Preparing for history (03/15/06)

The Jay County boys basketball team’s victory Saturday night for the school’s first regional championship brought plenty to enjoy.

The celebration couldn’t last forever though. Because along with the win comes another game.

Portland High School’s regional wins in 1946 and ’48 put those teams in the state’s final 16. This year’s squad has made the Class 3A final four.

So how exactly does a team prepare for something it has never done before, something no one in the county has ever done before?

“Do everything the same,” said junior Corey Comer. “Keep doing what we have been doing. Practice as hard as we’ve been practicing. And work as hard as we’ve been working.”

“Everything’s been working for us pretty well,” added senior Tyler Rigby. “We’ve been winning. So you don’t really want to change anything too much.”

The process of getting ready for the biggest game in school history didn’t take long to begin. After an amazing day of basketball Saturday, the coaching staff — head coach Craig Teagle and assistants Ted Habegger, Chuck Phillips, Chris Krieg and Andy Isch — was right back at work Sunday.

They called other coaches in search of tapes on No. 7 Plymouth, their semi-state opponent. They talked to other coaches to get information and scouting reports, working into the night until about 10 p.m.

Monday marked the semi-state meeting at Lafayette Jefferson, the tournament host school. On the way back Teagle picked up 12 game tapes.

“As soon as we got back from (Lafayette) we started watching tapes,” Teagle said. “For the most part we’ve continued to watch tapes every minute we can to try to put the scouting report together for the kids.

“We’re going to prepare as hard as we can with the tapes and be ready.”

The coach, whose deepest tournament run prior to coming to Jay County was the regional semifinal, said he hasn’t really leaned on any of his coaching friends to talk about what the semi-state experience is like. But he has used them as references for putting together a game plan.

Western coach Andy Weaver, whose team lost to Plymouth in the regional semifinal, has provided some help. Knox coach Todd Boldry, a former Teagle assistant at both Caston and Knox, will continue to be a sounding board throughout the week.

As for the players, one of the most challenging things about making it to such a high level is the added attention. Media coverage explodes. Fan interest is at an all time high.

It’s true at every level — high school, college and pro. Super Bowl media day is a zoo.

Staying focused on the game can be hard. But Teagle said his team is doing a fine job.

“After watching them tonight (Tuesday) and talking to them, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” he said. “I think they are focused. I think that they understand you should have fun and you should enjoy the experience, that’s part of the ride. But their destination, what they want to reach ... is the state championship game.”

Even though he’s sometimes being pulled in 15 different directions, the coach wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, the alternative is that his team would not be playing anymore.

The extra attention has only served to motivate the players.

“I think it’s great,” said Rigby. “The attention is awesome because the fans have been really, really good. There have been a lot of people there ...

“A lot of people come up to you and wish you good luck. It helps out a lot.”

Practice Tuesday was fairly typical, and will be again Wednesday and Thursday. The team will meet after school and work until 5:30 p.m., then spend some time watching video and discussing scouting reports.

The changes start Friday, when the team bus departs for Lafayette at 2 p.m. Teagle plans to arrive at 4:15 p.m. and let his players unpack — they’ll be spending the night in a hotel — before heading to Jefferson.

They’ll practice on the semi-state court from 5:30 to 7 p.m., eat dinner, then hold a team meeting. Then the kids will have an hour or so of time to wind down before calling it a night.

Though the Patriots have never been to a semi-state before, this experience is not all that much different from the 2003 and 2004 trips to the regional tournament at NorthWood High School in Nappanee.

“I feel really comfortable with it,” Teagle said. “It’s not been that big a problem trying to organize or arrange things because we’ve done it twice before because NorthWood was just as far away as Lafayette.

“Actually I think it’s kind of exciting for the kids. I think it’s an experience that after they get older in their 40s and 50s they can tell their kids about.”

The morning will bring another team meeting, which will include more video and work on the scouting report. The team will have brunch, then head to Jefferson again to watch the day’s opening game — the Class 1A semi-state contest between Oregon-Davis and Tri-Central.

They’ll watch the whole thing, including the first few minutes of the winning team’s celebration, giving them a flavor of what they have a chance to achieve. Then it’ll be off to the locker room to change, and to the auxiliary gym for their “pre-pre-game” shoot around.

When game time — scheduled for 3 p.m. — nears they will return to the locker room, going over scouting reports and match-ups again before taking the court for the extra-long, 25-minute warm-up.

Given the added time, they’ll return to the locker room for one last talk. It’ll be a chance for Teagle to reiterate the ultimate goal one last time.

“Our focus all the way through ... is to win another basketball game.”[[In-content Ad]]