On Wednesday, the Allen Community College Red Devils swept their rivals Neosho County in exhilarating fashion. Both games provided plenty of highlight plays as the women won an overtime thriller and the men ran away with a victory over the No. 13-ranked team in the country in front of a packed house.
To a person, every coach and player I spoke with after the game immediately thanked the crowd for its role in the win and said how nice it was to play in front of a big crowd.
That is a good thing for them to do and the fans in attendance deserve all the credit in the world for making it a very difficult environment for the Panthers, but my hope for the Red Devil players is that Wednesday’s game won’t be the only time they get to experience that on their home court.
Those in attendance Wednesday just got a taste of the exciting batch of Red Devils this season.
Coach Todd Buchanan’s women’s team is loaded with freshmen, but they play an exciting up-tempo brand of basketball that is a treat for fans to experience. With so many young players, they continue to improve each time they take the floor.
Coach Andy Shaw’s men’s team has a very different make-up from the women’s team. They are well-stocked with veteran players, but they also run a fast-paced style that is complete with plenty of three-pointers and dunks.
As high school sports get rolling again, people’s sporting calendars fill up, but if you were one of the few people in Allen County that wasn’t at Wednesday’s game, make time to attend a game in the near future you will not regret the experience.
If you are a parent or grandparent with an aspiring basketball player in the family, bring them down and have them watch the game on the college-level and they will surely come away with some lessons from watching collegiate athletes play and college coaches coach.
If you were at the games on Wednesday, I’m sure you didn’t regret the trip and I also assure you that won’t be the only great set of games to be played out there this season.
Your next opportunity to show a great bunch of kids, who happen to repesent your community on a nightly basis, your support will be next Tuesday when the Red Devils host Garden City.
Column: Why not every game?
