District Championship Preview: #1 Granville vs. #6 North Union (With Bulletin Board Material)
….and then there were 32.
For the new found Blue Aces fans that have recently joined our ever-growing bandwagon from outside the border of the great state of Ohio, let me fill you guys in on the importance of this next round: the District Championship. Our High School Athletic Association divides the state up geographically into 16 different "Districts", meaning that each team that wins a District Championship will represent their area of the the state in the Sweet 16. We play in the Columbus District. The winner of today's matchup will receive gold medals as opposed to the runner-ups' silver ones, hoist a trophy that will be on display in the school's front hallway as opposed to put in storage, and cut down the nets to save forever….as this is a very big accomplishment. To put it in perspective, our team historian has newspapers dating back to 1925 with Granville playing girls basketball, and before this Senior class arrived (they've won 3 straight), the school had won approximately 4….in 100 years. And 3 of them were by the same class, led by both the all-time leading scorer and the second all-time leading scorer. Some schools have still never won one! Point being, District Titles are hard to come by, and they are special, which is why although my parents haven't attended a tournament game yet this year….they are driving 3 hours to tonight's District Final.
But before we discuss how a win tonight would cement this team's legacy by going from another really good team to a truly great team, let us walk back to Wednesday night and recap our 52-18 third round victory over the #10 seed London.
Stat Lines:
Harper: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists (23 minutes)
Aliyah: 13 points (4 threes)
Elle: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Taylor: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Katie: 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Delaney: 3 points, 4 assists, 3 steals
Coach's Corner: I thought we played well defensively (10 second call on the first possession of the game set the tone), but I also think London conceded defeat before the game even started. Our lead assistant coach, Kellon Thomas (former point guard at Kent State), came into the locker room while I was preparing the white board with the scouting report, and he energetically told me that the other team appeared "just happy to be there". Our girls were down on the court, using our allotted stretch time to go through a regimen with their game faces on, which they had on from the time our bus departed Granville an hour earlier. But he reported that it was all fun and games on the other end of the court. He felt that our girls, led by 5 seniors who have been there & done that, were locked in…and London was not. After further review, he was correct. Then they came out and sat in a 3-2 zone for the entire night, even as Harper and Aliyah combined for 9 threes in three quarters of play.
Anyways, enough about that. Good season to London, they are young, and they will be back. But now it's on to today's matchup vs. a tough-nosed North Union team.
The interesting thing about North Union is that although they were ranked #6 in the tournament draw by Ohio's mathematical RPI system, they elected to go to #3 Centennial and play them in their very first game….on the road. Remember how our first two games were like playing a 4th grade team (no offense, literally)? Theirs was against the second highest ranked team in the entire bracket. They knew exactly what they wanted to do, and credit to their coach's confidence, with a steal and buzzer beater at Centennial that I saw with my very two own eyes, they knocked off the 3 seed, overtook that highest ranking on the bottom half of the bracket, and have marched their way into a District Final. Should be a good one tonight.
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This is what a Round of 32 game looks like. Two good teams, with a really good player, surrounded by other really good players. But one advantage that cannot be measured on a Tale of the Tape graphic is how only one side (I hope?) is getting help from a notable College Basketball Power Broker:
That's right, baby. We've got Joey Yanks on our staff now. Talk about the Aces having a Stacked Deck! And I love the game plan that we've come up with….
Keys To The Game:
1. We're Playing Zone
Yep, I think we're going to stray away from our traditional man-to-man pressure defense. Not sure we can match up with these girls player for player. We're going to really pack it in, too. Force them to shoot from the outside.
2. The Offense Needs To Run Through Taylor, Elle, and Katie
That's right. Don't tell anyone, but we plan on using Harper and Aliyah as decoys this evening. They are likely preparing for our two All-Ohioans that can both go for 30 on any given night, so we will be looking to through them a curve ball. First play of the game, Harp and Aliyah are going to set a double screen for Elle to attempt her first three of the year.
3. Slow Down The Tempo
Alright, if you motherfuckers haven't picked up on it yet, I hope you're on the North Union coaching staff. If All Business Pete could redirect the website to not allow viewership from the opposing community today, I'd fill you all in….but ain't no way I'm blogging our game plan for a game of this magnitude where the other coach can see it. Did I know I could do it against Marion Franklin and Linden McKinley? Yes. Did I think it was a little too cocky to do against London? Sure, but I also knew our defense was going to eat up their PG and no matter what I typed, and that would be the determining factor. Now there's 32 teams left playing in the state of Ohio, and I'm not giving that coach one hint at what's coming, nor any bulletin board material.
Although she certainly gave us some….
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You can read that quote directly in the Newark Advocate (local newspaper), or you can also see it on the locker of every single girl in our program.
Live look at Harper:
Alright, that's all I'm going to speak on about today's game. For the record, I think (and said on the livestream following Wednesday's win) that North Union is physical and well-coached. Maybe their coach's confidence will prove to be successful for the second time in this tournament…..maybe not.
I'll leave you all with this: here is how last year's District Championship ended:
It's just a different atmosphere when you make it to this round. Let's hope we don't need every bit of the full 32 minutes to pull it out again this year, but my God, what a feeling that was. Hoping to feel that way again in about 8 hours.
GO ACES!!!
Livestream Link for the 5:00 tip-off: