Northwest boys basketball coach Mike Hatch can’t compare this season to any of the 30 he’s been around in high school or college.
Although the Texans’ record didn’t look all that impressive (17-14) going into the Class 5A Region I bi-district playoff against North Crowley Monday at Haltom City’s Thomas Coliseum, the bottom line was that this team made it to the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons. It really could have been all five except the Texans dropped a play-in game to Keller Fossil Ridge three years ago.But what may have happened is that this young roster looked at the history and didn’t want to be a team known for missing the playoffs. That creates a sense of ownership. Northwest finished tied for third with Carroll at 8-6. However, the Texas lost the flip with the Dragons and were seeded fourth.“This is the most fun team I’ve worked with in 30 years,” Hatch said. “The kids come ready every day to play. They worked so hard to deserve it. That’s not to say the other playoff teams didn’t. But these kids really handled it well.”By no means was this some type of concession for the Texans. When you get into the basketball playoffs, you have a chance. Last year, they faced Flower Mound Marcus in the bi-district round and were within five points with three minutes to play before falling by 11. If they advanced to the area round, the Texans would face the winner of El Paso Montwood and Lubbock Coronado.The key to handling North Crowley (26-7) was dealing with its non-stop trapping style of defense at the halfcourt. Northwest junior point guard Josh Tatum likely would get the first shot at beating it.Of course, the Panthers would likely make sure that Tatum give up the ball early. That’s where the post players of Todd Christensen and Elijah Christman would need to share some of those responsibilities.“Getting it across half court is easier said than done,” Hatch said. “We’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve faced press defenses before. We just were going to have to punish them when we break it. Our kids have shown up to play in these games.”Nelson updateThe Bobcats (26-5) finished second in District 5-4A behind Denton Guyer and were scheduled to play Fort Worth Polytechnic in the Class 4A Region I bi-district round Tuesday at Keller Central. Had they won, they would face the winner of Waco University and Granbury in the area round.That’s what this program wants to do – make a deep playoff run. It bowed out in the bi-district round in its previous two appearances. Now, coach Scott Curran believes this team has the makeup, chemistry, athleticism to do it.“We’ve got a better team,” Curran said. “Our chemistry has been great all year. The kids play for each other. And they’ve been good teammates.”Most of all, this is the time of the year when your best players need to be your best players. Senior guard Kenyuta Watkins has raised his play in the four-game winning streak that entered the postseason. He was averaging 17.4 points per game.“The kid is as steady a player I’ve ever coached,” Curran said. “He’s not had many bad games. When he doesn’t get shots to fall, he still finds a way to get it done. That’s what the good ones do.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
