In honor of the Purdue Men's basketball team winning the BIG 10 Championship ... and MARCH MADNESS right around the corner ... I thought we'd bring in a legendary Boilermaker for some perspective this week. Hall of Fame coach John Wooden was a 3-time All-American guard during his time playing for Purdue in the 1930s and went on to lead UCLA to 10 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships in 12 years (1964-1975). Here's what he had to say about success:

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you capable of becoming.”

Great advice from a great teacher & coach!

Now ... let's do our best to enjoy this week's edition of BricksCenter!

On Wednesday night, our boys squared off with NCC foe Kankakee Valley in quarterfinal action at Crown Point High School. Back on February 2nd, the Kougars defeated the Bricks 63-41. Could our boys wear the title of "Avengers" by turning the tables and finding victory this time around? Well, early on, it was KV who found some rhythm on the offensive end and after 8 minutes, the scoreboard showed the Kougars leading 15-8. Hobart BATTLED HARD in the 2nd quarter, but ultimately were unable to cut into the KV lead and heading into the halftime locker room, it was 30-20 Kougars. Some inspiring words from Coach Butcher and a change in halfcourt defense gave our boys a SPARK as the Brickies mounted a comeback in the 3rd quarter ... slicing the KV advantage in half and trailing just 41-36 heading into the final period!! Over the last 8 minutes, the Bricks TURNED UP THE HEAT on D-D-D-DEFENSE and were in full ATTACK MODE on the offensive end! Our boys tied it at 43-43 on FTs by junior Anthony Hnilo and then took their FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME on a 3-pointer by sophomore Felix Lopez with 4 minutes left!! Hobart never looked back after taking the lead and with less than a minute to go, senior Vonzell Strayhorne put an EXCLAMATION POINT on the night with one-handed SLAM as the Bricks sealed the come-from-behind 55-44 VICTORY!!! That's right - our boys outscored KV 19-3 in the 4th quarter to win their first post-season game since 2012!!! AMAZING!!! Hnilo & Lopez led a balanced attack for Hobart with 15 & 13 points respectively ... senior Keith Mullins added 8 points and classmate Gabe Dickerson chipped in 7 in the win!

Semifinal action was scheduled for Friday night, but Snowmageddon had other plans and play was postponed until Saturday night. On Saturday, the Brickies squared off with the Valparaiso Vikings with a shot to play for a 'ship on the line! Similar to the KV quarterfinal, Hobart got off to a slow start against potential Indiana All-Star Mason Jones & the Vikings and trailed 20-9 after 8 minutes. Our boys FOUGHT HARD to get something going in the 2nd stanza and throughout the second half, but a proverbial lid on the basket kept the Brickie offense from finding any kind of rhythm. Ultimately ... in spite of giving a GREAT EFFORT ... the Bricks fell to area powerhouse Valpo and the 2022-2023 season came to an end.

The three Hobart seniors ... Strayhorne (12 pts), Dickerson (7 pts) and Mullins (5 pts) led the Brickie offense and made us proud all year.

Valparaiso will play Chesterton on Monday night for the crown.

It was a tough finish ... they all are when you lace them up for the last time after 4 months of effort & energy. The final result from Saturday night doesn't take anything away from how hard our boys WORK WORK WORKed this winter and how much improvement they showed from November to March. They say it's the journey that counts, not the destination ... I would have to agree. This team STAYED THE COURSE and KEPT PLAYING ... NEVER GIVING UP until the final buzzer sounded.

CONGRATULATIONS on a GREAT YEAR BOYS! THANK YOU to Coach Butcher, his staff, and every single Brickie for taking all of us along for the ride!!

Hobart finished an even 12-12 and advanced in the IHSAA post-season for the first time since 2012! As much as we will miss our 3 sensational seniors, the youth movement is alive and well in H-town. Might want to get some shades for next winter ... the future looks bright!

#LASTDANCE

The Bricks were so hot they were BOILING down at Purdue! One fan favorite in particular was senior vaulter Cody Johnston. Cody, who WON the IHSAA State Championship last spring, SOARED past the competition on Saturday! With the help of the entire crowd cheering, he cleared a height of 17'0" to WIN the event!! Cody will look to defend his 2022 HSR crown on March 25th at Indiana University's Gladstein Fieldhouse!! Classmate Daeges Morgan also SHINED to a 3rd place finish in the girls high jump after clearing a PERSONAL BEST 5'0"! Freshman Cassie Cohen picked up where she left off in cross country by WINNING her section of the girls 1600 in 5:37 and placed 5th overall out of 53 competitors! Junior hurdler Cailey Weber, who raced @ IU last year in the HSR Finals, cruised to a victory in her heat of the 55m Hurdles prelims and finished 2nd overall! Senior Haylie Skripac also placed in the top 10 in 7th!!

Here are some other results from Saturday @ Purdue:

GIRLS

55m Dash

junior Alyssa Adams (8:31)

junior Dominique Zepeda (8.59)

200m Dash

junior Alyssa Adams (30.0)

senior Sarah Romeo (30.5)

400m Dash

junior Cailey Weber (1:06)

senior Sarah Romeo (1:12)

senior Jayla Lacny (1:18)

800m Run

freshman Joanna Cantu (2:43)

freshman Audrey Turley (2:52)

sophomore Kyrra Chester (2:54)

junior Kylee King (2:57)

1600m Run

junior Ella Hornak (6:11)

freshman Emilia Massey (6:37)

junior Addy Black (6:51)

Long Jump

sophomore Brooke Cawthon (13'03.75")

Shot Put

sophomore Taylor Pope (32'06")

BOYS

55m Dash

junior Johnny Sorensen (6.87)

senior Trey Gibson (7.14)

junior Tylan Diggs (7.31)

400m Dash

sophomore Willie Shearer (55)

junior Jack Cruz (58)

senior Logan Perschau (59)

senior Kerry Fortenberry (1:00)

800m Run

junior Ryan Mattel (2:06)

junior Carson Bell (2:11)

1600m Run

sophomore Kolin Gladney (5:01)

junior Vinny Gutierrez (5:14)

3200m Run

junior Owen Stankich (11:24)

freshman Lu Cohen (11:52)

freshman Durgon Click (12:00)

sophomore Nick Meagher (12:50)

Shot Put

senior Diego Verduzco (44'05")

sophomore Patrick O'Connor (41'11")

No team scores were kept as this was simply an opportunity for athletes to qualify individually for the Hoosier State Relays Finals in Bloomington on March 25th ... but what a start for our Brickies! They will be back down @ Purdue on Thursday to try and qualify some RELAYS!!

#SPECTRACKULAR

#BRINGITON

GOOD LUCK to our spring sports as they get started on what will undoubtedly be an exciting few months!

#BRICKIEUP

Softball - First Official Practice

Unified Track - First Official Practice

Tuesday

March Madness 3 v 3 Tournament sponsored by BPA & Brickie Buddies

Wednesday

No Events Scheduled

Thursday

Girls Track & Field @ HSR Trials (Purdue University)

Boys Track & Field @ HSR Trials (Purdue University)

Boys & Girls Basketball Awards

Friday

No Events Scheduled

Saturday

No Events Scheduled