As the final seconds wound down at the Thomas Coliseum Saturday in Snyder, it was not the time for any member of the Byron Nelson boys basketball team to take stock in everything it had accomplished.
Anguish, sorrow and the sobering feeling of finality were the emotions. A 51-41 loss to Fort Worth Arlington Heights in the Class 4A Region I championship game ended the Bobcats’ (30-6) season. Ironically, Nelson defeated the Yellow Jackets, 61-44, in the second game of the season.When you get to this point of the playoffs, there is more on the line, and thus more devastation when your season ends. Knowing you were one win away from advancing to the state tournament in Austin is even more profound. There’s the thought of wondering if you will ever have the chance to be in that position again.But those are the consequences athletes must accept when they compete. You give yourself a chance to win but know you can lose.Much like the girls soccer team in April 2012, this team found a bond between itself and its community. Coach Scott Curran’s team endured a tragic offseason when former player Josh Hernandez was killed in a car accident last April.Hearts were low, families crushed and everyone connected with the program and the school had to find the resolve to learn to live with the tragedy.Time healed some of the wounds and the business of the offseason continued. The program had a great point guard in senior Keyunta Watkins and up and coming post in Cale Popovich. But then several transfers arrived, including sophomore Emmanuel Nzekwesi from The Netherlands and junior Thomas Williams from Chicago.The nine seniors provided the stabilizing point. Curran and his team pointed to this year, believing this was the year they could make a deep run. As the fall workouts began, this team started to blend together pretty well. The first few weeks were time for everyone to become comfortable.The Bobcats ran off a 13-game winning streak between December and January and appeared to be in control of the District 5-4A race. They showed the moxie to win big and found a way to pull out nail-biters.Watkins offered a steady hand with his offensive creativity and smooth ball handling. During the streak, the 6-6 sophomore Nzekwesi emerged as an offensive threat and defender around the basket. Williams also fit into the flow of things and provided some offensive spark. Curran thought he was probably the team’s best overall defender.The only two slips were a one-point loss to Denton and a six-point setback to Denton Guyer, which snapped a 16-game home court district winning streak.As disappointing as those losses were, this team showed its resiliency. Thus, there was the eight-game winning streak that followed, including dramatic wins at Wichita Falls and over Waco University in the playoffs.The bus ride back from Snyder to Nelson High School campus took about five hours. To be sure, it was pretty quiet when everybody boarded it and remained that way for the first hour or two.All hands likely replayed how they should have gained control of the game. Sometimes, you just don’t have enough answers.As time moves on, this team will realize that it set the bar for how good this program can be for the coming years.A budding potential power has to start somewhere.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
