Griffins getting attention – and credit – they deserve

There’s been a lot of attention focused on the Horton Griffins D-1 boys’ basketball team of late, and I’m wondering: what took so long?

In case you hadn’t heard, Horton finished play last weekend having won 73 games in a row. The Griffins suffered their last loss Dec. 29, 2006, on home court in the final of that year’s Subway Holiday Classic tournament.

Depending on who you talk to, that may or may not be a Canadian high school record, and certainly would appear to be a record for a boys’ high school team; even if is isn’t, it’s still a tremendous accomplishment, one worth celebrating.

Griffins’ head coach Tim Kendrick and his players had their sights set on the apparently documented record of 72 straight wins by a girls’ team in Edmonton – a record they broke with their 96-53 win over Yarmouth Dec. 6.

There has been lots of hype surrounding the Horton streak. I admit to being disappointed in remarks made by Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation executive director Tom Fahie, who suggested last week the pursuit of the record wasn’t consistent with the objectives of the federation in relation to school sport.

While Fahie is entitled to his opinion, both personally and on behalf of the NSSAF, he’s missed the point on this one. The Griffins have never flaunted their record, and have tried their best to take things one game at a time.

Setting a record is great, and something to be proud of, the Horton senior players told me last week, but the bottom line is: a win is a win. The thing they’re really shooting for is a three-game win streak at provincials in March, and a third-straight provincial banner.

Which, after all, is the objective of all teams, as long as we continue to play competitive sport at the high school level. The Griffins haven’t done anything wrong, unless there’s something wrong with being a good team and a solid program.

I see this as a significant achievement by a group of young men who, working as a team, have accomplished something pretty special. As the players told me, it isn’t likely to happen again, in basketball or in life. To diminish it by suggesting it somehow doesn’t fit the ideals of high school sport is not right, and not fair.

This isn’t a team from Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver or even Halifax. It’s a team from right here in our own back yard.

What impresses me most about the Horton streak – and we have talk about it in the present tense as it’s still on-going – is it has been accomplished over parts of three different seasons, with essentially three different teams. Since the streak started, Horton has lost Joe Kendrick, Josh McGill, Brandon MacInnis, Nathan Dunn, Ellis Ffrench, Jeremy Dunn and Pat Riley to graduation. A team of those seven players alone could probably beat most teams in Atlantic Canada. Only four players – Sage Tanner, Keegan Fiske, Neal McGill and Stephen Traynor – have been with the team for the entire streak.

Horton has simply reloaded, year after year. To those who follow Horton boys’ basketball with any amount of regularity, the team’s success probably shouldn’t come as any surprise. The Griffins are always among the top D-1 teams in the province.

What’s more, they do it “the right way.” Yes, they have won some games by lopsided scores, but they’ve never deliberately run up the score. Kendrick shouldn’t be penalized for running a successful program. The Griffins, regardless of their team size, play hard at both ends of the court and have a team work ethic second to none. Even on nights when they aren’t at their best, like last week against Sir John A. Macdonald for example, they find a way to “win ugly.”

I don’t expect Horton to go through this entire season undefeated, like they did in 2007/ 2008 but, at the same time, I wouldn’t bet against it. This group of players certainly knows what it takes to win.

Coach Kendrick and I agree on at least one thing: it’s been a great ride, boys. Enjoy it, don’t let it consume you – and keep it going, as long as you can.