State Tournament Round One Preview: #1 Granville vs. #20 Marion Franklin (Bonus: Meet The Team)
Let me begin this blog by telling a quick story:
It was the morning of Saturday, February 3rd, and I was making the 15 minute drive to Granville High School, where I’ve coached the Varsity girls basketball team for the last 4 seasons. We were playing that afternoon for what would be our 4th consecutive league championship (monumental for the seniors, as no class in the history of the school had ever gone 4 for 4), but unfortunately, that was the furthest thing on my mind. The previous day I wrote a blog that I was resigning from both teaching and coaching to bet on myself and pursue a dream of moving to Chicago and working for Barstool Sports, but the problem was that I hadn’t actually told anyone other than the blog. And when the man who invented the internet tweeted out my announcement to his 3,000,000+ followers, I knew the specific group of people that I had kept a pretty big secret from for the last six years were bound to find out….
I didn’t know to what extent, but I assumed someone in that locker room had to have an inkling of what was going on? The girls talk about Barstool from time to time, especially about the BFF’s Podcast, so they definitely followed Dave Portnoy. I knew the right thing was to address it before we got on the bus, and while I was hoping that the girls would receive it well, I was more so praying that my untimely distraction wouldn’t cause them to justifiably play poorly in their big game. My stomach was in knots, because if they hated me and felt I was quitting on them I’d be distraught for a long time, but if my actions caused the team to lose the historical league title….I’d carry that with me forever.
I practiced that speech in my bathroom mirror from about 6am until 10 o’clock that morning, eyes getting a little misty each time. Then as I drove to the school, practicing my final rendition in the car, full tears were flowing. And when I walked into the locker room, which is 100.0% of the time blaring music and filled with laughter, screaming, and fun…everyone was sitting down and completely silent.
I looked into the eyes of our 23 players, coaches, and 4th grade ball girls, and I already went off script. Visibly sad, I asked the girls if they knew what was coming? They, also visibly sad, nodded their heads. I told the team I had three things to say and then would answer any questions they had and leave the room if they wanted me to:
The first was that I loved this team. I’ve coached Varsity basketball for 8 years, and while I’ve had more talented teams, and I’ve had more athletic teams, I’ve NEVER had a tougher team. This group chooses to practice at 5 am every single Friday. They take charges, they dive on the floor, they play through pain, they touch the lines on their sprints, and they do them again if we don’t make it in time. And most importantly, they (and their parents) allow me to coach them hard, looking me in the eye and shaking their head yes while getting ripped for missing a box out or a defensive rotation. This group’s mental and physical toughness is special.
The second was that I was going to refer back to a common theme we talk about before big games and big moments: take the chance when you can, you may never get another. I explained that 6 years ago, I chose to continue teaching and coaching instead of pursuing a job at a sports media / comedy company because I absolutely love what I do, and because we had a really good basketball team. And while I still love it, I kick myself every time I see people in that company doing things like going to the Super Bowl, doing tailgate shows at Ohio State vs. Michigan, etc. So I told them that my advice to them, from experience, was that at some point in your life, you're going to be presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity….take it. Or you'll regret it.
And the third was that at the conclusion of the season, I was going to resign to go work for Barstool Sports, and this would be my last season at Granville High School. Tears filled my eyes when I looked at the seniors who had accomplished so much, but tears began to fall when I looked at the juniors and sophomores who had given so much to earn my respect and playing time, and now they will now have to do it all over again. I was losing the ability to speak clearly, when (despite a 160-36 record over 8 years with 6 conference titles, 4 district titles…one on a buzzer beater, 3 Sweet 16s, and an Elite 8 appearance) my favorite memory I’ve had while coaching occurred: Taylor got up in the middle of the locker room, ran over and gave me a hug, and said go do it. Go chase your dreams.
The girls agreed, and I felt supported by the only group of people I needed support from. I felt obligated to say that if this was going to change anything (how hard they play, how they take coaching, how they dive in practice, etc) that I would step aside now and Coach Kellon could take over. They answered by simply turning my attention to the dry erase board in our locker room where there were two additions to our scouting report from the previous night. One was that the name Kelly Keegs was added to our super secretive NIL (Not Invited List) for our league championship, district championship, and hopefully beyond celebrations. And then second was #DoItForOhiosTate written in huge letters.
From there, I said to them….okay, now there’s two ways we can go about this, and it does not matter to me AT ALL which one you guys choose. I can either never once mention Barstool with this team and I will never once mention this team at all with Barstool, meaning I’ll hang up the blogging fingers and finish this season just like how it’s been the last 8 years……or we can embrace it and make it a thing. Totally up to you guys. It’s what you guys want.
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After a long silence and a lot of eyes meeting across the room, our sophomore point guard / most fun girl on the team finally spoke up. “Coach, I speak for everyone when I say….can you write about us? I want to be a star”.
You got it, Laney. Let’s first….
The most insulting thing Kelly Keegs ever did to me, despite intentionally full-name dropping me in a clearly orchestrated plan to get the crazies of this world to look me up and sabotage my career, was that I was a “good coach”. Listen, I’m not saying it’s the coach who wins games…..it’s 100% the players….but since landing my dream high school sports job at Granville four years ago, even Jason Pierre Paul can count our losses on his hands. That’s right, me and this senior class, who came in together, are sitting at 95-8 overall. We’ve won all 4 league championships since we’ve been here (first time ever), and while the school hadn’t won a District Title in 30 years when we arrived, we’ve won 3 straight and are hoping for a 4th here soon. This team is really good, and they’re hungry to win the school’s first ever basketball state championship.
Here’s an in-depth look at the top 7 in our rotation, with some words about our bench and assistant coaches:
Harper is our team captain, our best player, and our hardest worker. Through the 22 game regular season, her stat line is 20.1 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game, 2.9 steals per game, and 1.4 blocks per game. She was recently named the League Player of the Year for the 2nd straight season, and she took home District Player of the Year honors as well. She was named 2nd Team All-Ohio last season, and if she’s not 1st this year, then I’ll make Donald Trump after the 2020 Election look calm with how much I'll call this voting RIGGED. She’s a 4-year letterwinner, 4-time League Champion, 3-time (hopefully 4) District Champion, has 1221 career points (4th all time), holds the school record for points in a game with 37, and is a University of Charleston commit. And she carries a 3.9 GPA…
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Oh, and she’s doing all of this while her incredible Dad battles brain cancer. Harper is the strongest girl I’ve ever met, and I’m not just talking about the physicality she plays the game of basketball with. Little girls in Granville look up to Harper, and I find my inspiration to keep moving on during tough days from her as well.
I struggled to find a realistic comparison for Aliyah because while Mark Titus is a really, really, really good shooter – Aliyah is flat out elite. She holds the school record for threes in a game (8, twice), in a season (75), and in a career (239 and counting). And umm, I can’t wait for you guys to see where she knocks some of her shots down from.
And that's not a one time thing. That's common for her. So if you think I’m giving out any sort of scouting report to the other teams we might play, you’re crazy. Aliyah has been doing this for 4 years. She’s a 4-year letter winner as well, appeared in every single game since her freshman year, making her the winningest player in school history, and sees a face guard in about 75% of our games. She’s a 1st team All-League and All-District player, and she’ll get All-Ohio here in a few weeks. None of this is a secret.
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Let me say this: T might not average the most points on the team, nor will she get all of the big awards, but she might be our MVP. Throw her stuffed stat line of 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 deflections, and 3 assists out of the window….the amount of value Taylor brings to our team cannot be measured. She leads vocally by grabbing my marker in the huddle to draw something up when the team needs a wakeup call, and she leads by example by playing 110% at all times. She is the once traditional, but now extremely uncommon, three sport Varsity athlete. All league in Volleyball, all league in basketball, and 1st team all-state in softball. Taylor is our best athlete and our best competitor. She was named 2nd team All-League and I would like to know which coach in the conference wouldn't start her…
Team Player. Foxhole girl. Someone you want on your side. Love to have her, hate to play against her. I mean, Katie’s number one assignment each game is to guard the other team’s best player from baseline to baseline. And she’s really good at it. She also leads our team in “Superwomans”, which is the term we use to chart how many times our girls leave their feet to fully extend and dive on the floor.
Evidence of how Katie plays:
Katie is tough as nails. She rolled her ankle the morning before the league championship game, and while other girls would’ve missed at least a week with the swelling that occurred, she taped that bad boy up, wore an ankle brace on top of it, and played the next day. I mean, the contraption she had was so thick that I don’t think she could feel, let alone move, her foot. But it wasn’t even a question if she was playing.
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Elle is just a freshman, but literally every single person with a clue knows that she’s the next big thing for this program. Standing at 6 foot 1, Elle scored 13 points in the first quarter of her first ever game. And I need you to think about this: this program is coming off 25-2, 24-2, and 25-3 years. I’ve never started a freshman while I was here, and Elle has started every single game this year. She burst on the scene and jumped right over a lot of really talented, really hard working kids. She’s averaging 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals per game….while the entire offense is focused around our 3 senior starters. Right now, she cleans up the glass, plays really really hard, and kicks it out to our shooters more than she probably should. When Harper, Aliyah, and Taylor graduate….watch out. I think she’s next in the line of Granville greats / 1000 point scorers. And what’s crazy is that her best sport might actually be volleyball. She was an absolute monster of the Varsity team this Fall, too. Elle is going to play in college (maybe D1) someday, it’s just her choice of what sport.
Entertaining. Athletic. Locker Room Girl. Fun. Energetic. You guys get the picture. And she's really good at basketball. She's only a sophomore, and she's the classic 6th man that should probably start. But if the game starts off slow, we throw Laney in there and she instantly changes the energy. She's known for her intense on-ball defense, pushing the ball in transition to find our shooters, and her fun-loving attitude. Everyone loves Delaney.
Riggs has made his entire career around golf, while Hanah has made quite the career around one thing as well…..shooting. She is flat out deadly from the 3 point line. She leads the county in three point percentage with 43%. If teams face guard Aliyah or double down on Harp, Hanah goes in and knocks down shots until they change their mind. She's come up big in some of our biggest moments this year, too. The girl is clutch…and I can guarantee you she's going to hit some big shots for us in this state tournament.
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Bench: Maddie (electric personality, shooter, hustle player), Ella (Freshman, athletic as can be, great soccer player, very skilled basketball player), Megan (incredible softball player, will get time in big games due to her intelligence, poise, and athleticism), Margaux (very smart, coachable, likable, and can get to the hoop for us), and Haley (senior, really good post player, unfortunately out for the year with injury), and Leighton (4th grade Ball Girl, future WNBA player)
Assistant Coaches: Kellon (played at Kent State and overseas…best basketball mind on staff, elite skills trainer, and a great friend of mine) and Maggie (played at Ashland and Gannon…17-1 as a JV coach this year, and simply the best role model for our girls to see a strong-willed young woman that understands you can do hard things in life)
Okay, that’s it for the team – here’s the first bracket we’re in: The Central District
The way this tournament works is that the state splits the 200ish teams in Division 2 (2nd largest schools of the 4 divisions in Ohio) into 16 different Districts. To make the Sweet 16, you must win your district. There were enough teams in Columbus this year that Central Ohio got 2 districts. That is why the #2 seed, Buckeye Valley, is not in this bracket. We went to the first district, they went down to the second district. Unlike the NCAA where you get placed on a bracket, in Ohio High School, you choose where you go on the bracket. So, as you can see, we play the lowest seed in the District, #20 Marion Franklin, tonight at 7:00.
The first and second round games, called the Sectional Semis and Sectional Finals, of the tournament are played at the home site of the higher seed. Our current seniors are sitting at 50-0 at home over their 4 years in the program, so we feel really good about having that advantage in our first two. And let's not beat around the bush, everyone in the state makes the tournament. So while we're the #1 seed in the Columbus area, Marion Franklin got matched up with us because they're the lowest.
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This is no disrespect to our opponent, and there never will be on the blog for as long as this run goes, but I think it's safe to say that even Ray Charles could see we should win this one big on paper. But as I remind the girls in games like these, this one is not being played on paper. It's being played on the court. And the hare was heavily favored against the tortoise in their race, too. But cockiness and arrogance have beaten teams much better than the Granville Blue Aces. We still need to play well and execute a game plan tonight.
Keys To The Game:
1. PRESSURE EVERY INCH
We are a full-court man to man team. If you don't have a point guard, you will not fare well against the Aces. We hope to get up in this team from the jump and not let them breathe, whether that be bringing the ball up the court, running their half court sets, or when guarding our transition offense.
2. Win The Easy Basket Battle
Especially in tournament play, the winning team in girls basketball oftentimes gets easier baskets than the losing team. At some point, we'll play a low scoring game where you need to grind out each bucket. How can we manufacture some run out layups? How can we get Aliyah some open looks? How can we get Harp 1 on 1 in the post or isolated on the wing? We need to get easy ones and make them work for theirs.
3. 5 > 1
This is not an issue for our team, because they're such good kids and such good players. But with all this hoopla surrounding them with the Portnoy warmup shirts and everything, a small part of me worries that someone is going to try and steal the show tonight instead of playing the way that got us here. I know at 16 years old I would've. I'd come out of this game with either 50 threes shot or when the coach pulled me for not passing. DO NOT DO THAT TONIGHT, GIRLS. Also, you shouldn't be reading this. You are supposed to be in class.
4. When The Better Team Plays Harder….
We talk about this a lot. When the more talented team plays harder, it's a recipe to win the basketball game. For an upset to occur, the better team either needs to do stupid things or not play hard. Let's make sure we win both of those battles tonight: basketball intelligence and effort.
5. This Could Be Your Last Game. Act Like It
Hey, at the end of the day, tournament basketball means that if you don't play well, and the score for your opponent is higher than yours when that clock reaches 0:00, your season is over. Harper, Aliyah, Taylor, Hanah, Haley…and myself?….if we don't bring it tonight, then our high school basketball careers will be finished. Play like your career is on the line….because it is. Like we always say, desperation is more important than inspiration.
Our school, our program, and especially our girls are really looking forward to you guys following along with this tournament run, starting tonight at 7:00. The livestream link is here. I have nothing to do with it or if there's a cost or anything like that (and I think it's only clickable on a computer at the moment?). I'm hoping we get an announcer and get any issues more smoothed out as the tournament goes on further. First game for everyone tonight, folks. Or maybe Barstool wants to come do it? There's an open invite from the Granville High School Athletic Department for Dave, Big Cat, and Jake Marsh to come call any game they want. We will host again on Saturday at 4:00 pm, and then we will play again the following Wednesday, and hopefully again in the District Final on Saturday March 2nd at 5:00.
GO ACES!!!!!