It’s finally Friday, and that means Poly’s girls’ basketball team is taking on Cajon in the CIF championship game…you know, the one where they play for the rings. The game starts at 8:30pm, and will be held at Mater Dei’s massive gym—if you’ve ever been to Monarch country, you know that parking is, shall we say, severely impacted. If you’re not showing up very early, plan on giving yourself some extra time to find curb space. Tickets are $9 for general admission, and just $5 for students (with ID) and senior citizens. We’ve already done an enormous scouting report on Cajon and a feature on Poly’s leader, Monique Oliver, so we’ll just leave you with a few thoughts from Poly coach Carl Buggs, and some driving directions at the bottom.
Buggs on Cajon:
They’re good. They’re very explosive, they can create some bad matchups. We’re most concerned about Layshia (Clarendon, the Cowgirls’ top scorer). She does a great job of getting their other shooters open shots. We have to contain her—we can’t stop her. They’ve also got their big girl, Darshae (Burnside), who’s a good shot-blocker. We have to make Layshia and Darshae work for everything.
On making his 8th consecutive CIF title appearance with the ‘Rabbits:
People don’t want to believe this, but I didn’t really realize that until people started bringing it up to me. I just want to, when I coach, I talk about goals for the season, you don’t talk about records or streaks, just about this year. For example, we won state last year, but it’s funny, because not five minutes pass by, before three people ask me, “Are you going to win four in a row?” And I’m like, can we enjoy this for twenty minutes? But when it’s all over, all the hoopla, and the parades, and the banquet, then it’s time to start getting ready for the next year. And the only thing that matters is the ’09 season—that’s how we approach it. So it’s kind of like, what? It’s been 8 years in a row? Are you serious?
On expectations:
The expectations are so high here, and you don’t want the kids to just expect it. You want the expectation to be: I have a goal, I’m going to work to get it. Not “We’re going to get it because we are who we are.” You want to work together. And as long as, from the very first day, you have that mindset: we’re going to win the championship this year—not “again”—but we’re going to win the championship this year, then your work ethic is towards that every day. Then whatever happens, I’ll accept that. But sometimes, you’re so consistent at winning that you get to that place and you think it’s just supposed to happen.