We had a good mix of talent, but I was coming off coaching boys and in my first year as head coach. We probably should have won more games than we did.

You could see the talent was there. I wouldn't say I thought we were going to win 20 games for the next four years, but I knew we'd have some success.

He was one of my boys. He was just one of those scrappy little kids, who wouldn't give up. He worked hard, he trained hard and he maintained his training.

In girls basketball, there's still a little more separation in the talent level among the teams. In boys, there's more parity across the board.

I said to the team, 'boys, we've got to be men and I thought we were tonight. I'm happy with their performance, but disappointed that we lost. Honestly, that's our best 80-minute performance. We won't see a tougher team than Maize.

If you've got a talent, protect it.