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PJC may be haunted by tournament losses
By Larry Cathey
The Paris News
Published March 23, 2008
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Nothing typified Paris Junior College's season more than the NJCAA Tournament.
The Dragons, who finished eighth in the nation during their third trip to the national tournament in school history, are a team that can play with anyone in the country when they're at the top of their game.
They can also lose to teams they shouldn't. A fact they proved here.
PJC lost to arguably the best team in the country in the consolation game, four days after losing to arguably the worst team in the tournament during the first round.
For the rest of their lives, the Dragons will always wonder, “What if?” “What if we hadn't lost to Southeastern Illinois College?” and “What if Brandon Ayers didn't hurt his ankle heading into the home stretch of the regular season?”
For members of this season's team, those two questions will always haunt their dreams.
But, the fact is, this team accomplished a great deal. They might not have won the national tournament like the 2005 team, but that team didn't win 30 games, either.
A championship is the ultimate goal of any team, but it should never be the only goal. And while most, if not all, the players on the team will move on to bigger and better things, they're not likely to end up on a team that achieves what this team did.
Injuries, sickness and the dismissal of a player could've destroyed a less talented team — a team with less character.
But, PJC wasn't lacking in either area. The Dragons might not have been as talented as any team in the country, but they weren't all that far behind any team in the ability department. And, people would be hard-pressed to find a more down-to-earth bunch of guys.
“I was extremely proud of our guys and proud of our season — a lot of positive things,” Hodge said.
All season long, Hodge talked about the adversity his team has overcome and how much he loves this group of players he assembled.
The Dragons could have — and nobody outside the locker room would've been surprised — rolled over after losing to an inferior team in the first round, costing them their championship aspirations.
Instead, PJC came out and played as hard as they could to move on in the consolation bracket. That goes back to the sophomore leadership Hodge has spoke about at length this season.
After Saturday's loss, it's time for others to fill the role vacated by Eric Tramiel, Mike Smith, Ronnie Morgan, Marcus Carson, Courtney Waters and DeCarlos Riley.
Judging by this season, that's not likely to be an issue. Not with players who love to play.
For Smith, a sophomore who played his last game as a Dragon, this is and will always be “the” place.
“We've been through some ups and downs throughout the year, but it was great the whole year,” Smith said. “The 30 games we won, playing with these guys, being coached by Ross and wearing the Paris uniform — I would rather be nowhere else.”
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