Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 54

Description:	Right: In additionto the team preparing for the statechampionshipbasketball game,other studentsand parents alsoprepared by decorating the schoolwith motivationalmessages, like thissign created outof styrofoam cups.PHOTO BY RAN CAOpreparation is key.With the school and community behind them, boys basketball players worked to meet high expectations.It was hard work and preparation thatled the Bloomington South boys basketball team to win the 4A state championship. Nothing came easy, and thetraining started long before the schoolyear. The team traveled to Las Vegasin July to play in a national tournamentwith the best of the best. According tosophomore Thomas Turner, Going to Vegas helped the team a lot,since we were playing premium AAUteams. Turner said it helped preparethem for the level of competition theywere to face in the coming year.Turner said that every game theyplayed throughout the season was important, but the game against DetroitCountry Day was particularly important to the boys. Everyone thoughtwe werent going to win, and sincethey were ranked fourth in the nationit gave us a lot of confidence when wedid, he said. South was ranked fifth atthe time of the game, but rose in rankings after they defeated the Michiganprivate school.However it was more than just playerswho did their part to contribute to theteam. Sophomore Aaron Binford,one of the managers, said that he did hispart to help the team get ready by filming each game. I think they were ableto reflect on their games, and work onwhat they saw as weaknesses from thefilms during practice, he said. Binfordalso stayed after practices and helpedthe big time players by reboundingtheir attempted shots.As South advanced through thepost-season by winning the sectional,the regional, and the semi-state tournaments, preparation became even moreimportant. The team continued its normal, though already rigorous, practices.However, they were given a once-in-a-lifetime chance, as Turner put it. Theteam was allowed one hour at ConsecoFieldhouse, where the state tournamentwas to be played the following weekend, for practice on the court. Becauseits such a big gym and different fromwhere we normally play, I thought itreally helped us, Turner said.The community also did its part tohelp the team prepare for state. Businesses all around Bloomington, such asthe Marathon gas station on South Walnut Street, supported the Panthers bywishing them luck on marquees, billboards, posters, and handmade signs.The owner of the Marathon, Ms. Connie Brummett, put up a sign before theteam left for state wishing them well.We were proud of them, and we wanted to show it, Ms. Brummett said.The fans support was undeniablyimpressive. The community came outto support the team at a pep rally heldat South on the Thursday before thegame. One of the highlights of the peprally was a motivational speech fromMr. Angelo Pizzo the writer, directorand producer of great sports movieslike Hoosiers.The pep rallies were fun, and theyreally got me pumped up, said Turner. He said that a fan base was reallyimportant to the teams success. Especially the student section, our fans arethe best, he said.-KATHERINE SPEERHow did you prepare for state?We made signsin Latin class.—juniorKatrina BurgoonI made signsfor one ofmy neighborson the basketball team.—junior AshleyCarboneauI went to thegame withfriends.—freshmanEthan Farmer54 \| SPORTS I boysbasketball
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8076
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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