The Warsaw community has been split over the boys basketball team the last few years, but on Thursday night in the Tiger Den, it came back together.
Getting set for Saturday's 8:30 p.m. Class 4A state championship tilt against Indianapolis North Central at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Warsaw Community High School held a pep rally for the players.And according to principal Troy Akers, it is Warsaw COMMUNITY.
"It's easy to understand the emphasis on community," Akers, the opening speaker of the night, said. "Our community is close to embarking on a very special moment in history. I'm guessing what happens on Saturday night will be talked about in this community for a very long, long time."
That community then watched as the players were introduced to raucous cheers, followed by the choir singing "Back Home Again In Indiana" and "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The renditions were a preview of what's to come when choir members Corinne Coon, Nichole Herendeen, Eugene Arrington and Chris Moyer sing the two sings prior to the Class 3A state championship game in Indianapolis at 6 p.m.
Fans were also treated to a performance by the hip-hop dance team, the cheerleaders performing the school fight song and a free-throw shooting contest between the seniors and their parents.
Emceed by Gordy Clemens, Warsaw senior Zack Linky was defeated by his father, Brian, who made 4 out of 5 shots, followed by Cathy Conrad defeating her son, Andy, making two. In the last shoot-out, Justin Clemens and his mother, Dana, played to a tie, each making two.
Granted, the players were issued a wig and sunglasses while taking their foul shots, and were also slightly embarrassed before going to the line.
Revealing secrets about their kids, Gordy let it be known that Justin is afraid of spiders, Cathy let everyone know Andy likes his hair long because of a childhood fear of looking like Michael Jordan and Brian Linky told the crowd that anytime he's lost a game to Zack, he let it happen.
Following a gym-wide version of the cheer block's "roller coaster" performance, led by Tom Daniels, Graeme Haase and Lucas Denlinger, Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle took the microphone.
"For anyone who was here (for the rally) Sunday night, there was one group I forgot to mention," he said. "I want to thank all the parents of the team members. You can not have a team like this without parents releasing their sons to us. I just really appreciate our parents."
From there, Ogle worked to get those parents into a frenzy, mentioning how North Central opted not to attend its scheduled 9 a.m. shoot-around at Conseco Fieldhouse Tuesday.
Ogle took the gesture as one that North Central may not be respecting the Tigers.
One person that is showing respect for Warsaw is Indiana University coach Tom Crean, who was on hand for the shoot-around.
"Tom Crean was there to watch Nic Moore and our team," Ogle said.
Having the Hoosiers coach on hand was something fun for Ogle, despite the fact he's a Purdue graduate, as is his father, Mike, and his grandfather, Ted.
"I asked my dad if he'd like to meet Crean, and he said, 'Not really,'"Ogle joked. "I had to, he didn't."
After introducing the players, Ogle then let the cat out of the bag, by letting it be known that Clemens may be getting another award, outside of a state championship ring, Saturday.
"He's a strong candidate for the Trester Award," Ogle said.
The award Ogle referred to is the Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude, distributed at the state finals "to the outstanding senior participant in each classification of the boys basketball state finals." Trester Award winners "must excel in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in basketball."
Past winners of the honor have included 2008 Triton graduate Jacob Everett, E'Twaun Moore (2007), Greg Oden (2006), 1996 Warsaw graduate Matt Taylor, 1991 Whitko graduate Steve Nicodemus and Bobby Plump, a 1954 graduate of Milan High School.
The Trester Award would be nice, but it's not really what the Tigers are making the trip for.
After losing 53-47 to Noblesville on Jan. 2 at the Super Hoops Classic in West Lafayette, Warsaw has won 16-straight games going into the title game.
"I like odd numbers and 17 is a prime number," Ogle, a mathematics teacher at Warsaw, said.
Interestingly enough, en route to winning the 1984 state championship, the Tigers won their final 17 games of the season, culminating in a wild celebration at Market Square arena.
In order to get to that prime number, Warsaw's going to have to overcome a North Central team featuring two Division-I guards in 6-2, 200-pound Terone Johnson and 6-4, 220-pound D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and in the process, defeating a team that ranks No. 1 in the Sagarin ratings.
But none of that seems to concern Ogle.
"If North Central wins the game, I'm going to be a little bit surprised," he closed. "Go Tigers!"
The rally was closed out by Lakeview student Bryce Lippe, who is blind and suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, singing Miley Cyrus' "The Climb."
The song left the crowd of almost 1,800 emotional, leading to the chant of "We-Are-Warsaw."
With the lower level of the Tiger Den filled, Ogle was pleased with the reception his guys received.
"I really didn't know what to expect," he said. "This was a great turnout. It is a reflection of how this community has embraced our team."
And with over 3,900 tickets sold for the state finals game, the community of almost 14,000 showed it can travel too.
"That's impressive for a town our size," Ogle said.
