By Josh McDaniel
Blue tape adorned the floor marking the three-point arc and narrowing the lane, and the base lines were 10 feet further apart than their home gym.
But no dramatic gestures of stacking a player on another’s shoulders to measure and confirm the rim’s 10-foot height like Norman Dale in the movie “Hoosiers” were needed as the players took to the floor adorned with the Pelicans logo at mid court for warmups.
The Cedar Creek Cougars and Lady Cougars had the unique and thrilling opportunity on Friday afternoon to play Saline High School on the same floor James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans would do battle on later that night inside the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
“The big floor, the big arena, the big environment had a kind of feel that was very unique for me and the girls,” said Lady Cougars head coach Katie Hall. “It was definitely the first time for them to experience as we walked through the floor access tunnel in the Smoothie King Center onto the Pelicans floor.”
Boys Head Coach Lance Waldron echoed Hall’s sentiments.
“It was a great experience to play on a NBA court,” said Waldron. “It’s always a competitive game when we play Saline, and Friday was no different. I am proud of our team; they fought hard until the very end.”
The 17,791 seats in the Smoothie King Center arena provided a cavernous backdrop to the clear glass free standing hoops, and both teams struggled to adjust.
“We missed a lot of easy layups, and we were off on a lot of our shots,” Hall said. “Our coaches told the team to just keep shooting and keep aiming for the top corner of the block on the black backboard,” she continued.
A large contingent of Cougar and Bobcat fans made the drive down to New Orleans to take in the action.
“I think it was very awesome of Saline and Cedar Creek to represent our respective schools and travel as well as we did,” Hall proudly said. “I was very impressed with the large crowd and the support they offered for both schools.”
After the game, Smoothie King and Pelicans officials announced that the crowd of Cedar Creek and Saline fans was the largest crowd they had hosted for any of the high school showcase games played in the Smoothie King Center.
“We are thankful for all of our families and fans who made the trip down south to show their support,” Waldron said.
The Lady Cougars eventually won 40-39, while the Cougars dropped a 54-52 heartbreaker. No matter the outcomes of the games and the final numbers on the scoreboard, these two games were an experience of a lifetime for all four participating teams.
“I think we benefited most from the team bonding we felt for the whole weekend experience together,” said Hall. “That’s the biggest benefit for me. It didn’t matter whether we won or lost the game on the Pelicans court.”
Photos from both games can be purchased at linktr.ee/foursix3
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Lady Cougars, Won 40-39 (Mallory Smith 9 points; Caroline James 9 points; Mary Grace Hawkins 7 points; Leah Sutherland 6 points; Olivia Underwood 4 points; Alivia Lee 3 points; Zoey Venters 2 points)
Cougars, Lost 54-52 (Connor Johnson 19 points; Jake Doan 19 points; Jack Bell 12 points; Blake Robinson 2 points)
