Mid-State League ‘23-24

I believe they are pretty big as well. That won't help. Watching them on such a big floor made that group look smaller than watching them at Grove City Christian. No offense, they are just really small.
 
Came across a flier for an inaugural MSL alumni basketball tournament (all of the Fairfield and Pickaway County schools) at LU, weekend of April 6.

Love this concept!
 
Rough night for the Eagles. They shot themselves in the foot with bad turnovers.

Academy might be my preseason pick to win D3 next year. They don't lose anyone off the team this year.
 
The Dock said:
FC 14 13 2 10 | 39
TOL 10 7 8 10 | 35
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Kind of an odd game. Part of this one is FC being unable to convert-and-extend in the second half (good takes to the rack and putbacks just not falling; shots they’re fouled on not coming down with 0/2’s and splits at the stripe) — this game was 29-19 with ~1:00 left in the 3Q before Tree ripped an and-1 and a 3 to narrow the deficit to 4.

Tree is very relentless on defense, esp. full-court. Their on-ball pressure is good, especially with the two guards. Zebras were rather liberal (although consistent) with contact. TOL’s main error that stands out was getting called on really egregious things (a few fouls early on 80 feet from the other bucket in transition, catching shooters’ bodies on the come-down well after the shot) that got their two best defenders in early foul trouble. Flip side to that is some mental hiccups in the 4th by the Irish leading to TOL hanging around toward the end.

Wasn’t the crispest game shooting for FC (happens) but doing enough wire-to-wire can be good enough to survive and advance. I thought this was a pretty well-played game defensively by both sides, TBH. This game most likely came down to FC mitigating turnovers as best as they could with good, fluid ball movement and being strong with the ball — as well as having the best player on the floor (with the supporting cast to ease the burden; level of team chemistry is very high.)

I don’t know much about what happened in the first game. FCA dad that I’m friends with told me during the intermission of games 1 & 2 that Shekinah shot the lights out and there was a lid on the bucket for the Knights.

It’ll be interesting Friday. Not real sure what to expect, or how the two teams matchup. (???) The anecdote about Shekinah shooting well tracks with their calling card whenever they are really good over the years.
 
@The Dock that is an excellent rundown! I actually watched both games via the stream on Central Crossing's web page.

I haven't gotten to many games this year, but Tree is one that I've watched in person and streamed online. Against disciplined teams it seemed like Tree gets into these slugfests and that's what it was last night. I was planning to write a recap but you nailed it so there's no need. FC scored 2 points in the third quarter and 12 in the second half (including when Tree was fouling) but won. How often does that happen? Survive and advance! Tree's first team all-district player got in foul trouble and never got into it on offense. I think from the scoreboard's stats he had 2 points before getting a head to the face and missing the last couple minutes. Hope he's okay that was quite the shot he took. Can't think of a much tougher way to end your career than a rough game followed by an injury as the season ends.

Now to get into the first game. Box score via MaxPreps:

FCA - 14 3 12 18 (47)
Shek - 21 14 15 22 (72)

I'll get to the shooting in a bit. FCA came out in a press and looked to trap in the halfcourt in a 1-2-2 defense. They trapped everywhere and were relentless with their pressure, quickly forcing Shekinah into some bad turnovers and generating some fast breaks that allowed them to score early. It looked like Shekinah took a few minutes to adapt, but once they did they got a number of open shots and knocked them down. I'm no coach, but it looked to me like FCA's high risk/high reward defense helped early but was soon figured out and was burned by a team that can make open jumpers.

Shekinah did indeed shoot the ball very well, although I don't know that I'd say FCA shot terrible. I will say that they did missed some bunnies (much like both teams did in the second game of the night) in the first half that could have slowed the momentum a bit. It's difficult to tell at times because of the far away camera in the stream, but if I had to guess I would say that most of Shekinah's 3s were open shots. They did make a couple heavily contested (including a bank and one with a foul late in the game), but they moved the ball well and got it to the hot hands. They also destroyed FCA on the boards from what I could tell.

I stole a page from another HS message board's legendary poster, who does "Napkin Stats." It's a little easier on a stream since I could rewind, so once Shekinah hit a few threes I went back and started documenting both teams on shots from the outside. Shekinah was 12-24 on 3s (50%) and FCA was 5-14 (36%). Shekinah made 8 in the first half and another to start the 3rd quarter before FCA went man. That's when Shekinah pounded the ball inside. When FCA went back to their traps, Shekinah hit 3 more 3s to ice it. I would have done more stats, but I wanted to watch the second game.

I would have posted this last night but I wanted the time to get this next section down. I will admit that I know less about Shekinah than just about every other MOCAL team because they are out west and that's about as far as it gets from where I live for this tiny little conference that I have adopted to follow. Those eastern MSL/MOCAL teams get some decent newspaper coverage, but Madison county has nothing. The closest newspapers I could find online are in Marysville and Delaware and they don't post anything about Shekinah. The team doesn't do current year stats on MaxPreps and 270 Hoops or the Dispatch doesn't care about D4 at all (didn't even post the district semi-final scores last night on their websites). So it's next to impossible to find anything on them. It looked on the stream like there was someone taking pictures or videoing both games, but I haven't seen anything in my brief online searching. I should probably reach out to my coaching friend to see what he knows.

So now to ask why didn't I pick them in the first place? Looking at MaxPreps they are now 21-3, have won 19 straight games, and haven't really even played many close games. They have a 1st team all-district player. Their schedule looked pretty soft and they were down the last two years, but they're such a mystery that I don't think I knew whether they were really an "elite" central district D4 team like Northside Christian or Northmor. I think that's why I picked FCA to win at the start of the postseason despite them finishing with a regular season record of 8-14. I don't think I'm alone in this thought, as @bballfan48 didn't think Wellington could be slowed down and also picked FCA in the semi-finals. Maybe we were picking based on what we did know and not the unknown? Basically what I'm saying is that I probably shouldn't have picked against a 20-win 2-seed without knowing anything about them haha.
 
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I picked it based on the conference's history. I think the MSL/MOCAL challenge ended in a tie this year or close to it. History shows the MSL usually produces better teams year in and out. I also saw Wellington live this year and thought the big would create some problems.

I am torn about the game on Friday. I think Fisher has the discipline, coaching, and toughness aspect. I think they have played in bigger games this year. But I have also witnessed Shekinah shooters going off at the right time over the years. Fisher will probably need to get to 55 to win the game.
 
bballfan48 said:
I picked it based on the conference's history. I think the MSL/MOCAL challenge ended in a tie this year or close to it. History shows the MSL usually produces better teams year in and out. I also saw Wellington live this year and thought the big would create some problems.

I am torn about the game on Friday. I think Fisher has the discipline, coaching, and toughness aspect. I think they have played in bigger games this year. But I have also witnessed Shekinah shooters going off at the right time over the years. Fisher will probably need to get to 55 to win the game.
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Very good points! I think the MSL history of success slipped into my thought process too. They have bigger crowds with noisier student sections and schools with more tradition.

I also don’t know what to expect Friday. If Shekinah played HP, GCC x2 and Rosecrans x 2 would they have 3 losses? I don’t think so. Either way both teams should be incredibly proud to be in this spot, especially based on preseason expectations. One will certainly be disappointed, but both will be able to hold their heads up high.
 
Snowman8 said:
@The Dock that is an excellent rundown! I actually watched both games via the stream on Central Crossing's web page.

I haven't gotten to many games this year, but Tree is one that I've watched in person and streamed online. Against disciplined teams it seemed like Tree gets into these slugfests and that's what it was last night. I was planning to write a recap but you nailed it so there's no need. FC scored 2 points in the third quarter and 12 in the second half (including when Tree was fouling) but won. How often does that happen? Survive and advance! Tree's first team all-district player got in foul trouble and never got into it on offense. I think from the scoreboard's stats he had 2 points before getting a head to the face and missing the last couple minutes. Hope he's okay that was quite the shot he took. Can't think of a much tougher way to end your career than a rough game followed by an injury as the season ends.

Now to get into the first game. Box score via MaxPreps:

FCA - 14 3 12 18 (47)
Shek - 21 14 15 22 (72)

I'll get to the shooting in a bit. FCA came out in a press and looked to trap in the halfcourt in a 1-2-2 defense. They trapped everywhere and were relentless with their pressure, quickly forcing Shekinah into some bad turnovers and generating some fast breaks that allowed them to score early. It looked like Shekinah took a few minutes to adapt, but once they did they got a number of open shots and knocked them down. I'm no coach, but it looked to me like FCA's high risk/high reward defense helped early but was soon figured out and was burned by a team that can make open jumpers.

Shekinah did indeed shoot the ball very well, although I don't know that I'd say FCA shot terrible. I will say that they did missed some bunnies (much like both teams did in the second game of the night) in the first half that could have slowed the momentum a bit. It's difficult to tell at times because of the far away camera in the stream, but if I had to guess I would say that most of Shekinah's 3s were open shots. They did make a couple heavily contested (including a bank and one with a foul late in the game), but they moved the ball well and got it to the hot hands. They also destroyed FCA on the boards from what I could tell.

I stole a page from another HS message board's legendary poster, who does "Napkin Stats." It's a little easier on a stream since I could rewind, so once Shekinah hit a few threes I went back and started documenting both teams on shots from the outside. Shekinah was 12-24 on 3s (50%) and FCA was 5-14 (36%). Shekinah made 8 in the first half and another to start the 3rd quarter before FCA went man. That's when Shekinah pounded the ball inside. When FCA went back to their traps, Shekinah hit 3 more 3s to ice it. I would have done more stats, but I wanted to watch the second game.

I would have posted this last night but I wanted the time to get this next section down. I will admit that I know less about Shekinah than just about every other MOCAL team because they are out west and that's about as far as it gets from where I live for this tiny little conference that I have adopted to follow. Those eastern MSL/MOCAL teams get some decent newspaper coverage, but Madison county has nothing. The closest newspapers I could find online are in Marysville and Delaware and they don't post anything about Shekinah. The team doesn't do current year stats on MaxPreps and 270 Hoops or the Dispatch doesn't care about D4 at all (didn't even post the district semi-final scores last night on their websites). So it's next to impossible to find anything on them. I should probably reach out to my coaching friend to see what he knows.

So now to ask is why didn't I pick them in the first place? Looking at MaxPreps they are now 21-3, have won 19 straight games, and haven't really even played many close games. They have a 1st team all-district player. Their schedule looked pretty soft and they were down the last two years, but they're such a mystery that I don't think I knew whether they were really an "elite" central district D4 team like Northside Christian or Northmor. I think that's why I picked FCA to win at the start of the postseason despite them finishing with a regular season record of 8-14. I don't think I'm alone in this thought, as @bballfan48 didn't think Wellington could slow down Shekinah and also picked FCA in the semi-finals. Maybe we were picking based on what we did know and not the unknown? Basically what I'm saying is that I probably shouldn't have picked against a 20-win 2-seed without knowing anything about them haha.
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I’m curious why Northmor went into the bracket with Northside and not Shekinah, come to think of it. Does the upside of not facing Russia in Kettering (if you have the skills and wherewithal to figure out the convoluted SW District’s bracket pathing in advance) justify the risk of losing to Northside in district finals?

Re: the senior from TOL … yeah, that was just a freak play. Felt terrible for him given that he had his end of the double team played fine and did nothing wrong — just another of those unforced/needless TOL errors had so far away from the basket (don’t stab in-and-up at the ball when the handler is taller than you and has it planed high & behind his toes.)

Thanks for the heads up on the streams. I rewatched the game and, yep, confirms the idea that it wasn’t an ‘A’ game… just that the combination of toughness, holistic preparation and coaching builds a big enough lead & ties out the effort to hold on in the waning minutes. Wasn’t actually worried about their ability to hold on for the win (in spite of the decade of postseason scaries that’s followed FC coming down to bad fortune and a play here/there) because this group has a remarkably beat-in sense of resolve and even keel.

I’m debating on watching the Shekinah replay. Normally I’d be interested, but the element of intrigue rides high (I can’t make it to the game Friday anyways, so preparing thoughts/expectations is futile.) Looking at it as ‘come what may.’ I’m not really sure how the 94’ court and the 4th official (if the CDAB is doing that this year) factors into this — it could be tough for Shekinah if they struggle to acclimate off the bat shooting and are handsy on defense.
 
bballfan48 said:
I picked it based on the conference's history. I think the MSL/MOCAL challenge ended in a tie this year or close to it. History shows the MSL usually produces better teams year in and out. I also saw Wellington live this year and thought the big would create some problems.

I am torn about the game on Friday. I think Fisher has the discipline, coaching, and toughness aspect. I think they have played in bigger games this year. But I have also witnessed Shekinah shooters going off at the right time over the years. Fisher will probably need to get to 55 to win the game.
Click to expand...
Snowman8 said:
Very good points! I think the MSL history of success slipped into my thought process too. They have bigger crowds with noisier student sections and schools with more tradition.

I also don’t know what to expect Friday. If Shekinah played HP, GCC x2 and Rosecrans x 2 would they have 3 losses? I don’t think so. Either way both teams should be incredibly proud to be in this spot, especially based on preseason expectations. One will certainly be disappointed, but both will be able to hold their heads up high.
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The thing about the MOCAL’s (not great) reputation in the postseason is a ton of it revolves around one school: Tree of Life. TOL went to the Elite 8 in 2010, a few years before the ascent of (then-MOCAL) FCA and five years before GCC (also former MOCAL) got the train rolling. They beat HP that year, and HP was at the time rising in profile in Central Ohio (the saga of Grandview, FC and HP battling it out in the old Cardinal in the late Bush 43/early Obama years.)

The next year, 2010-11, HP was very good. And it was obvious. Tree was good but not HP level good. Something weird had happened that February of ‘11 — Tree had 2 losses by the draw (one was to Gahanna Christian) and HP had 2 losses (one was to Vincent Warren and the other was to a school from Maryland) with destruction of the Cardinal in pocket. Tree was awarded the #1 seed, HP the 2. The story goes that the information submitted by the then-HP coach didn’t get in before the deadline, so the MOCAL coaches basically said “well we don’t know how good HP is UwU” (uh huh.)

That district tournament, Tree got upended in the semi’s by an unseeded (and not good) FC whose season got screwed up the night before the first game of the season. Unseeded — they weren’t seeding beyond the top 8 teams back then. HP roared through the district by comparison.

After FCA and GCC came aboard the Cardinal following the 2012-13 season, the MOCAL’s reputation/image was taking some unfortunate hits. Gilead Christian had closed right around then, and the one other school whose hoops program looked like it could be ‘here to stay’, Gahanna Christian, closed soon after. Shekinah was probably the most consistent non-TOL program around that time (and they were probably the most respected, although for obvious reasons little known about other than the esoteric cliche of “Mennonite’s frown on football, so shooting hoops is a good activity to grow up with.”)

That mid-2010’s timeline still had the pervading opinion that Tree was getting seeded a little too generously because of their runs through the MOCAL (compared to BU, FC and to a certain extent Millersport, who were giving D4 leaders of the line GCC & FCA solid games and were already inheriting two losses off the rip from HP.)

Hopefully that gives some context.

— — —

Snowman8 said:
If Shekinah played HP, GCC x2 and Rosecrans x 2 would they have 3 losses?
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Polite disagree. It’s plausible. Any range of 4-1 through 0-5 is.

Prep ❌
Rosecrans — if BR were to beat Shekinah in Plain City, I’m not sure the Flames would steal one back at The Rogge. Just speaking abstractly, that’s a very hard one to wrap a mind around. I could see something like Shekinah winning at home and dropping on the road, but replicating how FC split the series seems beyond my imagination (granted, there’s the added context of it being a come-from-behind win against a program whose coach has owned the Irish historically.)

The GCC one — yeah who knows. GCC was very good and deeply senior-laden, and the latter doesn’t just loom large… the experience of that unit drawfs an FC where only two of the six kids (the two JR’s) have at least two years of organized basketball experience at the HS level (three of the other four guys are freshmen.) Drawing that to attention in this hypothetical only because Timlin’s always been pretty determined to beat FC and there’s zero doubt he drew a pretty good idea of how to approach/gameplan for them in light of that familiarity.

On the other hand, Shekinah would probably beat Miller twice. But then we’re getting into the weeds of games played three months ago, and it probably wouldn’t be the most sincere point of reference given the context of how this season started.
 
The Dock said:
The thing about the MOCAL’s (not great) reputation in the postseason is a ton of it revolves around one school: Tree of Life. TOL went to the Elite 8 in 2010, a few years before the ascent of (then-MOCAL) FCA and five years before GCC (also former MOCAL) got the train rolling. They beat HP that year, and HP was at the time rising in profile in Central Ohio (the saga of Grandview, FC and HP battling it out in the old Cardinal in the late Bush 43/early Obama years.)

The next year, 2010-11, HP was very good. And it was obvious. Tree was good but not HP level good. Something weird had happened that February of ‘11 — Tree had 2 losses by the draw (one was to Gahanna Christian) and HP had 2 losses (one was to Vincent Warren and the other was to a school from Maryland) with destruction of the Cardinal in pocket. Tree was awarded the #1 seed, HP the 2. The story goes that the information submitted by the then-HP coach didn’t get in before the deadline, so the MOCAL coaches basically said “well we don’t know how good HP is UwU” (uh huh.)

That district tournament, Tree got upended in the semi’s by an unseeded (and not good) FC whose season got screwed up the night before the first game of the season. Unseeded — they weren’t seeding beyond the top 8 teams back then. HP roared through the district by comparison.

After FCA and GCC came aboard the Cardinal following the 2012-13 season, the MOCAL’s reputation/image was taking some unfortunate hits. Gilead Christian had closed right around then, and the one other school whose hoops program looked like it could be ‘here to stay’, Gahanna Christian, closed soon after. Shekinah was probably the most consistent non-TOL program around that time (and they were probably the most respected, although for obvious reasons little known about other than the esoteric cliche of “Mennonite’s frown on football, so shooting hoops is a good activity to grow up with.”)

That mid-2010’s timeline still had the pervading opinion that Tree was getting seeded a little too generously because of their runs through the MOCAL (compared to BU, FC and to a certain extent Millersport, who were giving D4 leaders of the line GCC & FCA solid games and were already inheriting two losses off the rip from HP.)

Hopefully that gives some context.

— — —


Polite disagree. It’s plausible. Any range of 4-1 through 0-5 is.

Prep ❌
Rosecrans — if BR were to beat Shekinah in Plain City, I’m not sure the Flames would steal one back at The Rogge. Just speaking abstractly, that’s a very hard one to wrap a mind around. I could see something like Shekinah winning at home and dropping on the road, but replicating how FC split the series seems beyond my imagination (granted, there’s the added context of it being a come-from-behind win against a program whose coach has owned the Irish historically.)

The GCC one — yeah who knows. GCC was very good and deeply senior-laden, and the latter doesn’t just loom large… the experience of that unit drawfs an FC where only two of the six kids (the two JR’s) have at least two years of organized basketball experience at the HS level (three of the other four guys are freshmen.) Drawing that to attention in this hypothetical only because Timlin’s always been pretty determined to beat FC and there’s zero doubt he drew a pretty good idea of how to approach/gameplan for them in light of that familiarity.

On the other hand, Shekinah would probably beat Miller twice. But then we’re getting into the weeds of games played three months ago, and it probably wouldn’t be the most sincere point of reference given the context of how this season started.
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Great post and thanks for the history lesson! From what I've heard, Shekinah joined the MOCAL in 2016-17 and was independent before that, joining after GCC/FCA left. It's pretty wild to me to look at tournament results over the last 10-15 years and see how drastically different things have changed!
 
Snowman8 said:
Great post and thanks for the history lesson! From what I've heard, Shekinah joined the MOCAL in 2016-17 and was independent before that, joining after GCC/FCA left. It's pretty wild to me to look at tournament results over the last 10-15 years and see how drastically different things have changed!
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That sounds about right, now that you mention it. I guess I commingled them as being MOCAL earlier since they had played those schools often, were very similar in size and notably did not have football. Other than Worthington Christian, I can’t think of any Christian schools (that were OHSAA) not in the MOCAL.

They had a kid in that 2011 era named Luke Shetler who was a flamethrower. Walking bucket. Heck, I remember watching them play at FCA and there was a MS kid in their fan section sporting a 90’s Utah Jazz ‘Starter’ jacket. Drip!

— — —

Not basketball, but in that same time frame in baseball there was a year where the Shekinah baseball coach didn’t make it to the draw. NC was the #1 seed. Shekinah was the #6. 19 teams. Everyone stayed away from NC… we even had an Africentric vs Patriot Prep tourney game in baseball. Shekinah got put onto the line to face NC first round. The Flames that year had a kid who could hit 93. The final score of that game was NC 1-0, the tie was broken in the bottom of the 6th.

Oh, the collective groan radiating from Lancaster upon learning that result in real time!
1709778588454.gif
 
Ended up watching the first 2 and 1/2 of Shekinah-FCA.

Shekinah’s a good team. I think their cast of shooters across the rotation to surround their all-district player is solid. This game might not really give much of a read on what to expect for Friday — FCA has been prone to surrendering points at times (in spurts, runs, runaway games and not being able to stop one guy from taking over.)

Their idea to slow down Shekinah defensively and wreak havoc wasn’t bad, I’d agree with Snowman. I think the fatal flaw was holding onto that scheme too long… and that’s really where I can’t get a read on Friday. I don’t even think it’s so much that the shooters are wide open, because the space-to-body ratio across halfcourt was just too high against a Shekinah team that a) seems to give the green light to whichever of the four kids on the court has the ball in their hand at the time , b) awards the green light card for everyone because they all have the decision, commitment and vision to get a shot off (or get it to someone else who will) and c) seems pretty determined to be the First to 30 Points regardless of how many possessions (and not passes) it takes.

I just don’t see ‘wide open shooter’ so much as the issue as it relates to that game, or that big of a looming threat on Friday. Shekinah has two or three kids who’ll shoot from the college line, and perhaps they might hit at a rough clip 40-50% from that deep. Hey, if they got depth then they have depth. It’s just that big void, IMO, that Shekinah had in front of them crossing half court is what kept letting them drive with a full head of steam, dump it off to the smooth shooter that was camping at the 45-degree mark, or call their own shot 7’ off the line. It’s that second option from watching the FCA game that was indefensible and kept happening because those close-outs are impossible when the high post has to cover so much ground when it’s 3 on 3.

That’s not said to impugn FCA (no not at all), it’s just that I don’t see FC trying to defend the whole length of the court and I also don’t see them trying to delegate zone spacing to 2-3 freshmen on a college court lol regardless if it’s 4 Dean Wades or 4 kids with no arms.

Shekinah will get their points. They have talent and a wholesale commitment to their philosophy on offense, if the 1st half of the FCA game is any indication. I’m interested how many possessions it’s going to take to get there, presuming that FC indeed makes the Flames put the ball on the floor.

I’m optimistic on this one if FC plays an ‘A’ game defensively, and that ‘A’ game is one they have proven to be capable of since New Years’. Cautiously optimistic if it gets into having to match Shekinah score for score. Are we even sure if the imperative to play A+ defense in order to win is on FC, and not Shekinah?
 
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Game winner for the HPS boys team, defeating Africentric 62-61.

Congrats to the HPS girls on their season. Back-back district champs and bringing back almost everyone. Next year they will take the next steps and win Regionals.
 
FC 10 14 14 13
SC 12 8 14 12

24-20 ; half

It sounds like Shekinah is getting most of their scoring off of transition here in the first half. FC dictating the pace.

32-28 FC 4:26 3Q (time unk); Bauermeister with 15 of Shekinah’s 28

36-30 1:50 3Q

38-34 :52 3Q — Bauermeister (1st team all-district) with 17 of the 34. Shekinah with final possession of the 3Q, 45 seconds go and can’t get a shot off. 38-34 end 3Q

— — —
40-36 6:50 4Q

42-39 4:46

44-41 1:45

And 1.
47 - 41 1:07

ARROW: FC
Foul Trouble: Bauermeister 4
Timeouts: SC 2 FC 3

FC at 5 team fouls in 4Q.

SC at 5 team fouls in 4Q.

48-41 :45

49-44 :25

49-46 :05.5 Shekinah ball, FC arrow

Foul on FC. Bauermeister at line. :04

Miss - TO Shekinah
Miss — rebounded by FC. Foul on SC.

49-46 0:02

Make. Game.

Make.

51/46 fin
 
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IMG_0237.png


Defense wins districts.

Congrats to this team, this coaching staff and to the community. This group of kids is fantastic.

I feel for Shekinah. That group had a fantastic season. They shall return.
 
JokesOnYou said:
year 1 of new coach and they are district champs!!
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yeah no doubt. With a rotation that’s 50% freshmen. Lone senior didn’t play organized basketball until last year. Stack that profile against every FC team to play since the last district crown in 2002, with the prop being “next FC boys team to win a district” and on paper it’d be very long odds. A lot of really good teams followed 2002. This one got it done. Defied the odds.

I earnestly thought heading into this season they’d be a year away from a district crown. March ‘25 more likely. This group has played with urgency, guts, resilience and grind since January. They dug deep. Fantastic job by them.
 
Incredible season for FC! Congrats to them! First year coach doing this is phenomenal he’s done a great job of working with what he had!

D7 rematch next year maybe? If there’s only one district then D7 could be really tough. Looks like the only high seeds to drop out would be Northmor and Tree year. But there’s more time to discuss that at another time. Congrats to FC for bringing a district title to the MSL!
 
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Snowman8 said:
Incredible season for FC! Congrats to them! First year coach doing this is phenomenal he’s done a great job of working with what he had!

D7 rematch next year maybe? If there’s only one district then D7 could be really tough. Looks like the only high seeds to drop out would be Northmor and Tree year. But there’s more time to discuss that at another time. Congrats to FC for bringing a district title to the MSL!
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I think a rematch will be likely (a round 3, as this was played last year too in the tournament @ Fairbanks.)

Looking at this game without a complete team comparison on the stats, and without actually being there, from what I gathered (and recollected from the WLOH broadcast) FC owned the glass defensively. 30 boards was the tally I saw (16 by Keefer, who has been a heat-seeking missile for the ball all season long) and maybe 2 or 3 of those were on the offensive end? On a team that probably averages a good 4” taller across the board (even if you subtract their big) and rotates in more fresh legs. That’s a pretty good pathway to winning when you’re already D’ing the Flames up.

The other end of the court: my undisclosed thought was when FC plays patient and spaces well, they can run an offense fine against zone or man against most D4 rosters in the area. Their best player is a matchup nightmare for many teams, the bigger freshman gives headaches, and those two get set up with the worker bees getting the ball moved and making undisciplined defenses pay for breakdowns from beyond the arc. The limitation only seems to bear out if they get impatient or are facing a way more athletic team. Turnovers seemed to be a thorn early on, but they were successful in stemming that detriment on game flow (Shekinah transition buckets) with some successive spates of 3-point shooting in the middle two frames.

Not to get too focused on next year, but there is an intrigue in the air. So much of the team returns. The staff gets a full and complete summer, this time. The physical and athletic floor is already high with this group — by then you get an extra 8 months of growth. Not just with the current rotation, but everyone else in the reserve ranks. A lot more can get unlocked through a good offseason along with a diligent November and December, namely depth.
 
HPS vs OG on Friday. The last time they played, OG won off of a game-winner two years ago. Both teams are used to the Final Four, with Harvest Prep competing last year and OG making it the last four years! Harvest Prep must continue to use their balanced attack and aggression to win. Defensively, HPS has to stop Collin White, OG's star player.

Prediction
HPS-61
OG-58
 
Snowman8 said:
Incredible season for FC! Congrats to them! First year coach doing this is phenomenal he’s done a great job of working with what he had!

D7 rematch next year maybe? If there’s only one district then D7 could be really tough. Looks like the only high seeds to drop out would be Northmor and Tree year. But there’s more time to discuss that at another time. Congrats to FC for bringing a district title to the MSL!
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Enrollment numbers for the next two seasons are out. NC is going to be D7 in boys’ hoops. They may pose more issues to Shekinah, than they would FC.

Not Central District, but found this interesting: Rosecrans might be D6 in boys’ hoops. If not this upcoming year, then the following year.
 
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