A Carroll County team ruined Gwynn Park's last experience in the state high school basketball tournament.
On Friday, the Gwynn Park boys - and the Gwynn Park girls, too - have a shot at some revenge.
Gwynn Park takes on Liberty in the girls Class 2A state semifinals at 3 p.m. at UMBC. Four hours later, Gwynn Park faces North Carroll in the boys Class 2A state semis at the University of Maryland.
"It's awesome, it's great for the school, it's great for the community, it's great for us," said Yellow Jackets boys coach Mike Glick.
Glick's last trip to College Park wasn't so great for his players.
They blew an 8-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost to Winters Mill, 58-56, in the 2008 state semifinals on Devon Lesniak's buzzer-beater. Only one current Yellow Jacket was on the varsity that year, and Glick said on Tuesday he would be re-living what he referred to as "an epic game" with his team this week.
"We're watching that tape to show our players the margin of victory. How every possessions matters," he said. "The little things [like] free throws. ... Just to get an idea of what our kids went through and how painful that loss was."
While North Carroll is in the state tournament for the first time in 25 years in search of its first championship, Gwynn Park is a traditional Maryland powerhouse with 10 state titles. Glick is 75-23 in four years at Gwynn Park,, which is making its eighth trip to the state tournament in the past 16 years but is seeking its first championship since 1988.
Gwynn Park has three players who average in double-figures for scoring, including 6-foot-3 junior point guard Brandon Ford (19.8 points, 3.0 assists per game), whom Glick said is being recruited by schools from the Ivy and Patriot leagues. They also have size, with 6-4 and 6-5 starters and a 6-8 sixth man.
North Carroll is big, too, with forwards Danny Hoffman (6-5) - Carroll County's third-leading scorer and top rebounds - and Charlie Clark (6-4), but Glick says the similarities end there.
"The game presents two totally different styles and matchups - they play a style of ball that we're not used to seeing and we play a style that they're not used to seeing," he said. "We're up and down the court, offensively, scoring about 71 points per game. They're more of a deliberate team, a lot more screening and sharing the ball."
Friday's girls game involving Gwynn Park also presents some contrasts.
While Liberty is far from senior-laden, the Lions (19-6) do have quite a bit of experience with senior post player Shelby Nemecek and junior guards Maggie McCormick and Beka Coughlin. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets (20-3) boast five freshman.
Second-year Gwynn Park coach Michael Strother admits his team made it to states a little ahead of schedule.
"My overall plan was a three-year program, but they really surprised me," he said. "They put in a lot of offseason work and conditioning and a lot of them played on AAU teams. We were just fortunate to get everybody together and do what we did this year."
The Yellow Jacket freshmen include their top scorer and rebounder in 6-2 forward Caira Washington (14 points, 12 boards per game) and point guard Genesis Lucas (10 points, four assists per game). Strother called Washington's future "unlimited." He said the freshmen have blended beautifully with their one senior and junior leaders Jasmine Simms and Channell Mackey.
"They've been really amazing. The kids really came together," Strother said. "I knew we were going to be talented, I just didn't know that they'd be able to turn things around as fast as they did."
Reach staff writer Bob Blubaugh at 410-857-7895 or bob.blubaugh@carrollcountytimes.com
