DARLINGTON - The members of the Darlington High School boys basketball team put a plan in motion last summer that has gotten them all the way to the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals.
They decided to play together rather than split up to compete on AAU traveling teams. The Redbirds played in 10 basketball tournaments in the spring and summer in the Wisconsin Dells and Stoughton.
"None of us played AAU last summer," Darlington senior Ryan Glendenning said. "We played together as a team and continued working to get better as a team. A lot of the other teams don't play as well as team, but they do as individuals."
It may be one of the reasons Darlington (26-0) advanced to the WIAA Division 4 state tournament for the second time in the history of the program and first since winning a Class C state championship in 1990.
Darlington will play Cameron (23-3) in a state semifinal Thursday at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Darlington senior Trevor Johnson will play basketball next year at Clarke University in Dubuque, and senior Will Schwartz will play basketball at Edgewood College.
"There are a lot of talented kids in our class," Schwartz said, who is averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. "The standard we have at Darlington to be a bunch of hard workers has pushed us and helped us get to where we are."
Darlington senior Hunter Johnson, who is a preferred walk-on at running back for the University of Wisconsin football team, said basketball was the first passion and love for his teammates.
"Since we were kids, basketball has always been our main sport," Johnson said. "Football was just something we just inherited from the upperclassmen and it (making state championship game runs) just kind of happened. I have played basketball since second grade, and we have had a traveling team since fourth grade."
It's been an unprecedented year of success for Darlington. The Redbirds have won state championships in boys cross country, girls cross country and finished as the state runner-up in football. Now they have a chance to win a gold ball and state title in basketball.
Darlington's football team has finished as the state runner-up four straight years, and the boys cross country team has won six straight state titles.
"I just think the success has rubbed off on everyone," Johnson said. "We are held to a higher standard, and people want to work harder because they want to win. That is the difference between us and other schools. For our team goals, I just think the more you can play as a team the better. It's a better step you can take. Playing with each other makes you better."
The success in every sport has made Darlington Activities Director Kurt Cohen's job even more difficult. Cohen has had to spend more time ordering and having the school sell tickets. He has spent more time making sure buses are scheduled for away games.
"We have had a fabulous year in all of our extracurriculars," Cohen said. "We are extremely lucky our kids and community understand the value of extracurriculars. A lot of people in our community see extracurriculars as an extension of the classroom. I keep telling people it's been very busy. There hasn't been a lot of down time."
The Redbirds have thrived with a balanced offense that has several playmakers. Darlington features a lineup with five players averaging more than seven points per game. Trevor Johnson (13.2 ppg) and Glendenning (11 ppg) have been catalysts all season along with Schwartz. Senior Josh Soper (9.1 ppg) and Hunter Johnson (7.7 ppg) have proven to be reliable scoring threats as well.
Trevor Johnson looks to cap his senior basketball career with a gold ball. He understands the challenge that awaits in Cameron, the Division 4 state runner-up last year.
"I think we can matchup with anyone in our division," he said. "(State is) something we have been looking forward to for a long time. It's just unreal. I don't think it will be real until we are there playing."
Cameron was a co-champion of the Lakeland Central Conference. Cameron is a team with good size that plays a 1-3-1 zone. The Comets are led by 6-2 junior Gunner Wilder, who averages a team-high 18.3 points per game. The other scoring threats are 6-2 senior Victor Martinez (11.3 ppg), 6-7 senior Jakob Bailey (10 ppg), 6-6 senior Josh Koenecke (9.3 ppg and 7.5 rebounds per game) and 6-3 senior Anthony Putnam (9.2 ppg).
The tallest player for Darlington is 6-3 senior Chad Golackson. Trevor Johnson, Hunter Johnson and Schwartz are all 6-1. First-year Darlington coach Tom Uppena said the Redbirds have been able to compensate against taller opponents by using their quickness and athleticism in pushing the ball on the break to wear teams down.
Uppena, who took over as head coach after the resignation of former longtime coach Mike Hopkins last summer, said it's been a smooth transition this year.
"Coming off a sectional final appearance last year, these guys have been experienced and well coached by Coach Hopkins," Uppena said. "There wasn't much building I had to do from the ground up. I just had to maintain what Coach Hopkins already had built."
Uppena did make a couple minor changes.
"We wanted to change some of our offense so we could utilize our speed and push the tempo more," he said. "We wanted to add the fullcourt press to our repertoire. They (Cameron) are big and have very good size," Uppena said. "They usually make it tough on teams by slowing the game down."
They decided to play together rather than split up to compete on AAU traveling teams. The Redbirds played in 10 basketball tournaments in the spring and summer in the Wisconsin Dells and Stoughton.
"None of us played AAU last summer," Darlington senior Ryan Glendenning said. "We played together as a team and continued working to get better as a team. A lot of the other teams don't play as well as team, but they do as individuals."
It may be one of the reasons Darlington (26-0) advanced to the WIAA Division 4 state tournament for the second time in the history of the program and first since winning a Class C state championship in 1990.
Darlington will play Cameron (23-3) in a state semifinal Thursday at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Darlington senior Trevor Johnson will play basketball next year at Clarke University in Dubuque, and senior Will Schwartz will play basketball at Edgewood College.
"There are a lot of talented kids in our class," Schwartz said, who is averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. "The standard we have at Darlington to be a bunch of hard workers has pushed us and helped us get to where we are."
Darlington senior Hunter Johnson, who is a preferred walk-on at running back for the University of Wisconsin football team, said basketball was the first passion and love for his teammates.
"Since we were kids, basketball has always been our main sport," Johnson said. "Football was just something we just inherited from the upperclassmen and it (making state championship game runs) just kind of happened. I have played basketball since second grade, and we have had a traveling team since fourth grade."
It's been an unprecedented year of success for Darlington. The Redbirds have won state championships in boys cross country, girls cross country and finished as the state runner-up in football. Now they have a chance to win a gold ball and state title in basketball.
Darlington's football team has finished as the state runner-up four straight years, and the boys cross country team has won six straight state titles.
"I just think the success has rubbed off on everyone," Johnson said. "We are held to a higher standard, and people want to work harder because they want to win. That is the difference between us and other schools. For our team goals, I just think the more you can play as a team the better. It's a better step you can take. Playing with each other makes you better."
The success in every sport has made Darlington Activities Director Kurt Cohen's job even more difficult. Cohen has had to spend more time ordering and having the school sell tickets. He has spent more time making sure buses are scheduled for away games.
"We have had a fabulous year in all of our extracurriculars," Cohen said. "We are extremely lucky our kids and community understand the value of extracurriculars. A lot of people in our community see extracurriculars as an extension of the classroom. I keep telling people it's been very busy. There hasn't been a lot of down time."
The Redbirds have thrived with a balanced offense that has several playmakers. Darlington features a lineup with five players averaging more than seven points per game. Trevor Johnson (13.2 ppg) and Glendenning (11 ppg) have been catalysts all season along with Schwartz. Senior Josh Soper (9.1 ppg) and Hunter Johnson (7.7 ppg) have proven to be reliable scoring threats as well.
Trevor Johnson looks to cap his senior basketball career with a gold ball. He understands the challenge that awaits in Cameron, the Division 4 state runner-up last year.
"I think we can matchup with anyone in our division," he said. "(State is) something we have been looking forward to for a long time. It's just unreal. I don't think it will be real until we are there playing."
Cameron was a co-champion of the Lakeland Central Conference. Cameron is a team with good size that plays a 1-3-1 zone. The Comets are led by 6-2 junior Gunner Wilder, who averages a team-high 18.3 points per game. The other scoring threats are 6-2 senior Victor Martinez (11.3 ppg), 6-7 senior Jakob Bailey (10 ppg), 6-6 senior Josh Koenecke (9.3 ppg and 7.5 rebounds per game) and 6-3 senior Anthony Putnam (9.2 ppg).
The tallest player for Darlington is 6-3 senior Chad Golackson. Trevor Johnson, Hunter Johnson and Schwartz are all 6-1. First-year Darlington coach Tom Uppena said the Redbirds have been able to compensate against taller opponents by using their quickness and athleticism in pushing the ball on the break to wear teams down.
Uppena, who took over as head coach after the resignation of former longtime coach Mike Hopkins last summer, said it's been a smooth transition this year.
"Coming off a sectional final appearance last year, these guys have been experienced and well coached by Coach Hopkins," Uppena said. "There wasn't much building I had to do from the ground up. I just had to maintain what Coach Hopkins already had built."
Uppena did make a couple minor changes.
"We wanted to change some of our offense so we could utilize our speed and push the tempo more," he said. "We wanted to add the fullcourt press to our repertoire. They (Cameron) are big and have very good size," Uppena said. "They usually make it tough on teams by slowing the game down."
