Congratulations go to champion Zebras

The Pine Bluff Zebras basketball team pulled off a rare accomplishment — winning one state championship title in basketball last year and repeating the performance this year. That hasn’t been done in the Bluff since the 1930s, meaning close to a century.

We suppose one of the biggest reasons that feat is so rare is that students obviously move on. The senior who ruled the court one year has graduated and is likely playing college ball by next year. That situation is certainly the case this year as many of the Zebra players are, indeed, seniors — meaning they were mighty tough foes as juniors.

Another feature is getting a break here and there. Before making it to the final game for the 5A championship, the Zebras had to play Lake Hamilton, a team that desperately wanted to settle the score with Pine Bluff, which beat them last year in the state championship game.

And for all the world, it looked like they would get their sweet revenge. Pine Bluff called a timeout as a Lake Hamilton player went to the freethrow line and put his team ahead 73-70 with less than 3 seconds to play in overtime.

The Pine Bluff players were gathering their belongings, figuring their season was over. Coach Billy Dixon said, “Not so fast, guys. There’s 2.5 seconds left. Anything can happen.”

Certainly, the “anything can happen” line is easier to say when one has Courtney Crutchfield in the lineup. Crutchfield, who is headed off to play wide receiver for Mizzou in the fall, let fly a running 3-pointer.

And it went in, tying the game and sending it into a second OT. From there, the Zebras finished off Lake Hamilton and were headed to the big game with Benton. So yes, talent and good coaching are a must, but it doesn’t hurt when Lady Luck smiles on you, too.

Then there is the Coach Dixon part. He is the complete package. He’s not just present on the court but runs a tight ship in all things. But despite that seemingly hard-edged approach, he realizes and acknowledges the fact that his players have basketball smarts and something to offer other than implicitly following his directions.

As Dixon put it, he listens to them. They sometimes argue. Sometimes he follows their advice and sometimes not. But the fact that he invites these players to offer their thoughts adds a whole different layer to the coach-player dynamic. We don’t imagine there’s any doubt as to who is calling the shots in the end, but knowing that the person in charge values your opinion, well it might not be once-a-century rare but it’s rare.

Congratulations, Zebras. You have made Pine Bluff and Zebra Nation very proud!