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Clover boys mesh at right time for success
CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale boys' basketball team traveled to Greenfield Thursday to prepare for its first regional game in eight years. After beating Cascade in the all-WCC sectional final, the Clovers will play Crispus Attucks Saturday at noon in the Greenfield-Central Regional matchup.
The boys' season has been filled with more ups than downs. After losing to Greencastle in the County Tournament, Cloverdale (22-5, 4-0 WCC) thrashed GHS in the rematch a few games later. All of the Clover losses were followed by multiple wins and CHS finished the season with eleven straight wins.
"It's been a great ride for us," CHS senior Marquise Moore said. "It's the last ride for us seniors so we are just trying to encourage the younger guys to keep working hard, but it's been a great year."
The success can be traced back to the offseason when the Clovers were hard at work months before their first game.
"We had six guys continuously come in and work hard in the off season," senior Brantson Scott said. "I think it showed this year. We didn't win as many games (last year) as we did but we came together at the right time."
New faces on the team were instrumental in the Clover improvement both before and during the season.
"My first year here (in Cloverdale) I was an eighth-grader," freshman Jalen Moore said. "It was kind of hard for me but I got used to the school. This year it's been great getting along with people here at the (high) school and getting close to my teammates. The coaching staff is real nice."
Jalen has become a crowd-pleaser, coming off the bench to deliver a boost both offensively and defensively in many games throughout the season and postseason.
"It doesn't mean anything to me," Jalen said. "I just go in there and play my hardest to try to help the team out."
Senior K.J. Coleman, another new face, has changed the dynamic of the team with his inside presence and outside scoring ability. He was unable to play on the team the first year after he transferred.
"I was eager to get on the court because I saw how much fun it was," Coleman said. "They won county and got to cut down the nets. That looked fun and I've always wanted to do that."
Finally getting to cut down the nets in the sectional win, Coleman enjoyed the fan support back in Clover Country.
"It was probably one of the greatest feelings of my life," Coleman said. "I had so many people shaking my hand. The community was wild. Everybody came back to the rally and we spoke in front of them. We just told them thanks because we couldn't have gotten here without them."
The Cloverdale fans made the trip to Speedway with the team and out cheered a few schools that had less of a distance to travel, like Covenant Christan and Cascade.
"They filled up the whole gym," Coleman said. "They traveled with us. Speedway is a ways from here. They're always there. Now we've got to get this regional."
The fan support wasn't overlooked by the other Clover players and most of the times the Clover Crowd would blanket the packed Speedway gym with sound. The players and coaching staff are hoping for the same support as they make the trek to Greenfield.
"If somebody hits a bucket or if it comes down to just a bucket, then it's the crowd," sophomore Cooper Neese said. "Holy cow. At the Covenant Christian game we couldn't hear coach's plays on the sideline. It's been fun but we're not satisfied yet. Let's go get this regional."
As the season has moved on, the intensity in each game has steadily risen, and whether the game was close or not the sectional round brought out a new level of play as the Clovers advance into the next stage of the IHSAA tournament.
"It is awesome knowing that every game can be your last game," sophomore Duke Duff said. "We play hard in the regular season but it's so important to us now because we want to keep playing and we don't want the season to be over."
Duff enjoys playing at a place where basketball is the focus and he remains focused on whatever the team needs to do to keep the postseason play alive.
"The culture for basketball here is really great," Duff said. "The fanbase is awesome here as far as how many people come out. Hopefully we continue to play as a team. We all contribute and we all keep hitting and playing good defense."
That defense has propelled the team to many wins. The 'Chaos Defense' is able to get steals in the backcourt and challenge any shot in the post. Scott, a big part of the post defense, has been in the Clover community since he was a young kid.
"My first two years I played JV and dressed varsity and our varsity team wasn't very good," the senior said. "I thought 'we have to really work at it if we are going to turn this around.' Last year we went 19-2 and it was a change of pace. I said 'if we want to keep this thing going we have to work hard in the offseason.'
"It's been great," Scott said. " My grandpa helps coach and he would take me to the games when I was little. I remember sitting here in '07, watching them win the sectional. Just the way the community has come around us as we've started to play well it's just been great."
Another senior who has been around the Clover community, Tyler Lotz, has enjoyed the knowledge that he's been able to gain from the sport and his coaches.
"It's awesome to play under coach Rady," Lotz said. "You learn a lot about not only basketball but life. He's had a long life so he know about life. He can give life lessons. He's been through a lot.
"Our assistant coaches are crazy too," he continued. "Coach Thomas played at ISU, young Coach Rady has always coached. They know a lot about basketball and life and they teach you a lot."
Lotz, like the other Clover seniors, is not prepared to see the season come to a close and will be doing whatever he can to ensure more Clover victories.
"With me being a senior, this'll be the last time I play basketball. I'm not ready for it to end," Lotz said. "So the seniors will need to step up and be good leaders, carry the team and make the guys work.
Neese has also played in the Clover community for a while and relishes in bringing home a sectional title.
"Even since I've been playing in third and fourth-grade leagues," Neese said, "and getting to watch my brother play and coming up through the rankings to play varsity, it's just been an honor to play here in Cloverdale."
Neese says when he was a freshman he didn't know what style Marquise Moore would bring to the team but was anxiously awaiting to see his teammate on the floor.
"Eighth-grade year I didn't know who was going to transfer," he said. "I was hearing rumors of Marquise to transfer. When he got here I didn't know what type of game he was going to play but getting to play with him, it just brings something different to this court.
"Then with K.J. this year, it gives us an even further advantage."
The big story of the Clovers this year is their ability to bounce back and learn from games. The players and coaches, like all championship winning teams, grew together as the season went along and strung together win-after-win late in the season.
"We lost games that we shouldn't have lost this year," Neese said. "But it gave us a heads up as to what we needed to do this time to win. I think we all understand what's to come next. We're not satisfied at all. We're always ready for the next spot."