Charleston – Last season Shady Spring was the dark horse in Class AAA.
Now the reigning state champions have a target on their back.
That doesn’t phase head coach Ronnie Olson, but that isn’t the only difference.
Last season the Tigers were state tournament virgins, having not made the big dance since 1994. That didn’t matter as they won the first state tournament game in program history and enjoyed the feeling so much they decided to win two more.
They weren’t happy to just be there and little has changed this year as the goal is clear – win another and string together a historic run.
“Handle your business – that’s our message,” Olson said. “Everyone talks about going up there and enjoying it and having fun, which that’s a big part but we’re about business and making history. We’ll enjoy it when we’re done. It’s a completely different mindset. I really feel like it’s a different approach and as a coach you have to embrace that. You can’t have a false pretense and say it’s the same thing as last year because it’s not. You don’t get any other first times again. This isn’t the first time Shady’s won a state championship. This is about making history and building something that’s special. You’re not going to get next year to make up for mistakes this year. So it’s about going down there and treating every minute like it means something and not taking it for granted and trying to come out of it with another championship.”
The Tigers come into the state tournament as the No. 1 seed in Class AAA, the highest in program history, making the target in their back that much larger. That’s nothing new though.
It started to set in they’d be the hunted when they played in shootouts on the summer circuit during the three week period. The Tigers’ opponents routinely referred to them in-game as the defending state champions as others raised their level of play.
It’s something they’re aware of as they’ve gone from the hunter to the hunted even atop of the Class AAA food chain.
“I think the summer and the early game at Logan really prepared us,” Olson said. “Everybody knows we play with a sense of urgency and go hard. But when you have another team that matches that intensity, we weren’t used to that. We were used to being the team it takes tempo and we were the team that was going to out-play, out-scrap, out-hustle and out-work everyone. To see teams try and match that this summer and earlier in the season, it definitely 100 percent caught our attention. I think they can hear that from me and I can preach it, but even as a coach it kind of took me back. You can’t really prepare for it until it happens to you.
“I think now, if you can believe it, the kids have even stepped it up even more on the floor with their intensity. It’s a different type of speed and intensity than we had last year. (Logan) kind of woke us up. We didn’t take anybody for granted. We didn’t take PikeView, Westside or Sissonville for granted. That’s what I’m most happy about.”
A superstitious person, Olson has his quirks. Last year he wore a pair of socks throughout the state tournament that he didn’t wash. They’ve remained with him, unwashed and may make an appearance. It’s not the only good luck charm he’ll be tapping into.
“My suit, we’re undefeated in the suit I’ve worn,” Olson said. “We did get it dry cleaned so it is clean. My two daughters – I have a bracelet from each one of them I wear. Those are the things I’m superstitious that go with me. And I am brining the socks just in case. They haven’t moved. I’m looking at them right now in the top drawers. They’re right here and haven’t moved. Just in case of an emergency I am bringing them down. They haven’t been washed but I’m bringing them down just in case.”
Olson is hoping he doesn’t have to break out the socks but isn’t ruling anything out. It’s why he hasn’t looked past the team’s opening round opponent, No. 8 North Marion.
“They have a really physical guard and a big-man centered offense,” Olson said. “Their guards look like football players. We played against players like that and the quad-A team’s we’ve played against have kind of helped us prepare for that. The strength that they have, they all look like they play defensive back or running back. You can tell they stay in the weight room and their big man is extremely, extremely talented. If he gets it he’s going to score, so we’re going to have to do a good job in there of keeping the guards in front of us.
“We just have to keep those guys in front and I think Jaedan (Holstein) will take care of business on the back end.”
Shady will open its title defense on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
