Spartans - Panthers A Major Hoops Rivalry?
Lucas Mihailovich and the Potomac Falls Panthers are developing a heated basketball rivalry with the Broad Run Spartans based on the fact that both teams have established a level of excellence that will make any game between them one to watch...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
Both Brendon Chesson and Greg Graves are key players on both sides of the ball for the Panthers, which make them deep and dangerous for opponents...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
Taylor T-Bone Johnson is a great compliment to Kevin Obi-wan McGaughey for the Spartan's offense which makes them doubly dangerous to opposing defenses...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
ASHBURN, VA - Basketball fans in Loudoun County this season are seeing a Dulles District version of the vaunted Tobacco Road rivalry between North Carolina and Duke (this is where I usually point out that we purists realize that the UNC-Duke rivalry is actually a recent ESPN hype phenomenon and that the true "Tobacco Road" runs between UNC and NC State in Raleigh, but I will spare you that today). Friday's 48-46 thriller at Broad Run elevated the rivalry to another level. Broad Run avenged a December loss at Potomac Falls - where three turnovers and three treys in the final 2 minutes cost them the game-- and clawed to within a ½ game of the Panthers with a game in hand. In the rematch it was Kevin "Obi-wan" McGaughey's block of Lucas "Agent Double Double" Mihailovich's drive in the waning minutes that made Taylor "T-Bone" Johnson's clutch three pointer and free throws enough to seal the deal. All signs point to a rubber match in the Dulles District Tournament championship.
Beyond the standings and the statistics, these two programs have established a level of excellence that will make any game between them one to watch. It begins with coaching. Coach Jeff Hawes is in his 14th season at Potomac Falls. He is the Panthers basketball coach. There has been no other, for good reason. Spartan Coach John Costello is in only his second season as head coach, but he was instrumental in building the program as an assistant and JV coach for many years before getting the top job. Both are lifelong educators who care deeply about their players and teaching both the game and its life lessons. Hawes paces the floor and rarely can keep his suit jacket on for more than a couple of minutes past tip-off. Costello prefers to remain seated, almost lounging on the bench while he jaws with his assistants and barks orders down the line. Both bring a fiery passion to each contest as well as a deep sense of integrity. Night-in and night-out, we can be sure that these teams will play hard. They will play smart. They will play together.
You will often hear talk of coaches installing and executing a basketball system, although I have never been sure what that means. I once watched a reporter spend 3 minutes asking former UNC coach Dean Smith to describe his system, to which he answered, "Win games." As we watch the devolution of basketball - especially at its highest levels - into a string of star-focused one v one acrobat match-ups, we can see in the Panther and Spartans a style of play that finds a different rhythm. Both teams move the ball a lot, and they move without the ball extremely well. You can almost see Hawes or Costello demanding a set of suicides if a player's heels hit the floor or feet stop moving in practice. They set screens. They patiently work the ball for open shots, because those are the ones that most often go in. They work for rebounds as hard as shots. And, if you dare take it easy getting back after a basket, they will both attack with a fast-break blitzkrieg that will make you think you are playing make-it-take-it. Except, of course, for the score.
And, the Panthers and Spartans play defense. Intense, nasty, chip-on-the-shoulder, "I heard what you've been saying so don't even think about coming into THIS lane" defense. What makes the intensity so powerful is that both teams can work it across of wide variety of defensive sets. Broad Run loves a smothering man-to-man and pressing the ball after made baskets, but they will throw zones in to keep teams off balance. Potomac Falls ran a box-and-1 defense on Friday that confounded the Spartans offense and harassed McGaughey so much we wondered if Panther Brendon Chesson was looking to try on the Jedi Spartan's uniform. In the decisive 4th quarter of Friday's game, the scoring was 12-7 in Broad Run's favor. In the first 6:30 of that same 4th quarter, the scoring was 5-2 in Broad Run's favor. You heard me. That's defense.
McGaughey and Mihailovich are likely the two best players in the league this season, but the Panthers and Spartans are the best teams in the Dulles district due to the depth of their rosters. Coach Hawes goes 9 and 10 players deep into his bench without fear. The Spartans counter with the "Ashburn Slasher" Ahmad Zafar, Eric Hiatt, and DaDa Johnson. These aren't role players. They are ball players. And on any given night, any one of them can step up, just like T-bone did on Friday.
People often ask me why I like Dulles District basketball so much when, for the price of driving a few more miles, I can see teams that regularly place players at top Division I schools. It's simple. I prefer the way that the Panthers and Spartans play the game. For that matter, the way all of the teams in the district play the game. I love the community of people that hang out on the court after the final buzzer and talk basketball. No public options, please; we prefer pick and rolls. But most of all, I love the heat and stink of a small gym packed to the rafters on a Tuesday or Friday night where two teams give everything they've got for their schools, family, friends, and each other. The Spartans and Panthers have turned their hard work into quite a show. Move over, Tobacco Road. Make room for the Greenway Grudge.
(Plus, the nicknames are a LOT better).
