By Zia Kelly
Students, parents and alumni file into the east gym lobby to get their tickets. It’s an hour before the game starts, but the student section is already packed. The team crowds the locker room door to catch the end of the girl’s varsity game and anxiously await their own game.
Although they have experienced some success in previous years, this season has been particularly fortuitous for the boys basketball team. With experience, a strong work ethic and team chemistry, the varsity team has earned a 7-2 record and fifth seed from the Kansas High School Basketball Coaches Association.
“It’s been going really good,” junior, shooting guard Anthony Bonner said. “I think this is the best season that we have had in awhile.”
As the girls game hits the last buzzer, the varsity cheerleaders pump up the crowd to the fight song, and the team runs out onto the court to take some casual layups and jump shots before warm-ups. Cameramen from local news stations line set up on the west side of the gym.
This year’s team was highly anticipated in the preseason by both the coaching staff and the players. Head coach Mike Lewis, who has been part of the staff for nine years and head coach for five, said this is the most successful team he has seen.
“I was really excited about this group,” Lewis said. “We spent a lot of time outside of our basketball season together. We have a good camaraderie about us. The guys are coachable. They love basketball, and they are an easy group to coach.”
Lewis attributes this partially to the experience level of the team.
“We have guys that are coming back after last year that were new to varsity basketball,” Lewis said. “So now they have a year under their belt, and that contributes to having confidence.”
The pep-band plays “Smoke on the Water” while the cheerleaders mingle with the crowd on break. The team is going through warm-ups on their half of the court as their opponents do the same. The Chesty mascot makes his first appearance eight minutes before the jump ball.
“Going into it, we wanted to win as many games as we could obviously,” junior, shooting guard Ben Rajewski said. “Game by game, we’ve got to stay hungry.”
While state regulation restricted the team from official practice before the end of October, members put in time before the season to improve their game and build valuable skills.
“I think our offseason programs are good,” Lewis said. “I think the combination of not only their own work ethic, but the things we do as team contribute to their success.”
As the clock ticks down to five minutes to game, “Seven Nation Army” rings through the gym, and an unsettling air washes over the student section as the teams retreat to the locker rooms for pregame talks.
Both teams take advantage of the little time they have to go over plays, but the players have been preparing all week.
“It’s a process,” Lewis said. “I tell the guys on Monday if we are preparing for a Friday game, everything from making sure their shirt and tie is ready for Friday, to making sure they are getting enough sleep and taking care of themselves and their schoolwork. My big thing is to limit distractions.”
The teams run back out, and with 90 seconds left before the game, they finish warming up to “Welcome to the Jungle,” before circling up one last time.
The bass drum sounds and the referee releases the jump ball. The first few shots bounce off the backboard, but another teammate is always there to get the rebound and make the layup.
While every game is important, every season has its climactic moments.
“Our Free State game stands out,” Lewis said. “Any time you can beat Free State it’s a good thing. It’s a good feel and a good momentum game.”
LHS defeated Free State at home on Dec. 20, finishing the game 67-48. Both the players and the student body held the victory proudly, but couldn’t let it get in the way of the rest of the season.
“You play that game in December and you let it go,” Lewis said. “Whether you win or lose, you have to move on because there is just so much basketball and so much more to look forward to . . . We encourage our guys to not get caught up in the other things that can distract you with a rivalry game.”
After a basket, their opponents coach calls a brief time out. Ahead, the team shows their enthusiasm as their coach calms them down for some notes.
Team members have to stay focused after their initial success and continue to build on their record.
“As we’ve been going a lot of people are thinking that we are pretty good,and we have to keep proving them right,” sophomore, forward, Price Morgan said.
The Lions received a fifth-seed ranking from the Kansas High School Basketball Coaches Association, as well as similarly impressive ones from other state entities.
“The Final Countdown” plays out the half, and both teams jog back to the locker rooms. The ten minute break provides vital recovery time, while also giving the team a chance to touch base and gear up for the second half.
The players recognize their team composition and dynamic as their primary factors.
“When we are on the court we are a pretty fast team,” Morgan said. “We’ve got some really good shooters. Off the court we are all really close, hanging out, messing around and having fun. I think that goes hand and hand with how we play on the court.”
More than anything else, the team attributes its success to their work as a unit.
“The skill set that each player brings to the table, while it’s different. It blends so well,” Rajewski said.
Coach Lewis capitalizes on team relationships as a necessary factor for the game.
“Our guys have bought into the concept that ‘we’ is bigger than ‘me’, Lewis said. “And that we really focus on really getting better as a group and taking it week by week, and not getting too caught up in some of the other fluff.”
While the team has its starting varsity players, different players step up each night. Lewis concentrates on the performance of the team as a unit.
As the clock ticks down the final minutes and tension builds with a teeter-tottering score, play becomes more anxious in both teams, and some begin to stumble. However, once they gather themselves, LHS continues to swing the ball around the three point line at top speed, looking for a winning shot.
Lawrence High won its last boys basketball state championship in 1995, before they had a town rival school and the LHS population was overflowing with possible players. However, 19 years later, this season’s team is enthusiastic about the upcoming post-season.
“The ultimate goal is always to win a state championship,” Morgan said. “I mean that’s what we want to do. But you have to take it step by step. You’ve got to win the next game, then win substate, make it to state, and just keep progressing.”