Post-Sweet Sixteen Analysis

I look forward to this week every single year.  In fact, Sweet Sixteen week is my favorite week of the year.  I started going when I was in the 5^th grade in 1998.  My father and grandfather both played in the 9^th Region for Campbell County (before realignment) so we would always go watch the 9^th Region representative.  It has always been tradition in our family to go to Lexington for the state tournament.  When I was a kid, mom and dad would pull my brothers and I out of school for the day to attend one session.  In ’98 Ft. Thomas Highlands was one of the best teams in the state.  They had two juniors who were all-state in both basketball and football.  Jared Lorenzen was a 6’4’ 240 lb. power forward who won Mr. Football during the 1998 football season.  He ended up starring at Kentucky as a Quarterback and played in the NFL for several seasons.  Derek Smith was a 6’6” 240 lb. center who was runner-up for both Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football during his senior season.  Smith also played football at Kentucky (as a Tight End) and played for the Indianapolis Colts for a little bit.  Not to mention, he played basketball at NKU during the 2004-2005 season.  Ironically, during my visit to NKU during the fall of 2004 Smith was actually on my pick-up team during a scrimmage with the current Norse players.  All told, these two guys were great athletes and I looked up to them.  From the 5^th grade on, all I wanted to do was play in the Sweet Sixteen.  Little did I know that 7 years later it would actually happen.

I had requested off from work a month in advance to assure that I could go.  The tournament always starts on Wednesday at Noon so I wanted to be in town on Tuesday night so I would not have to rush from Nashville that morning.  So I called my good friend, Steve Fohl, who lives in Lexington to see if I could stay at his house on Tuesday night.  He, of course, said yes and that was a good thing because Steve and I met at EKU so we don’t see each other at all anymore.  So as I took off for Lexington, I stopped to see Katie in Goodlettsville where she works.  I was bedazzled by the care package she gave me for my trip.  It was full of snacks and treats for myself and my friends at the hotel.  She also gave me a gas card and a mix CD with my favorite songs.  I told her that I had to marry her now after she did all that for me.

The Bluegrass Parkway is pretty boring so I figured I’d “spice the drive up” a little bit so I took a detour.  I drove through Boston, KY and Bardstown, KY and made my way to Lexington.  When I arrived at Fohl house off of Tates Creek Road Steve, Dana (Steve’s wife) and I enjoyed Domino’s pizza, a couple of comeback victories in the NCAA Tournament by WKU and BYU and , of course, Kentucky High School Basketball trivia.  I was already in heaven, and the tournament had not even started yet.

                                                                         

I woke up at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, March 14^th because I was overly excited about opening day.  I told Steve on my way out the door that this was better than Christmas morning to me (sadly, I truly believe that).  Even though the first game between Rowan County (last year’s state runner-up) and North Laurel didn’t start until noon, I wanted to get to the venue early.  I arrived at the food court right outside of Rupp Arena around 10:00 AM.  I bought a Lexington Herald-Leader Sweet Sixteen preview for 50 cents (a bargain!) and read it end-to-end until it was time to go in to Rupp.  Before I arrived in Lexington I knew that the field was loaded with talent, great coaches and had zero public schools from Louisville (first time since 1960).  The Herald-Leader basically said it was Trinity’s (a private school) tournament to lose and the 2012 Mr. Basketball race was wide open, and that the player who has the best tournament should win the award.  The race for Mr. Basketball was between Nathan Dieudonne (Trinity), Adam Wing (Rowan County), Tamron Manning (Scott County), Mekale McKay (Moore) and Matt Day (Buckhorn).  Moore and Buckhorn did not qualify for the Sweet Sixteen, so it was basically a 3 man race. 

The first familiar face that I ran into was Brent Sowder.  Brent is a history teacher and JV basketball coach at Pendleton County High School.  Me, Brent, Brad Cox and Corey Smith had roomed together for the past several years so the Sweet Sixteen has become some sort of tradition for us.  This year we were staying at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel.  Gary Dearborn was a guy that had a part of me with him when he came down to Lexington from Pendleton for the week.  The PCHS Athletic Director had the Sweet Sixteen tickets that I bought and they were good ones.   Section 31, row M, seat 3…it was a perfect seat at mid-court and I was surrounded by fellow Pendletonians.  Not to mention former Augusta High School guard Brian Kirk (2000-2004) sat right behind me so it was good talking to him all week.  As I made my way into Rupp to my seat I do what I always do, I look up at the championship banners and retired jerseys and think about all of the great tradition UK basketball has had.  I feel blessed and honored that I got to play on the same floor that Tayshaun Prince, John Wall and Anthony Davis played on.  If you are a Kentucky fan or not, it really is a special place.   I hope that Rupp Arena hosts the Sweet Sixteen forever.  There is just something about having it in Lexington.  The week is a huge deal for any Kentuckian.  If you are not from Kentucky here are two things that will help you realize how special the Sweet Sixteen is:  1)  There are scalpers outside of the arena begging you to buy or sell  tickets. 2) People bet on the games religiously.  Like, there are actual lines on games.

  

That day Rowan County defeated North Laurel, Southwestern defeated Hopkinsville, Trinity defeated Bullitt East and George Rogers Clark defeated Apollo.  That night we checked into our hotel at the Griffin Gate and it turned out to be a Pendleton County reunion.  At one point there were 13 people in our room that had some association with Pendleton County High School (including four out of the five coaches from my high school staff).  It was a great night for old stories and catching up.  It was pretty cool.  Here are a few notables that were there….

·         Kane Belcher-2007 graduate, player

·         Brad Cox-2002 graduate, player, assistant coach from ’04-‘09

·         Corey Smith-2003 graduate, coached 6^th grade team this past year

·         Brent Sowder-2000 graduate, assistant varsity coach from ’07-present

·         Buddy Biggs- PC head coach from ’02-’06, last coach to lead PC to Sweet Sixteen (’05)

·         Chad Simms-PC assistant coach ’02-’06, head coach ’07-present

·         Michael Miller-PC freshman coach for a few years

·         Craig Smith-PC assistant coach ’10-present

·         Chris Stapleton-PC assistant ’10-present

It was a great start to the week.  Here are some highlights from the week:

·         Even though former Warren Central head coach Tim Riley was not coaching in the tournament, he was there.  It’s always a good thing when Tim Riley is in the building.

·         Duke lost to Lehigh in the opening round of the tournament.  Lehigh.

·         Former South Laurel head coach Steve Wright led a team to state not named South Laurel.  His Southwestern Warriors turned out to be the biggest surprise of the tournament as they made the Final Four and gave eventual champion Trinity their toughest game.

·         On Friday afternoon, me, mom , dad and Kane went to a local Buffalo Wild Wings and watched the Belmont-Georgetown game together.  Even though Belmont didn’t win, it was still pretty cool that us four got to watch the game together.  That kind of stuff doesn’t happen often because I live in Nashville now.  My other brother Kurt lives in Alexandria, Virginia now so, unfortunately, he could not make the trip.

·         Kentucky defeated Western Kentucky and Iowa State that week before advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.  Watching UK games at Two Keys is always a good time. 

·         A goal of mine every year is to meet someone from all 16 Regions in the state.  I accomplished my goal this year.

·         Brent Sowder did a great Adolph Rupp impersonation one night.

·         I met the following people in Lexington that week: Diamond Dallas Page, Derek Jasper, Will Perdue and a man who told me that his dad once sold 130 used cars in a 24 hour period.

·         Brent Sowder ate a total of six Ice Cream cones that week.

·         Andrew Gosney and J.R. Kells came down Friday and Saturday night.  It was good seeing those two guys.

·         Trinity head coach Mike Szabo can flat out coach.  I sat behind their bench during the state championship game and was thoroughly impressed by how optimistic he was.

·         Trinity defeated Scott County in both football and basketball state championships this year. 

·         Trinity became the first school in KHSAA history to win both football and basketball state titles in the same season.

·         I was able to see a couple of high school teammates that I rarely see anymore; Jon Elrod (’06) and Joey Verax (’05).  It was good seeing those guys.

·         I was impressed with the following players from the Sweet Sixteen: Nathan Dieudonne (MVP), D.J. Townsend (Rowan County), Zack Davis (Knott County Central),  Rob Lewis (Southwestern), David Kapinga (Southwestern), Charles Foster (Trinity), Tamron Manning (Scott County), Cole Nelson (Marshall County), Adam Fatkin (GRC) and Bopper Stenzel (GRC).

·         Brad Cox has lost about 20 lbs and looks to be in great shape.

·         Corey Smith is a changed man now that he’s wifed up.

·         Like I always do, I choose to attend the state championship game rather than watch the NCAA tournament games.  The pre-game ceremony alone is worth the price of admission in my opinion.  I have been to the state finals 8 out of the last 10 years (’06 was at NCAA tournament in San Diego, ’09 was playing in CIT at Evansville and Old Dominion).

There are over 300 days until the 2013 Sweet Sixteen.  The countdown begins now.

Keaton