postseason play.

The NJCAA Division I No. 7 Eagles will enter the FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic Region VIII Tournament as a three-seed despite having a combined 3-1 record against leading teams Chipola (1) and Daytona State College (2).

TCC will face six-seed Florida SouthWestern State College Buccaneers in the first round of the eight-team single elimination tournament on Thursday, March 9.

The entire tournament will be played at NWFSC's Raider Arena in Niceville: First round, March 9; semifinals, March 10; championship, March 11.

"I think we're playing really well and have turned up our defense to another level these last three games," Cabrera said. "It doesn't matter who we get matched up with. I feel confident that we'll be ready to go."

MORE TALLAHASSEE SPORTS COVERAGE

Big Bend Preps:3 storylines to keep an eye out for this week

EagleNest:Tallahassee CC men’s basketball claims share of Panhandle Conference title

NoleSports:FSU, ACC continues to fall behind in revenues

RattlerNews:Here are some FAMU football players that you need to know in the spring

A hot start comes to an end and forces the Eagles to regroup

TCC began its season soaring over the competition with a 21-1 record.

After the Eagles defeated the then-top ranked and unbeaten Chipola, they would narrowly lose their next game to NWFSC inside of the Eagledome ― TCC's lone home loss of the season.

That showed the Eagles that it was still room for improvement if they wanted to be successful in the challenging Panhandle and ultimately get a postseason shot.

"At that part of the year, you have to talk to your players and not talk at them," Cabrera said. "It's not time to berate and tell them all the things that they did wrong. Coaches have to understand that we're not playing the game ― it's the kids and they put a lot of pressure on themselves."

The Eagles took two more losses, one apiece to NWFSC and Chipola while on road trips. But TCC responded by winning out to position itself to posses a portion of the Panhandle Conference.

"It's almost like when your kid brings you their report card and as a dad you say 'Wow, what a great job' and you see a big smile on their face," Cabrera said. "To see those young men smiling, happy, dancing, cutting nets ― that is the best feeling ever and I'll always remember that.

"We refocused and took a couple bumps on the road against Northwest and Chipola, but we stuck with it. You just learn from it, so they can be at ease at the end of the day."

Now, all Tallahassee CC can do is sit and wait until the region tournament

The Eagles are amidst the second-longest layoff of the season.

By the time the Region VIII Tournament tips off on March 9, it will be 12 days since the TCC has stepped on the court to play on the competitive basketball court.

It's a gift and a curse as Cabrera looks for balance.

On one end, the Eagles will get to the rest their legs. To oppose, it could generate rust as players haven't had this much time off since the Christmas and New Year holiday break.

"This isn't the easiest part of the season and part of me wished we played this Thursday," Cabrera said. "I'm going to give them their days off, but they also have to get in the gym to get a lot of shots and recap our sets and plays.

"We won't do a lot of live action just to avoid any major injuries, but we will do some condition so that they can have their wind."

Next on the Eagles' slate is FSW out of Fort Myers.

The Buccaneers finished the regular season with a 20-8 record and finished second in the Southern Conference behind Indian River.

FSW is a team that's surging while on a six-game winning streak entering the postseason. The Buccaneers' streak includes a point margin advantage of 22.5 points per game.

Tallahassee Community College Basketball Panhandle Conference Honors

Co-Coach of the Year (Men's): Rick Cabrera

First Team (Men's): Guard Malachi Davis, guard Addison Patterson, forward Tom Mark

Second Team (Men's): Forward Okechukwu Okeke

Second Team (Women's): Guard Sarai Estupinan

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

Follow the Tallahassee Democrat on social media at Tallahassee Democrat (Facebook), TallahasseeDemocrat (Instagram), and @TDOnline (Twitter)

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC MBB: Rick Cabrera ready for postseason after conference title win