Defending home court: It’s something every prep basketball team in the state strives to do…

… Well, every team except Addison High.

Members of Addison High’s basketball teams don’t know the meaning of home-court advantage. That’s because the Bulldogs don’t have a home floor to play on.

That’s right. Addison has a basketball program without a home — at least for this season.

Last year, sections of Addison’s gym floor started to collapse. And when school administrators had experts look into the problem, the venue was deemed unsafe until repairs had been made.

Addison High and the Winston County Board of Education immediately addressed the issue, and contractors are currently doing repairs. But while construction is being done on the building, Addison’s basketball teams have been asked to go elsewhere.

Not having a home gym can be tough. First-year girls basketball coach Jeff Scott is finding that out the hard way.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Scott said. “But we’re doing our best to overcome this.”

Like Addison’s volleyball team did during the fall, the school’s basketball teams are playing every game on the road.

Not having a home venue has forced Addison to give up one of its biggest sporting events: The Winston County basketball tournament, which the Bulldogs were scheduled to host this year.

The four schools that participate in the Winston County tournament take turns hosting the event. Addison gets to host the tournament every four years.

Since Addison did not have a venue to host the three-day tournament, the event was moved to Lynn High — the school that was next in line.

“Having the county tournament, that’s a big deal,” Scott said. “Sure, we wish that we could host it this year. But that’s not the way it worked out. There’s really nothing that can be done.”

Not getting to host this year’s county tournament is a disappointing, but it’s not something Scott has dwelled on. The Bulldogs coach has been dealing with challenges that are much bigger — like playing every big game on the road and scheduling practice time with limited gym space.

Playing every game on the road has been tough on Scott’s team, but it hasn’t stopped the Bulldogs from being competitive. Addison is currently 6-5 on the season and has a chance to lock up the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A, Area 13 tournament in the next few weeks.

Addison has accomplished this with a relatively young and inexperienced team.

“We’ve got some young girls that didn’t have much varsity experience before this year,” Scott said. “It’s took a little time for them to get used to the speed of the game, but we’ve really improved since the beginning of the season.

“I think we’ve come a long way.”

Scott is the type of coach who tries to pull something positive out of every bad situation. He’s done the same thing with Addison’s grueling road schedule.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s been tough,” he said. “But it’s also been good for us in some ways. In the long run, playing every game on the road will help us become a better basketball team.

“From a mental standpoint, we shouldn’t get rattled easily. That will really help us at the end of the season if we have to go somewhere and play a tough postseason game.”

Scott may be right — especially after his team’s first-half performance at top-ranked Cold Springs Friday night.

Facing the defending state champion — a team that has every starter back — Addison played Cold Springs tough for one half. The Bulldogs only trailed by six late in the second quarter and stayed within striking distance until midway through the third period.

Addison didn’t play as well in the second half, but the overall performance gave Scott something to build on.

“We’re playing a lot better,” Scott said after the game. “But we’ve still got some areas that need work.”

Scott may have found a way to turn a tough situation into something positive, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Bulldogs will not have a home game this season.

“I really hate it for the players,” Scott said. “Defending our home court is something we always take pride in. It’s unfortunate that these girls won’t get a chance to play in front of a home crowd — on their home floor — this season.

“It’s been tough, but our fans have been great. Our fans will always support us in every sport, not matter what the situation is. That’s helped make this whole thing a lot easier.”

‰ Justin Graves is the sports editor at The Times. He can be reached at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.