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Centennial basketball convinces a skeptic

Posted by: Fred Kroner

Saturday, November 29, 2008 11:40 PM

LINCOLN -- If someone had asked me to describe my thoughts about Centennial basketball last Monday night, after I'd watched the Chargers beat Danville 93-60 to open the season, my response would have been something like this:

I came. I saw. I left less than impressed.

I expected something more -- but certainly not offensively -- than what I witnessed.

Five days later, I offer one word to summarize my feelings about the Chargers:

Wow.

OK, I was wrong to doubt them based on that one game. I am convinced the team is for real and probably deserves to be considered the preseason favorite in the Big 12 Conference.

The record aside, here's why I am impressed.

The team played and won five games in six days. One victory was against Peoria Manual, the state's top-ranked team in Class 2A, and another was against a Lincoln team which has won 78.1 percent of its home games in -- read this carefully -- the last 50 years.

Significant victories.

Look at how they were achieved.

Six Chargers had at least one game where they scored in double figures this week.

Six Chargers made at keast one three-point shot and that includes the two post players who are listed between 6-foot-7 and 6-8, Jeff Johnson and Josh Piper.

The overall balance as well as the ability of the top six players to contribute mightily figures to be a strength.

The team collectively is shooting 57 percent from the field and --rermarkably for high school athletes -- 51 percent from three-point range. The overall free throw accuracy is at 75 percent.

Of those top six scorers, five have made more than half of their shots. Rayvonte Rice, who is 10-for-16 on three-point attempts, is hitting at a 64 percent clip for all shots from the field.

That doesn't even lead the team. Bryson Davis-Johnson checks in with a 66.7 percent accuracy rate on field goals and a 92.3 percent success rate from the free throw line.

The players like to keep each other involved. In the three games Centennial played on the final two days of Lincoln's tournament, there were assists on 55 percent of the baskets (46 out of 83).

If there is a question about coach Tim Lavin's team, it's depth. In the 57-50 championship-game conquest of Lincoln on Saturday, starters played all but 9:42 and scored every point.

Lavin is confident that will change in the weeks to come.

"As the season goes on," he said, "some of the juniors up from the sophomores will realize the speed of the game and get themselves in better position. We hope to get eight or nine guys we can confidently put in there."

At this rate, the Chargers could be playing as well -- if not better -- than city rival Central did last year during its Class 3A postseason run to third place in the state.

Not to be overlooked is the other area school which competed at Lincoln.

Danville finished the six-school round-robin with a 1-4 record, but demonstrated some toughness after an 0-4 start.

In the game for fifth place Saturday against O'Fallon, the Vikings squandered a 10-point lead and fell behind by 10 points in the second half before regrouping to win 68-65.

For a team which is youthful, undersized and had not yet been in a close game, that was a significant triumph. They proved they can keep their composure in tight situations.

The outlook for Danville is not as bright for this season as it is for Centennial, but the Vikings have a tremendous upside and will make quantum leaps in the improvement category. This year will set the foundation for a future which looks extremely promising for coach Gary Tidwell's program.