Pickerington Central enjoys underdog role
These days, Pickerington Central boys basketball coach Eric Krueger seems to wear a permanent smile. A different vibe permeates the program compared with last March when the 26-2 Tigers were expected to challenge for the state championship.
“It’s a completely different feel and I kind of like it,” Krueger said, as Pickerington Central (18-8) prepared for a state semifinal against Solon (26-1) at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Value City Arena.
“We had a lot of pressure within Pickerington and all of central Ohio to get it done last year. We had a first-team all-Ohio point guard (Jeremiah Francis) and a 6-10 center (Sterling Manley) going to North Carolina. It’s the complete opposite this year. Everyone wrote us off. No one expected us to get here. We’re thriving on that.”
Buoyed by the return of Francis, Pickerington Central hoped to be among the area elite heading into the season. But the North Carolina commit suffered a knee injury in the final preseason scrimmage and, after surgery, was projected to be out eight to 10 weeks. Following minor setbacks during rehabilitation, Francis, a junior, never received clearance to return.
With inexperienced players adjusting to new roles and the team negotiating an ambitious schedule, Pickerington Central started 7-8. The nadir came during a 54-33 loss to Hilliard Bradley in the Jared Sullinger Play-by-Play Classic on Jan. 27 at Ohio Dominican.
“We had lost some close ones and had a stretch of games against really strong out-ofstate teams,” Krueger said. “My thought was, ‘We just need something to get a little momentum going.’”
Then, during a 13-day span including a handful of makeup dates, the Tigers won five games — the most notable coming against Gahanna, Reynoldsburg and Newark. They haven’t lost since.
“A little confidence can take you a long way,” senior forward Adrian Nelson said. “We just had to lift ourselves up and find ways to win. A lot of players accepted new roles and we started playing more unselfishly.
“To tell you the truth, we’re a closer group that last year’s team. We trust each other a lot more. We’re having a lot of fun embracing the underdog role and trying to prove everyone wrong. We really think we can play with anybody right now.”
Nelson, a Detroit Mercy signee, and substitute Juan Elmore are the only two returning players who saw more than two minutes of action in last year’s 57-47 state semifinal defeat to Cincinnati Moeller.
“It’s been a nextman-up mentality for us,” junior guard Javohn Garcia said. “I think we focused harder on getting more stops, sharing the ball and getting out in transition. We just started to click. It’s hard to describe.”
Krueger said, coincidentally, the streak began when sophomore Tahleik Walker was elevated from the JV team and took over as starting point guard.
“When Tahleik started playing, Javohn really emerged in his role and Adrian took off as well,” he said.
“Different players have come up big at various times during our run. Coleton Landis made some huge plays for us in the regional final game. Jaidon Lipscomb came off the bench and made two big threepointers that turned the game around. Like I said, it’s just a matter of guys accepting roles and thriving in them.”
Central will attempt to complete an unprecedented trifecta. The football team and the girls basketball team also won state titles this school year.