I was hoping to write this next week. The content would have been the same, as would the message I’ll try and convey, but the timing is just a bit off. A Warsaw Tigers basketball team deserving of walking off the floor for the final time this year as winners fell to a very good McCutcheon team in the semistate in Lafayette Saturday night. It wasn’t the ending we wanted, but that’s how sports and life work at times. As I sit here reflecting on the season, I’m still not sure we understand the full impact this group has had. The culture of a basketball program has been changed in a way that I didn’t expect to see on November 25 when the season started with a game at Tippecanoe Valley. We’ve been treated to not only 25 wins, but a group of young men that have shown the path to the younger generation. Now, my weekends will be forced outside of a gym and back into the reality of my honey-do list that kept growing with each win the Tigers piled up. I’m going to miss those nights for more than just getting out of household chores my wife has waiting on me. Let me share with you what I’ll miss about the 2015-2016 Warsaw Tigers. Walking into the gym, I always received a welcoming text from Nate Howett. He’s the official scorekeeper from Warsaw and is forced to put up with myself and Roger Grossman on a game-by-game basis. It takes a noble man to do all of that with a smile, and Howett does just that. Most games I’d come to the booth with a card or some chocolate sitting there for me. After the first game, I realized who was so thoughtful and caring. It came as no surprise that the name on the bottom of the notes were signed Janet Price. Anyone who has had the privilege of meeting Janet knows just how passionate she is about the Tigers, and her compassion and enthusiasm for the program is extremely encouraging. If you listened to our broadcast at any point in time, you were treated to stats after each quarter. Those stats aren’t possible if not for Warsaw Community High School statisticians Lucas Howett and Taylor Mills. They do an incredible job of getting accurate stats and allow us to snag a copy no matter how inconvenient it is for them to get them to us. There’s so many small things that go into bringing you Warsaw Tiger basketball and that is one of them that goes relatively unnoticed. Walking into the Tiger Den for home games I was normally met by Coach Hal Gunter. Even when I was playing, the conversations that I’ve had with Coach Gunter have always left me with a greater appreciation for him and the history he has both in basketball and life. This year I was able to bother him on a handful of occasions prior to games. There’s nobody else that rejuvenates your passion for Tiger Basketball and gets you ready to call a game more than Coach Gunter. His unique ability to share his knowledge, along with the rest of the coaching staff, serves as not only great role models, but as elite educators on all levels. Of course walking away Saturday night was the last time we’ll see Evan Schmidt, Riley Rhodes, and Paul Marandet put on the Tiger uniform. While my history of the program only dates back to 1992, I think we would be hard pressed to find a group that impacted the program and community quite like these guys did. I didn’t realize walking into a broadcasting job would lend the enjoyment that these three brought. Whether it was listening to them being interviewed or watching their poise on the court, Tiger Basketball is better having those three represent it. Walking away from the 2015-16 season I feel like I stole something. This team, from coaches to managers to players, has given me much more than I’ve given back. The hard work from the summer throughout the season showed in the win column. The influence that these young men have had on the youth in the community will be continued to be felt for years to come. Thank you, Tigers.
