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| Montini Lady Broncos: State Champs |
Montini vs. Hillcrest (Girl's Basketball)
Class 3A State Championship
(3/5/11)
Here it is. The promised land! The quest has culminated at Redbird Arena, and the 150th game will come in a state championship game. How about that perfect (wink, wink) planning....
No, it certainly wasn't planned this way. In all honesty, had things worked out as planned, the 150th game would have taken place at least a week earlier. Due to some tournaments running late, and an unfortunate scheduling snafu in DeKalb right before Christmas, I missed out on a few broadcasts.
Honestly, there really isn't that much scheduling set in stone for the Quest. The reason for this is because of my full time job, and my coverage of the Galesburg Silver Streaks (boys and girls) on WAIK. The rest of the broadcast schedule is filled in around these schedules.
My friend George Castle (author of several Chicago Cubs books) had sent me a congratulatory note last week about nearly reaching the goal, and mentioned that he hoped I could do 200 one day. I said I could do 250 in a season if time and money were not an obstacle...of course just about anyone could taking into account those factors!
The 150th game began just like any other, and it felt like any other broadcast....like I wanted it to. The most memorable part of reaching a goal, is the journey, not the culmination. How would I celebrate the 150th broadcast? By sticking around Redbird Arena, preparing for and broadcasting two more basketball games. How else would one celebrate?!?!
Just like I told my GHS broadcast partner Jimmie Carr, the Montini Lady Broncos won the Class 3A state championship. I have gotten to know coach Jason Nichols over the past couple seasons covering his team in the Sterling Tournament, just before Christmas. The initial reason I went to that tournament a couple years ago, was to watch Michala Johnson, who is now a freshman at UCONN. Her younger sister, Malayna, is a 6'4" sophomore on this Lady Broncos team. Coach Nichols is one of the most up-front coaches I've ever met. When working in the media, it takes a while to get to know and become trustworthy to some coaches. Since I am based down state, I don't have many relationships developed with the Chicago-area coaches, and the media in the big city is, obviously, much different than western Illinois.
That's why I was so surprised at how candid Nichols was with me last year. He was up front and honest, a straight shooter. He either trusted me with some information he shared....or he just didn't care! At any rate, watching the two head coaches in this state championship might be just as entertaining as the game itself. John Maniatis at Hillcrest is certainly one-of-a-kind, wearing a shirt and tie and yelling out words of inspiration to his team during warmups, taking off his tie after the game and swinging it in the air after a victory, etc. At times, Jason Nichols almost reminds you of the Matt Foley character on Saturday Night Live made famous by Chris Farley.
Hillcrest didn't score until the 2:36 mark, with Montini jumping out to another fast start (they outscored Springfield 19-0 to start the semifinals). After the 1st quarter, the Lady Broncos led 16-8. Montini outscored Hillcrest 15-7 in the 2nd quarter to lead 31-15 at halftime.
Kiki Wilson had another nice game for Montini, capping off the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer. She finished with 9 points. The Lady Broncos knocked down 11 three-pointers in the 67-45 win. Montini lost just won game this season, a 79-63 set back to the eventual Class 4A state champion Bolingbrook Raiders. Montini hit 10 three-pointers in that game.
Notre Dame-bound Whitney Holloway scored a game-high 19 points, while North Carolina-bound Whitney Adams finished with 16 points. Samirah Ali scored 15 points for Hillcrest, who took 2nd place for the 2nd consecutive year (both losses to Montini in the championship game).
Hillcrest will return four of their five starters (Yolanda De La Torre is the lone senior). All of Hillcrest's reserves will return as well. In fact, the Lady Hawks bring back 14 of their 15 players on the roster, accounting for 69 points/game of their 79 points/game average.
Montini graduates three Division-One guards (Whitney Adams, Whitney Holloway, and Kiki Wilson), along with dynamic point guard Kasey Reaber, but the Lady Broncos just reload with a pair of 6'4" sophomores that are getting high division-one interest. Montini graduates four of their five starters, but those are also the only four seniors on their roster.
The 150th game came and went, and between sessions I had a brief moment to reflect on the season, and the journey to this goal.
In all actuality, I was pretty confident about reaching the goal for 15 of the 16 weeks of the season. Unlike the 2009-10 season, when I was overly confident of my goal for 100 broadcasts, I entered the first week of the season with an almost dread.
By day three of the 2010-11 season, I drove from work to Lewistown for the Fulton County Tournament, and really was questioning my decision, and wondering if it could be possible. To broadcast 150 games, it would have to be an average of over 8 broadcasts/week. Even broadcasting 16 games the first week of the season, I looked at the big picture. There would be several weeks during the season where I wouldn't get to 8 broadcasts. Add that to the fact that at the end of the season, there may be a shot at broadcasting just 8 games. There would be no room for error, which had me worried. If I encountered one bout of sickness, it could knock me out of contention fairly easily.
Another factor was that my house is for sale. What happens if in December, someone wants to buy my house? Sure, it's great because I can make the move where my home game is actually at home, and not a 50-minute drive (Galesburg), but how in the world would I find time to make a move possible without jeopardizing The Quest?
These thoughts were spinning through my head just days into the Quest. Honestly, I was worried. There would be no greater tragedy for my professional livelihood than to set out on a goal, and not come through. It would be disappointing and embarrassing.
After week one, my thoughts settled, and I began telling myself that only I can control my destiny. If this is meant to happen, it will, and I WILL make it happen, by working harder than I ever thought possible. Just like a basketball team focuses on the task (opponent) at hand, I would focus on the broadcast(s) for that day on hand, then by week, and just overload my schedule to the brink of stress overload.
Was it easy? Heck no! Was it stressful? At times. Was it fun? Absolutely!!!
Game 150 Miles: 0
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