{"id":130018,"date":"2020-04-06T03:58:47","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T08:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=130018"},"modified":"2020-04-06T03:58:50","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T08:58:50","slug":"parkway-hoops-a-season-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/04\/06\/parkway-hoops-a-season-to-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"Parkway hoops: a season to remember"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ROCKFORD — It was a basketball team and a season that will be talked about for many years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019-2020 Parkway Panthers finished the regular season 15-7 and 7-2 in the powerful Midwest Athleic Conference, trailing only Versailles, a team that finished 23-2 and No. 3 in the final Associated Press Division III poll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It a team that featured Caleb Kinney, who averaged 18.3 points per game and became Parkway\u2019s all-time leading scorer. The 6-4 senior guard also averaged eight rebounds per game for the Panthers, but he was far from a one man show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dylan Hughes (20) and Caleb Kinney (40) were two key leaders for Parkway this past season. Photo by Wyatt Richardson\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

6-4 junior guard Dylan Hughes averaged 14.3 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game, and 5-10 sophomore guard Caden Slusher contributed 10.8 points per game. 6-1 senior forward Nick Hawk (6.3 ppg), 6-3 senior guard Gavin Stober (2.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and 6-2 senior guard Corey Walls (3.2 ppg) also contributed to a squad that was on a roll at tournament time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the No. 2 seed at the Wapakoneta district, Parkway opted for a first round bye, then rolled past Upper Scioto Valley 63-39 in the Division IV sectional championship game at Coldwater High School. A 48-43 district semifinal win over Minster ensued, followed by the school\u2019s first ever district championship victory, 41-31 over Marion Local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The victory over the Flyers sent Parkway to the BGSU regional and on March 10, the Panthers got by Tiffin Calvert 44-42, boosting the team\u2019s record to 19-7 and putting them in the \u2018Elite Eight\u2019 against No. 1 Columbus Grove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turned out to be the final game of the season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days later, and one day before the regional championship game, the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced that all winter sports tournaments \u2013 boys regional basketball, girls state basketball, state wrestling and ice hockey \u2013 had been postponed due to the danger of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had a great practice on Wednesday and had a super film session with the kids,\u201d Parkway head coach Doug Hughes said. \u201cI had just finished the scouting report for Columbus Grove on Thursday morning. At lunch I got word that they were pulling the girls off the court at St. John Arena for the Girls State Basketball Tournament. At that point it hit me that we were probably done. It was an awful feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe met with the team on Thursday at 1:20 after hearing that they had postponed all tournaments,\u201d Hughes continued. \u201cIt was a very difficult meeting with the team. We had put so much work into this, but we also began to realize that this was much bigger than basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe told the players that we had to trust those in charge and that this decision was in the best interest of everyone. Once again we stressed just worry about the things you can control and obviously this isn\u2019t something we could control. We told them as we left that meeting that hopefully we get a chance to play Grove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, that chance wouldn\u2019t come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After two weeks of waiting and hoping for a shot to play the top-ranked Bulldogs for a spot in the Division IV Final Four, the word came from OHSAA that winter sports tournaments were officially canceled because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are just devastated that the tournaments cannot be completed, but our priority is the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, communities and officials,\u201d OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass said while delivering the grim news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gavin Stober was an important contributor during Parkway’s 2019-2020 basketball season. Wyatt Richardson photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Just like that, it was over, but it doesn\u2019t take away from a season that began with high hopes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur expectations were very high all year long,\u201d Hughes stated. \u201cWe talked about how important it was that we embraced the grind. We talked a lot about the long season that is basketball and how important it was that we kept working hard in practice and grinding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll along I envisioned us winning championships and getting to Columbus and I think many of our guys were just as confident as I was. I think you could see that confidence throughout the tournament. Many times our backs were against the wall and we made plays to win close basketball games We believed in one another and played so well together \u2013 this is a very tight group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe always believed this team was special,\u201d the coach added. \u201cThe 15 players and coaches believed this was going to be a very special season. I thought we got extremely focused over the last month of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPractices were more focused toward the end of the year. Even after losing some close games early we were all still very confident and at no time did anyone in our locker room doubt what we could accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While looking back on the season, Hughes noted there were many things he liked about his 2019-2020 Panthers, including their unselfish play on the court and their commitment in and out of season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They played the game the right way \u2013 they played for each other and they made sacrifices so that the team could accomplish great things,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cThey got excited for each other\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecondly, they worked hard to get better not only during the season but from the time last season ended to when it began again in November. These guys put a lot of time in and it was fun to see it pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did a shooting club last summer. Players charted their made shots throughout the summer. We had guys shooting for hours and hours a day. In fact, our top two shooters had over 50,000 makes and we had twelve players make over 10,000 shots The players\u2019 work this past off-season showed how serious they were about being champions. These guys are winners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roster featured seven seniors \u2013 Kinney, Halk, Stober, Walls, Kendall Roof, Ryan Hesse and Jason Luth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey understand how to win and they always outworked others whether it was in the weight room or on the basketball court,\u201d Hughes said of his senior group. \u201cThey also embraced leading and holding each other accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s team was a player led team and that leadership came directly from these seven seniors. We had some great practices throughout the year. They made each other better at practice throughout the week. They didn\u2019t take it easy on each other. Everyday they competed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will always remember this group because they were winners. They completely understood what it takes to win championships. It takes a whole lot of hard work, unselfishness, and confidence in one another to win championships and these guys understood that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hughes also paid tribute to Parkway fans who showed up in full force and enjoyed the record-setting ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur fan support was unbelievable,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cIt is something that none of us will ever forget. The crowd and the student support provided momentum and energy to the team throughout the entire season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe went 8-3 at home this year. We definitely had a home court advantage and it continued into the tournament. Our fans packed Wapakoneta and the crowd continued to grow at the regionals at Bowling Green.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur fans have always supported us, but I think all of us were a little surprised at how the crowds continued to grow with each win. What would it have been like in Columbus? This team firmly believed that we would be there playing for a state title.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor ROCKFORD — It was a basketball team and a season that will be talked about for many years to come. The 2019-2020 Parkway Panthers finished the regular season 15-7 and 7-2 in the powerful Midwest Athleic Conference, trailing only Versailles, a team that finished 23-2 and No. 3 in the final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 11:06:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}