Preps 02
The Wichita Eagle - Jan. 3, 2007 - 1C
Anytime, any place: East-Southeast is always a highlight
By Michael Phillips
Thirteen years later, Ron Allen still remembers the shot.
In his first season as basketball coach at East, his team was defeated by Southeast 75-72. East’s Marcus Fields made a long three-pointer that would have tied the game, but released the shot a split-second too late.
“I just knew that was going to be the beginning of something big with us,” Allen said. “We didn’t give in, they didn’t give in, and it was a fun ballgame. It seemed like it set the tone for all the games we’ve played to be like that.”
The rivalry is as fierce as ever, and tonight’s game between No. 1 Southeast and No. 2 East has been moved to the Kansas Coliseum to accommodate an expected large crowd.
Southeast coach Carl Taylor has seen 15 years of the game, and knows what it means to the schools with a large common boundary.
“It’s good for the community,” he said. “It’s a big event, and it’s always a good ballgame.”
The star players have come and gone, but for more than a decade Allen and Taylor have paced the sidelines during the big game. Each has dominated the City League — Taylor is the second-winningest coach in league history, and Allen is fifth. They have more in common than just that, though: Both have won two state championships, are in their 50s, and have a friendship that extends beyond the basketball court.
But none of that will get in the way when they shake hands before the game tonight.
“We both respect that when we get between the lines, it’s business,” Taylor said.
That intensity from the coaches has helped build the rivalry into what it is today. When asked to scout the other team, the first thing both mentioned was tough man-to-man defense.
Classic East-Southeast games:
Top games between East and Southeast under coaches Ron Allen and Carl Taylor
Jan. 6, 1995: East’s Allen and Southeast’s Taylor meet for the first time. East wins 70-68 at home in what Taylor calls “a championship-caliber game.”
Feb. 28, 1997: In front of 7,000 fans at Levitt Arena, East clinches its first City League title since 1984. Southeast’s Lester McCoy cut the lead to one with 11 seconds remaining. After East made a free throw, McCoy put in a layup that would have tied the game, but officials ruled that it came after the buzzer. East’s Korleone Young had a game-high 26 points. “What an unbelievable game,” he said afterward.
Feb. 27, 1998: East has the ball with 19 seconds left and a one-point lead, but Southeast’s John Smart forces a turnover on an inbounds pass and puts in the winning layup. Southeast wins the game 64-62 at East.
Feb. 4, 2005: Southeast trails by four at East in the final minute, but forward Chris Lehecka makes a three-pointer to cut into the lead, then puts in the winning layup with two seconds remaining. East lost both regular-season games, but went on to win the state title.
—Michael Phillips
“They’re going to come after you with defensive pressure,” Allen said of Taylor’s Buffaloes. “They represent him in a way that’s different from a lot of other teams you might play.”
Taylor thinks that with the talent both teams possess, the winning team will be the one that makes the fewest mistakes. Both teams will look to get into a rhythm early, as it will be their first game since mid-December.
“The tough part is getting back to where we were before this break,” he said. “It’s like starting all over again.”
They will also have to adjust to the Coliseum atmosphere. Believed to be the first high school basketball game to be played there, it will provide a different look than the cozy confines of a high-school gymnasium.
While the stakes are high, neither wants this game to be a defining one. They will meet again in February, and possibly again in a sub-state or at the state tournament. Allen said that the only thing on the line is bragging rights within the community.
That community may show up in big numbers tonight, as well as other basketball fans from the area looking to see a good game.
“I think everybody in the city that follows high school basketball knows that when these two teams meet, there’s going to be plenty of fireworks,” Allen said.
The players know as well. Many of them play on summer-league teams together, and have talked about tonight’s game since the last one ended. Taylor doesn’t plan on telling them anything special about the history of the rivalry.
“I don’t have to,” he said. “They already know.”