WEST FORK — Zach Hutchinson and Dylan Clayton acknowledged they wanted to continue the winning tradition left by the most successful senior class in West Fork history.
Josh Bailey had no idea of the Tigers' success on the basketball court.
Class 3A State Tournament
At Charleston
Wednesday
Game 1: 1st-2 Riverview vs. 4th-4 Centerpoint (G), 1 p.m.
Game 2: 1st-2 Episcopal Collegiate (1st 2) vs. 4th-4 Prescott (B), 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: 1st-4 Fordyce vs. 4th-2 Harding Academy (G), 4 p.m.
Game 4: 1st-4 McGehee vs. 4th-2 Harding Academy (B), 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: 1st-3 Rivercrest vs. 4th-1 Mansfield (G), 7 p.m.
Game 6: 1st-3 Earle vs. 4th-1 Elkins (B), 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
Game 7: 1st-1 Paris vs. 4th-3 Manila (G), 1 p.m.
Game 8: 1st-1 Charleston vs. 4th-3 Valley Springs (B), 2:30 p.m.
Game 9: 2nd-1 West Fork vs. 3rd-3 Valley Springs (G), 4 p.m.
Game 10: 2nd-1 West Fork vs. 3rd-3 Rivercrest (B), 5:30 p.m.
Game 11: 2nd-3 Melbourne vs. 3rd-1 Danville (G), 7 p.m.
Game 12: 2nd-3 Melbourne vs. 3rd-1 Cedarville (B), 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 13: 2nd-4 McGehee (2nd 4) vs. 3rd-2 eStem (G), 1 p.m.
Game 14: 2nd-4 Fordyce vs. 3rd-2 Benton Harmony Grove (B), 2:30 p.m.
Game 15: 2nd-2 Jessieville vs. 3rd-4 Genoa Central (G), 4 p.m.
Game 16: 2nd-2 Mayflower vs. 3rd-4 Drew Central (B), 5:30 p.m.
Game 17: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 9 (G), 7 p.m.
Game 18: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 10 (B), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 19: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 11 (G), 1 p.m.
Game 20: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 12 (B), 2:30 p.m.
Game 21: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 13 (G), 4 p.m.
Game 22: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 14 (B), 5:30 p.m.
Game 23: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 15 (G), 7 p.m.
Game 24: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 16 (B), 8:30 p.m.
Sunday
Game 25: Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 19 (G), 12:30 p.m.
Game 26: Winner Game 18 vs. Winner Game 20 (B), 2 p.m
Game 27: Winner Game 21 vs. Winner Game 23 (G), 3:30 p.m.
Game 28: Winner Game 22 vs. Winner Game 24 (B), 5 p.m.
TBA at Summit Arena, Hot Springs
Game 29: Girls championship, TBA
Game 30: Boys championship, TBA
- Note: The start of the tournament was delayed by one day because of weather
But the three seniors came together to play key roles to help West Fork make its fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.
The Tigers, who finished second in Region 1, will take on Rivercrest, the third-place finisher in Region 3, in the first round at Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The start of the 3A state tournament was pushed from today to Wednesday because of wintry weather that blanketed the state. The delay also pushed the state semifinal games to Sunday.
Hutchinson was the only one of the three who was even on the Tigers' basketball team a year ago, but even he was mostly watching last year's state tournament from the bench. Neither Clayton nor Bailey were on the team last year. Even Tigers coach Nolan Helder is in his first year at West Fork.
Bailey is playing for the Tigers this year thanks to a rule change by the Arkansas Activities Association, which allows home school students to participate in athletics as long as they live within the school district and attend school one period a day. The 6-foot-3 swingman leads the Tigers (17-9) in scoring with 15 points per game and rebounding with 10 per game, averaging a double-double.
Clayton, a starter at receiver on the football team, didn't play basketball as a junior but returned this year and has been a key component, particularly on defense. The 6-5 Hutchinson also averages a double-double, Helder said.
"Those three are our leading scorers, leading us in about everything really," Helder said. "It's kind of a rare circumstance with a team losing their top nine or so players -- me being a new coach, too. If you look at us with our size, we have the ability to be pretty good. It's taken some time to figure out our roles.
"It's been extra hard on Josh. At least the other kids knew each other and went to school here."
But Bailey, who has always been home schooled, said the experience has been a good one.
"It's been excellent. I've enjoyed every minute of it," Bailey said.
He admitted it's been different though from playing basketball on a team with other home-school kids.
"It's different getting up and practicing every morning," Bailey said. "We usually practiced twice a week on my other team. I've adjusted to it, and I love it."
Clayton and Hutchinson agreed Bailey has been a big key to the team, but they also said there's been quite a bit of pressure on them to continue to the team's past success.
"He's a really good rebounder," Clayton said. "He's helped the team a lot."
"It's been real tough," Hutchinson said. "I think we've handled it pretty well though. Yeah, we wanted to show people we could do it. A lot of people were saying we weren't going to make it."
Helder said the Tigers, who finished third in the 3A-1 West Conference, are playing some of their best basketball of the season lately. West Fork used a big fourth quarter to knock off Lamar and qualify for the state tournament, then defeated 3A-1 West conference champion Cedarville for the second time in two weeks to reach the regional finals.
"We've definitely gotten better and better, and that's all I can ask as a coach," Helder said.
Sports on 03/04/2014