It was a heartbreaker for sure for the 7 seniors who played their Simon Kenton careers for a chance to play on the Rupp Arena Floor. I usually post stats and who the leading scorers were but it all seems kind of meaningless right now. As I made the track back up 71 tonight, I had a pit in my stomach for the kids who saw their dreams come to an end. You could just tell as Mike Hester and Josh Hurd fell to the floor that they knew a moment had passed that they couldn’t take back.
This was a season that the Pioneers had to deal with more adversity and pains than the fans could ever know. The coaches and parents of these players certainly knew what a grueling season it was and I tip my cap to the entire team for enduring and fighting with heart until the end. I thought about the expectations of the season and how disappointing it was for the team to lose. But then I thought about how the team really had to endure through so much for a chance to just make the regional final. I think about the big guy fighting through the shoulder injury that caused him pain down the stretch of the season, I think about the floor leader going through the surgery and therapy with all he had just to get to this game; I think about how hard a football player had to work after taking off two years from basketball only to sprain his ankle in opening round of the tournament; I think about a quarterback who had to put a team on his back waiting for other guys to get healthy; I think about a guy who is given the floor general role with big shoes to fill while doing so with a big knot in his hand under a load of tape, I think about a senior who relishes every second that he gets to go into a game and gives every second all he has; and finally I think about a senior who cheered with all of his might from behind the bench with his arm in a sling feeling helpless that he couldn’t go in and help his teammates. And of course I think about the coach and his staff who had more line-ups than he could name just trying to hold it all together for that one last run.
These young men will learn more from how they had to deal with the adversity through the season than they did the wins and losses of the season. It certainly doesn’t make it any easier tonight but you should be proud of how hard you had to work just to get to this game. Coach Steiner and staff, I commend you for leading the Pioneers through thick and thin this year.
I came to the blog looking for stats but after the first sentence I couldn't agree more with you. Stats really don't matter, what matters is these kids had high expectations, fought hard through injuries all season long, and unfortunately fell short of the big goal for them. You have to love tournament time, get to a game and you'll see plenty of great ex-Pioneers in the crowd supporting their Neers. It's like a who's who of SK ball, theirs Troy McKinley, Sean Dougherty, Chris Grubbs, Dave Crout... always good to see those you grew up watching still supporting the team 20 years after they buckled up their shorts and hit the layup line. A loss like this just shows us all that nothing is certain in this world, sometimes even the hardest work still doesn't get the job done. Congrats to coach Steiner and all of his
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