Panthers ready to get after it

By Rex Kirts

The preparation is finished and the preliminaries disposed of. South's basketball players are ready for the main attraction.
Ring the bell, come to the center and, once again, bring your toughness.
One of the great venues for high school basketball in the country, the Indiana state championship, is ready to crown a new king. It will be South (25-2), the unbeaten champion just two years ago, or Kokomo (23-2).
They meet Saturday about 8:30 p.m. in the class 4A title game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where coach J.R. Holmes' Panthers defeated Fort Wayne Snider in the finals in 2009.
SOUTH STARTS FIVE SENIORS and is coming off a big semistate victory over Indianapolis North Central, a win which undeniably boosted their confidence aplenty.
"Ready to go," smiled center Desmond Marks, a first-year starter along with guard Ben Stowell. Forward Joey Forney is starting for the second year, and wingman Spencer Turner and point guard Dee Davis are four-year starters.
They are part of a program that is 93-5 the last four years and 48-0 at home on the J.R. Holmes court.
"We're looking pretty good," Stowell said of his outlook for the big game.
"Ready to go," said Turner, never at a loss for words. "The whole team is ready to go."
"I'm just excited about being on the floor," Forney said. "Two years ago I didn't dress. I'm just hoping we play well and get a win out of it."
Davis was the MVP of the championship game in 2009, but by Wednesday of this week he hadn't gotten round to serious contemplation of the matchup with Kokomo.
"I HAVEN'T thought much about," Davis said after a hard practice. "His thoughts had mostly concerned the week's practices.
Of 2009, Davis recalled being "really nervous before the game. But I knew what my job was, and that calmed me down.
"During the game I didn't get tired. I had a lot of energy, never got winded. Afterward, there was just the celebration."
"I remember everything (about the 2009 game) like it was yesterday," Davis said. "Having (Jake) Mulinix and (David) Blackwell coming through (two average free throw shooters who each hit two clutch free throws at crunch time).
THIS WEEK THE PANTHERS' FOCUS has been on Kokomo and not on last week's very satisfying win over North Central. But they admitted getting a confidence boost from beating the Indy school.
"I think it did, definitely," Davis said. "We have a lot of heart on this team."
Heart and toughness and coaching and talent and chemistry and basketball savvy. Just look at where those things have taken South, not just this year but for many years now.