Led by 12 seniors, Strake Jesuit has been turning a lot of heads on the hardwood.
So far the Crusaders have beaten all challengers in route to a perfect 24-0 record and the number one ranking in the state.
"No, I really didn't," says Head Coach Wayne Jones. "But what I did imagine is that we would continue to get better every day and that's what we've been doing."
"Do you talk about the ranking and being undefeated?"
"No we don't ever talk about that. That has not come up not once. We didn't even know what the rank was until one of our parents called and told us what the situation was."
The Crusaders don't have a lot of size, but they are fundamentally sound and they have the intangibles on their side.
"I've said it all season. It's been our chemistry and how much we love each other," says Forward Joey Brooks. "We get along off the court, hang out and eat together, and that translates to being family on the court."
While the wins are going up for the Crusaders, the pressure really isn't because these guys like to keep it loose out on the court. Tim Frazier puts it this way.
"I just try to keep them loose, tell a little joke here and there. We have a nickname for the assistant coach, we call him 'Catman.' We go with that and get the team laughing."
"What do you call Brooks?"
"We call him Tracy McGrady because he shoots the three, starts dribbling and doing his thing, it's going up."
"That's part of the thing he can say that to me," counters Brooks. "I call him 'Tiny Mini' because he's all skinny and thin man."
"You're going to Rice, Joey's going to Notre Dame, Frazier is going to Penn State, also doing it in the classroom."
"This school is really tough, starting to get recognized as a basketball school," adds Guard Steven Rogers. "But for the longest, it's been an academic school. It's good to get I done in classroom and on the court."
Obviously, it's a formula that works.
