Sports 2C Midlothian Mirror, Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Alex Riley, Sports Writer 469-517-1456 | [email protected] Year of unprecedented success Mirror sports writer Alex Riley sits down with boys basketball coach Glenn Hartson to talk about the success of the 2009-10 team, the future of Midlothian basketball and the memories of a district championship season Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror Members of the Midlothian boys basketball team hoist the bi-district trophy after beating Mesquite Poteet. The Panthers overcame a tough district slate to reach the playoffs and advance. Q . At the beginning of the season, you talked about how your teams have never missed the play- offs two seasons in a row. You knew you were a playoff caliber team, but did a dis- trict championship kind of catch you by surprise? A . I don’t know if it surprised me but I think it surprised a lot of people. As a coach you al- ways have confidence in your players coming in and ultimately that’s one of your ultimate goals as a team is district champs, bi-district champs and ultimately it’s a state championship too but you have to set realistic goals as well. I wasn’t surprised, I don’t know if that’s the word for it but I was pleased with it, especially with a group of kids that hasn’t had a lot of success throughout the years and being ranked anywhere from fourth to fifth or sixth (in the district) preseason rankings. I wouldn’t say I was surprised. Q . How far ahead of your expectations did they this group come this season? Or was this about what you thought they could do? A . Expectation wise, I don’t want to say they ex- ceeded my expectations because I don’t think as a coach that’s good but I think they surprised them- selves. And I think they surprised a lot of people about what they could accomplish and what they did accom- plish. Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror District MVP Eddie Johnson played a major role in the team’s success this year by averag- ing a double-double. Q . With the jump to 5A looming at the end of the school year, how important was it to have this kind of season to build on? A . I think it’s important going into the offsea- son. These kids, we have a tradition here at Midlothian. We’ve been good over the last 10 years. I think the program is well respected out in the metro- plex and I think it’s good to keep that respect going es- pecially since we’re going to 5A. The other basketball coaches in the other districts are telling me, ‘You know it’s going to be a good district. Six of the eight teams made the playoffs and you were one of them.’ So that makes me feel pretty good that they know that we’re going to step out on the court and compete every night. Q . Your starting line-up relied heavily on those four all-district seniors. How big was their impact on the success this season? A . They were very crucial. I wanted to play more kids than I did. I was playing to win and were playing six or seven kids sometimes but those seniors that we’re losing were big key play- ers in the success that we had. Not only in win- ning but showing the younger kids what it takes to win and I think that’s important. I don’t think you always take from the program, it’s what the kids give back that makes them so special. When I say give back I mean showing those younger kids to be here, what they need to do to be successful and I think this group has done that hopefully. Hope- fully the younger players will learn from it. Photos by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror Seniors Cameron Lowman, left, and Trent Morgan, right, were two of the leaders the Panthers relied on heavily this season. Replacing them will be a top priority. Q . Has some of their work ethic begun to rub off on some of the younger players? Do you think the attitude will be there next year? A . It needs to but I don’t know right now. The season hasn’t been over that long but hopefully it will rub off and it will help in the offseason. Being tough and how hard you have to work to be successful. Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror Zach Hofstad gives the fist pump which became a mantra for the team this season. Continuing chem- istry and a winning atti- tude will be crucial. Q . You do return some guys, each with a different level of experience. Are they capable of continuing the success this team established? A . I think they’re capable it just depends on how much time, how much effort and how much commitment they’re going to have to do that. Are they going to be here after school? Are they going to be here in the morning to shoot like the group before them? Are they going to be here ev- ery day in the summer? Are they going to play spring league? Are they going to play summer league? You’ve got all these verbals and if you do all that then our chances are a lot great of being successful and if they don’t we’re not going to be as successful. Especially the people we play against. Photos by Lezley Norris (left) and Alex Riley (right)/The Mirror/www.photosbylezley.com The Panthers return a mix of players including potential scor- ing leader Derrick Agbaroji, left, and probable starter Brandon Mundie. Both players saw limited but valuable time last year. Q . Your home success was crucial to the win- ning. That crowd was phe- nomenal, especially in the dis- trict race and playoff stretch. What do you say to them about next year? A . It’s going to be im- portant next year. Def- initely. We’re going to have to have backing and people there because it just gives you that much more motivation. Even when you’re tired and need to dig deeper and grab a little bit more, when you’ve got people behind you it’s a little bit eas- ier to do. See PANTHERS, Page 3B Photo by Chad Wilson/The Mirror The Midlothian Blue Crew provided a huge emotional boost to the team throughout the season. Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror Midlothian boys basketball coach Glenn Hartson talks strategy with point guard Trent Morgan on the bench during the regional quarterfinal game. The Panthers tied the school record deepest run in the playoffs this season while claiming a district, bi-district and area championship. The team finished with a 21-12 overall record.