Of Hollywood, Butcher Holler, wind sprints, and class

By Mike McGraw

HA.com Executive Director

INDIANAPOLIS â�?��?? It wasnâ�?��?�t 1954. Maybe it wasnâ�?��?�t even 1975 or 1979, but it WAS the greatest Championship Day since the advent of class basketball. Saturday, we were once again reminded why high school basketball in Indiana isnâ�?��?�t just a game â�?��?? it is our treasured heritage.

Some 15,748 people jammed Conseco Fieldhouse for the morning session of this yearâ�?��?�s boys basketball finals. Most were there to witness the end of the fairy tale journey that was the Class 1A tournament this year. The battle did not disappoint.

Lapel and Loogootee, the 1A finalists, were two teams that had absolutely nothing in common except they had both made it this far. For Lapel, this was a cleansing of 62 years of frustration. The last time the community experienced even a sectional title was during World War II. On the other hand, when the players from Loogootee trotted onto the Conseco floor, they did so wearing 50 years of winning tradition splashed across their chests.

Lapel was Hollywood. They came to town with the big-name coach, Jimmie Howell, and the big-name player in Jason Holsinger. Both had been elevated nearly to the status of folk legend in recent weeks by the Central Indiana media.

Loogootee, meanwhile, was Butcher Holler. If you lived more than 15 miles from the town limits, you had no idea whom these guys were.

Even if there had not been any of the wonderful story lines, the contrast in styles alone was reason to have interest in this game. Lapel was run-and-gun; Loogootee was shoot once for each day of sun. The Bulldogs had been known to score more points in a quarter than Loogootee scored in entire games. However, Lapelâ�?��?�s only close call on their way to Indianapolis had been in the regional finals, when the score had been in the 40s.

In the end, this one was controlled by Lapelâ�?��?�s Bulldogs. Despite playing most of the day at the Lionsâ�?��?� tempo, and Holsinger being held to just two first-half points, this one was never really in doubt. Loogootee may have game-planned for Holsinger, but they could not have expected the near-perfect performance of junior J.R. Howell. The coachâ�?��?�s son scored 16 points on perfect shooting from the field and took care of much of the ball handling without a single turnover. Despite his penchant for needless theatrics and playing to the crowd, it was a game for the ages.

Howellâ�?��?�s performance, together with stifling defensive pressure, carried the day for Lapel and set off a celebration like few Madison County residents have ever seen. When the Bulldogs returned to Lapel Saturday afternoon, the fire department greeted them at the edge of town with a water arch over State Road 13. The water was black and gold. Iâ�?��?�d say that was a scene fit for Hollywood.

The 2A game was the only contest on this day not to have a big build-up. Fort Wayne Harding and Forest Park have both enjoyed previous success on the hardwood, but neither school is exactly a household name in the Indiana book of basketball lore. Most of the experts were convinced the athleticism of the lads from Harding would prove too much for the Rangers by gameâ�?��?�s end.

Allow me to make one observation. Never underestimate the power of the wind sprint.

This contest was not decided by style or strategy â�?��?? far from it. This game came down to the most fundamental of all basketball skills â�?��?? conditioning. Forest Park established early on that it had no problem matching Hardingâ�?��?�s desire to run the court. Indeed, both teams played at a pace that occasionally exceeded their skills with the ball. And for most of the day, the experts were right: Hardingâ�?��?�s athletes were controlling the game.

That stopped abruptly, though, early in the fourth quarter. Down 42-37, Forest Park went on a 20-5 run that figuratively and literally left Hardingâ�?��?�s players with their tongues dragging. When all was said and done, the Rangers were simply in better shape.

Like I said, never underestimate the power of the wind sprint.

Iâ�?��?�ll not bore you by recounting here the details of Washingtonâ�?��?�s 74-72 overtime victory in the 3A game. Unless you spent all weekend under a rock, you already know about Luke Zellerâ�?��?�s shot at the buzzer in overtime. It may well go down as the single most dramatic moment since the miracle of Milan. Rather, I would like to tell you a story about one classy young man.

It was quite a night for young Mr. Zeller. Less than five minutes after his miraculous shot, Zeller was awarded the IHSAA Trester Mental Attitude Award. For the next 15 minutes, in the middle of a sea of chaos, Zeller acquitted himself admirably, as he always does, with the media questions and platitudes. By the time he was finally able to leave the Conseco floor, his teammates were already in the Washington locker room, and private celebration was on. As Zeller walked through the tunnel on his way to join his buddies, two young children approached. They held out scraps of paper to the hero. He stopped and signed each with a smile and a kind word. His private celebration with the team could wait just one more minute.

The young man has one thing that will carry him even further than his considerable skills on a basketball court â�?��?? class.