By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The 2013-14 season has been a bit of a bumpy ride for No. 11 Chipola, but after finding themselves on the brink of missing the postseason altogether, the Indians are now on the doorstep of a national title.
Chipola (25-5) will open play in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against the winner of today's game between Shelton State (Ala.) and State Fair (Mo.).
It's a position the Indians may not have expected to find themselves in following a 1-3 stretch during the Panhandle Conference season that put them in peril of missing the state tournament.
The struggles followed the suspensions of three of the team's top players – Cinmeon Bowers, Torian Graham, and Jamaar McKay – after a Jan. 16 arrest.
McKay returned for the final six conference games, but Bowers and Graham missed eight Panhandle contests before returning for the regular season finale, a 69-64 home win over Northwest Florida State that clinched a share of the conference title and a berth in the state tourney.
It was the third straight Panhandle win to end the regular season for the Indians, who have now won six straight overall after going 3-0 at the state tourney in Ocala and beating St. Petersburg 79-73 for the state championship.
Chipola coach Patrick Blake attributed the turnaround to his team's resilience and determination to avoid a premature end to the year that started off so promising at 18-2.
"We kind of just talked about throughout the whole year how with everything we've faced, the most important thing was to stay in the moment and stay together," he said. "As the season went on, we were presented with a new challenge, but we just had a confidence that our season wasn't ending any way other than us winning the state championship.
"To get to this point says a lot about the character of these guys. The good thing is I don't think they're satisfied yet."
To add to the title tally, the Indians would have to win four games in four straight days culminating with Saturday night's national championship game.
Chipola comes in as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament and riding a six-game winning streak that has featured the Indians perhaps peaking at just the right time.
"I definitely feel like we were playing our best basketball (at state) and we're still headed in that direction," Blake said. "We still need to get a lot better at the defensive end and offensively we're always trying to be more efficient and make the extra pass and limit turnovers. We have to play our best basketball this week to beat some of the teams that we have ahead of us.
"We're excited and feel fortunate to be a part of this great tournament. It's obviously a great opportunity. I think the guys are just ready for the game after another long layover."
There was a 10-day layoff following the end of the regular season leading into the state tournament, with the Indians getting another 10-day break between games before getting back into action Wednesday.
Chipola was able to sustain its momentum without much rust at the state tourney, but Blake said it took a while to get that same sharpness of focus back in the week since.
"We definitely had an emotional letdown after the state tournament, but since we've arrived in Kansas I can see that excitement back in our guys," the coach said. "The first couple of days back, it was tough to go back to the grind of practice after playing three games in four days. But I'm really happy since we've gotten to Kansas that our guys have that excitement and that edge back to them that we had before the state tournament. We're really excited for the challenge that lies ahead of us.