Central boys basketball team wins first district title since 1997

Not long after the Central boys basketball team was handed its first district championship trophy in more than a decade, the players headed over to the stands to share their success with the student cheering section.

In a moment the players were surrounded by their elated classmates, a few dressed inexplicably as Teletubbies, from the once-popular children's television show, but most dressed in Central black and orange. The group poured out on the floor and everyone in it began to jump up and down as one, too excited to keep their feet on the floor any longer.

Just a few steps away from all this, Central coach Drew Church stood by himself on the court. All signs of outward emotion went away for a moment as he stood with his hands on his hips and watched his players revel in their victory over rival Jackson -- as if he were mesmerized by the celebration taking place in front of him.

"I was just soaking it in," Church said later, just after he finished cutting down the net on his team's home floor. "These kids deserve it. They need to see success. As hard as they've worked and as great of kids as they are, they need this and they deserve this. I just wanted to soak it in.

"It's them. It's them. I stand over there and don't do a whole lot. They play and they battle. They're the ones that battle, so this is all kudos to them."

Central players celebrate during the third quarter of Friday's Class 5 District 1 title game against Jackson. (Kristin Eberts)

Church, who had worked two years as a graduate assistant at Southeast Missouri State before spending two seasons coaching under Jackson's Darrin Scott, took over the Central program in July of 2006. Church replaced Derek McCord, the man who was supposed to save the Tigers but left for another job in the middle of the summer.

"It's definitely been a journey," Church said. "When I got here, it was a lot different. I came from Jackson or came from SEMO and it was a lot different. We had to turn the program around. We had to make sure we had good kids playing -- good kids not just players. Good kids in the classroom, good kids acting."

The Tigers finished with losing records in each of Church's first three seasons as he slowly installed his style of play and built relationships with his players.

"It's not just overnight," Church said. "You're checking on them in the classroom, you're staying on them if they don't act right. That didn't happen with this group a lot, but you spend time with them away from the court. All these kids have been to my house. We eat dinner together, we watch games, we go to SEMO games together. We spend a lot of time together and kind of developed that family atmosphere."

Church's father, Mike, joined his son's staff as an assistant after his first year at Central after serving as an assistant at Eastern Illinois.

Central coach Drew Church reacts to a call during Friday's Class 5 District 1 title game.

"He just hung in there with his philosophy, and he has a great background in basketball," the elder Church said. "He played at Evansville for a great coach and he just stuck with his philosophy and made kids do it the right way.

"There's a right way to play basketball and a wrong way to play basketball. He's made kids do it the right way, and it's paid off."

Drew Church said players started to understand his style of play during his second season, when the seniors on this year's team were freshmen. By the time they were sophomores, many of them were playing at the varsity level.

"It takes time," he said. "They have to buy in. They have to see a little success. But the main thing is they've got to know you care. They've got to know you care about them and you're willing to go to war for them, so they'll go to war for you. I care a lot about these kids and they know that."

Central finished with a winning 15-10 mark a year ago but fell to Jackson in the district semifinals as the No. 2 seed.

Central's Jungle cheers during Friday's fourth quarter.

The upward trend continued this season. The Tigers entered district play with an 18-5 record and the top seed.

It is important to note that what happened Friday night wasn't a fluke. It wasn't an upset and it wasn't even all that dramatic.

Central was the favorite, the hunted and the best team in the district. The Tigers were supposed to win and they did -- convincingly.

And that, in its own way, is impressive.

"After you've worked hard, it's just nice to see that hard work pays off," Church said. "And it's not just high school basketball. Later on now they understand that if you put your heart and soul into something, good things happens. That's a great lesson not only now but later on when they have tough times."

The team's district title -- its first since 1997 -- comes after a record-setting 10-2 football season in the fall.

"There's definitely a little more pep in the air," Church said about the Central High School halls. "There are better crowds at the games, people are excited in the classroom, Dr. [Mike] Cowan's dancing in hallway.

"Success breeds success, too. People see they were having success and they want to be a part -- somehow, some way, whether it be at the game or hey, I'm going to go out for basketball next year or football. It's just good to see. It's something the school needs."