WASHINGTON, IN. — Well playas…the Ben Davis Giants have literally taken Indiana high school basketball by storm!! They’ve survived the gauntlet and now they’ll be playing for the Class 4A State Championship on next Saturday against MIC rival Carmel for all of the marbles. After knocking off Center Grove in the Washington Semi-State 67-61 they’ve punched their ticket to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Incredible!!
Why am I saying that’s it incredible? It’s because nobody and their baby’s momma saw it coming during the course of the regular season. This is an example of what coaches mean by trusting the process. Ben Davis was never the favorite to get to the state championship even though they had a boat load of talent.
Everybody saw Carmel getting there because they played with the same consistency all season long. They were the Class 4A state runner-up a year ago losing to a Warren Central team that was literally impossible to beat as they finished the season 32-0. The Greyhounds simply picked up where they left off.
However, no one saw Ben Davis hiding in the bushes. There was Warren Central mauling boyz at the beginning of the season. Then duns like Lawrence Central captured the imagination of the everyone including myself because their point guard play was nuts with Nijel Pack. Then there were cats like Dre Davis and Jake Laravia just destroying boyz.
Center Grove had the state’s only McDonald’s All-American in Trayce Jackson-Davis surrounded by a group of role players that were making crazy noise.
As all of this was happening the Ben Davis Giants were in the lab creating a monster down the stretch that would eventually be sitting at the top of the pile flexing their muscles when the smoke cleared. You can’t give Don Carlisle enough credit for keeping the ride in the road and navigating the frustrations of pulling this thing together.
When folks started to doubt him he kept the lil’ homies together and built a culture that would last the test of the season.
Something that I’ve been saying for years is “Championships are not won on GameDay. Your success is contingent upon your commitment to it.”
Congratulations Coach Carlisle and Co. for being the example that you’ve preached all season. I look forward to seeing you at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on next Saturday night. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.