PURPLES, WARREN CENTRAL MOVE ON TO REGIONAL PLAY AT WKU
They hit the boards and found the open man.
They got out in transition, when they could, but were equally content to go with their half-court sets.
They were, as they say, dialed in.
The Warren Central High School boys basketball team, ranked No. 1 among all squads in Kentucky, extended its winning streak to 20 games on Friday night. And the Dragons did it in style.
“We’re starting to play our best basketball, all year,” WCHS coach William Unseld said. “We’ve been really good, but we are really starting to play our best basketball. Omari Glover is playing well and the rest of the kids are starting to figure it out.
“We are playing the best, defensively, that we have all year.”
IS THE KHSAA’s 4TH REGION PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
This is a motivated team.
Warren Central manhandled arch-rival Bowling Green High School on Friday night, leading from wire to wire and dominating the Purples in just about every way imaginable. The Dragons posted a memorable 75-56 victory, extending their winning streak to 20 games in the KHSAA 14th District Tournament championship game at Greenwood High School.
Warren Central has length, it has unbelievable quickness and it has a senior class with few peers.
Not just in the Commonwealth, but anywhere.
Warren Central was on point, mentally, physically and just about every other way. But the Dragons are careful not to get ahead of themselves.
There are bigger fish to fry.
For starters, in the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. Win three times in that tournament, and they’ll be going back to the Sweet 16 at Lexington’s Rupp Arena.
Where Warren Central came within an eyelash of winning a state championship just one year ago.
“It drives us, every day,” junior WCHS swingman Kade Unseld said when it was over.
A coach’s son usually knows all the psychological tricks, the precautions to take in pursuit of a collective dream.
Kade Unseld said the Dragons had a “group text” Thursday night, away from the spotlight, and the KHSAA 14th District girls championship game at Greenwood High School.
“We talked about nutrition, stretching, getting the right amount of rest,” Unseld said. “Going to bed after midnight is no good …”
You get the picture.
Warren Central had four players in double figures and they never trailed in defeating Bowling Green for the third time this season. There’s a better-than-average chance they’ll square off again, at Diddle Arena, just like they did in the 2021-22 season. That much seems understood, in both camps, but veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill is quick to remind you that smaller schools from other locales in South Central Kentucky have the kind of talent, and discipline, to strike for the upset in the spotlight at WKU.
“You’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” Sherrill said. “You know what’s in front of you … We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, get in the gym and get in some work.
“With Warren Central, we’re going to always get their best, and vice versa.”
SCORES FROM DOWNTOWN.
The Dragons seemed to be motivated by the fact that they needed an overtime to slip past Bowling Green, 75-67, at the Warren Central gym on February 3. William Unseld wasn’t thrilled with the Dragons’ shot selection in that game, but truth be told, both teams played well that night.
The breaks went Warren Central’s way.
This time, the Dragons left nothing to chance. The Purples tried to pack the paint and force Warren Central to beat them from the outside.
The Dragons obliged.
“We missed some (defensive) rotations, early, and they hit the shots,” Sherrill said. “(WCHS forward) Chappelle Whitney, he’s fantastic. Omari Glover, Izayiah Villafeurte … you know Kade is going to hit some shots.
“Central poses so many matchup problems. We’ve got a younger team, but these kinds of games are good experience for us. It wasn’t that we were playing poorly.”
Warren Central, the No. 1-ranked team in the state according to MaxPreps, the Courier-Journal and The Associated Press, takes an impressive 29-1 record into regional play.
The Purples check in with a more-than-respectable mark of 24-8.
And deep down, players from both teams figure they probably haven’t seen the last of each other. The draw for the 4th Region Tournament will be held on Saturday morning at Warren East High School.
Warren East won its first district championship since 1989 on Friday night, turning back Barren County 57-56 on a last-gasp blocked shot by the Raiders’ Isaiah Andrews.
The Raiders (20-9) are just one of the teams capable of striking for the upset at Diddle.
Kade Unseld said Warren Central’s laser focus goes all the way back to the KHSAA Sweet 16 last March at Rupp Arena, when George Rogers Clark slipped past the Dragons 43-42 in the championship game. That’s been af point of emphasis this season, and Warren Central has seldom been challenged since dropping a 60-43 decision to Madison Central on December 27 at a holiday tournament in Lexington.
“We didn’t want to let the crowd effect us,” Unseld said. “We wanted to get into the paint, the whole game.”
There was plenty of high-wire acrobatics in the first half, from both squads, and some deadly outside shooting. The Dragons built a 39-28 lead at halftime, and Bowling Green had two or three chances to trim its deficit to single digits in the second half.
That’s when the Dragons’ defense seemed to be at its best.
AT ARM’s LENGTH, AND
THEN SOME, IN THE SECOND HALF.
LOOKS FOR A PATH TO THE BASKET.
“It’s a first step, a great first step,” senior WCHS forward Chappelle Whitney said. “Play defense and rebound. Take care of the little things, in our preparation. We come in every day, ready to work.”
Kade Unseld led Warren Central with 18 points, and Whitney was right behind with 17. Football/basketball star Omari Glover, perhaps the Dragons’ most versatile player, had 16 points, while WCHS forward Damarion Walkup added 11.
The Dragons’ Tayvion Wells, Izayiah Villafeurte and Malik Jefferson had their moments, too.
They were clearly ready to play.
“We had to work on our help-side defense,” Glover said. “That’s one thing about our team. We know what we need to work on, and we needed to work on a lot of things (after the overtime game with the Purples on February 3). We’ve just got to be prepared.”
OMARI GLOVER SCORES INSIDE.
Mason Ritter, the Purples’ gifted 6-foot-8 junior center, finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior BGHS guard M.J. Wardlow had 14 points, and the Purples’ Deuce Bailey added 13.
Warren Central needed a complete performance to turn back the Purples 58-50 in last year’s 4th Region championship game. They seem to understand they’ll need more of the same, for an entire week, to get back to Rupp Arena for the Sweet 16.
“These kids aren’t scared of the moment,” William Unseld said. “They’re a mature team, and they play really well together. We’ve had a target on our back, this season, but our guys have been able to handle that, at least so far.
“We’re looking forward to the tournament.”
GREATEST STRENGTH THIS SEASON.
FOR THE KHSAA’s 15th DISTRICT.
THE ARCHITECT OF A BREAKTHROUGH 2022 SEASON.
IS HER HELP DEFENSE ON THE PERIMETER …