Blackhawks' disappointment is motivation for forging ahead
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Pea Ridge’s biggest disappointment from last year’s basketball season is the Blackhawks ’ biggest motivational tool for this season.
The Blackhawks, a No. 1 seed and hosting the Class 3 A Region I Tournament last February, were upset in the first round by Paris and failed to make the Class 3 A State Tournament despite a 23-4 record.
“ You can’t really forget something like that happening, ” third-year Blackhawks coach Charley Clark said. “ We’re not even trying to forget about it. ”
Instead, the Blackhawks took a T-shirt commemorating last year’s regional tournament and use it as their daily reminder. Each day in practice, a Pea Ridge player wears the T-shirt under his practice jersey.
“ We’re making a kid wear it every day in practice underneath their jersey just to remind them last time out we laid an egg, ” Clark said. “ Hopefully it’s something we can build on. ”
The Blackhawks were bumped up from the 1-3 A Conference to the 1-4 A, a league considerably tougher than their old conference. Shiloh Christian also moved with Pea Ridge.
Pea Ridge easily won the 1-3 A last year with an 11-1 record. Up against teams like Huntsville, Shiloh Christian, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Berryville, Gentry and Gravette, Clark knows it’ll be a lot tougher.
“ There were some games last year where we just showed up and that’s really all that needed to happen, ” Clark said. “ This year there is not a single game like that. If you don’t come out ready to play from the tip you’re going to get beat. ”
Clark’s hoping a beefed up nonconference schedule will help get the Blackhawks ready for conference play. Pea Ridge hosted Eureka Springs in its season opener Tuesday and plays at Class 7 A perennial power Rogers Saturday. The Blackhawks also will participate in the Benton County Tournament early in December and at the Washburn, Mo., Holiday Tournament during the Christmas break. “ We’re hoping that maybe if there are a few bumps in the road it’s something we can learn from and teach from and improve as the year progresses, ” Clark said. The Blackhawks return three starters from a year ago in All-Conference players Corey Trevathan, Tyler Ramsey and versatile junior forward Kip Kelly, to whom the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette referred in a recent article as the “ most exciting player to watch ” in the 1-4 A Conference.
Kelly (6-foot-5 ) averaged 13. 8 points, 5. 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as a last year and earned the Benton County Daily Record’s Sophomore of the Year award. “ The word ‘ exciting ’ can mean a whole lot of things, ” Clark said with a smile. “ He can get up and throw it down. He can handle the ball. He can run and shoot and dunk. He passes really well, too. I can agree with exciting but they’re a lot of good players in the conference. ” The offense will run through Kelly with the idea of getting him as many touches as possible. When doubleteamed, Kelly can pass to several perimeter players including the 6-foot-1 senior Trevathan, who led the Blackhawks in scoring at 16 points per game and hit 41 percent from behind the three-point line. Ramsey, who was the team’s point guard and best defender last year, will move to an offguard position and junior Ethan Rhine will get the first crack at point guard. Brandon Thompson, a 6-foot-1 bruiser underneath, will be the team’s main post player after losing All-State forward Bryce Snow and Josh Simmons. Senior Jordan Wright (5-foot-11 ) is a similar player to Thompson and will come off the bench, as will talented sophomores Casey Cooper (6-0 ), Cameron Thompson (6-2 ), and Levi Roughton (6-0 ).
NOTES: Seven of the 12 players on the Blackhawks ’ roster just rejoined the basketball team after football season ended.
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