ASHEVILLE, N.C. - While high school boys basketball teams in Indiana begin their quest this week for a state championship, two former area cagers helped their team accomplish the feat Saturday night in North Carolina.
Brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee, who grew up in Warsaw and who played on last year's sectional championship team at Warsaw Community High School, played a big role in Christ School's NCISAA Class 3A state championship run.
Christ School, a prep school of 200 boys located in Arden, N.C., beat Greensboro Day 53-49 Saturday night to claim the school's second state championship in three years.Greensboro Day, led by 6-foot-5 North Carolina State recruit Johnny Thomas, finished the season 31-2. Christ School, which lost to Greensboro Day twice during the season, finished with a 29-4 record.
"It was unbelievable," Miles said in a phone interview of the feeling of winning the state championship. "We were playing the best team in the state. Greensboro Day was ranked No. 1 in North Carolina almost all season. We were the underdogs coming in. Words can't describe it."
Miles, a first-team all-conference selection this year for the Greenies, led all scorers in the state championship game with 23 points. He also pulled down 12 rebounds.
His final rebound came with just under three seconds in the game. The 6-foot-9 junior - who reclassified at prep school but would have been a senior had he played at Warsaw this season - grabbed a missed shot by the Bengals that would have tied the game. He was fouled immediately, and then hit two free throws to ice the game.
"Miles had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the state championship game," Christ School coach David Gaines said in a phone interview. "He was absolutely the difference that night. Mason had six points and six rebounds. He had a great game the night before to help us get to the state championship game. I think they're really enjoying their Christ School experience. They come here and go 29-4 and win a state championship their first year. Everyone is two feet off the ground right now. It's a win-win situation. We're happy to have them at Christ School."
To advance to the state championship game, Christ School defeated Charlotte Christian 73-64 Friday night. Like Greensboro Day, Charlotte Christian - which featured former NBA player Del Curry's son - beat Christ School twice during the season.
The last time the Greenies played Charlotte Christian, they fell 85-54.
Gaines said the problem was Charlotte Christian's guards. He said Christ School was running its offense 30 feet away from the basket.
To give his team a better chance to win, Gaines, who in nine years at Christ School already has 200 wins, altered his lineup.
A story published in the Citizen-Times, a daily publication in Asheville, said in a recent story that Gaines wanted to start his biggest lineup so he started 6-foot-10 sophomore Mason Plumlee at point guard.
Mason, who had already been a starter but played primarily in the paint, came through with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He hit 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
"He can really handle the ball," Gaines said of Mason. "He's a great passer and he has great floor vision. I told the guys we were going to start Mason at point guard. It was something we worked on in practice for 20 or 30 minutes for a week-and-a-half. It was either going to work or blow up in our face. Mason played a great game. With Mason at point guard Malik (Cook) dominated the paint."
Cook, a 6-5 Christ School guard who is signed to play Division I basketball at Nevada, benefited from the situation and scored 24 points.
"I think it was a great move on Coach Gaines' part," said Mason of the decision to move him to point guard. "Charlotte Christian hadn't seen that before. We had been working on it in practice and I felt comfortable with the ball in my hands. I was able to set my teammates up and I had quite a few assists. I didn't take that many shots. I had four jump shots and a dunk and hit 10 free throws in the fourth quarter."
As for the competition in North Carolina, Mason said Christ School saw six guards during the state tournament that could end up playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Miles said the competition will help better prepare them for the college basketball scene.
"It's a whole other level," said Miles. "We were seeing Division I players and Division I prospects every game. There's great teams down here that are well-coached. Greensboro Day, the team we beat in the state championship game, is one of the top teams in the nation."
While the Plumlees were facing players night in and night out that were and are getting the attention of big-time Division I coaches, they were getting attention of their own.
Gaines said that during the season coaches from West Virginia, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Stanford, Tennessee, South Carolina, Princeton, Purdue, Viriginia Tech and Clemson came to see the Plumlees play.
Gaines said West Virginia was there to see them play four times.
"Independent school basketball in North Carolina is loaded with talent," said Gaines. "Miles and Mason were a big part of our team this year. Their improvement as players has been tremendous. I couldn't have been more happy or felt better for them Saturday night. What I've seen from them is a willingness to help each other get better. I've loved every minute with them."
Gaines described the Plumlees as well-mannered, coachable players and noted that both have grade point averages of 4.3.
