Abel Hutchinson admits the regular season was a big disappointment for the Bentonville Tigers.
The postseason has been the exact opposite.
Heading into the season, expectations were high for a Bentonville team that went unbeaten in the 6A-West last season and advanced to Class 6A state semifinals. The Tigers had every starter returning, so another run to a conference title should have been automatic, right?
Nope. The Tigers stumped their toe in their first conference game, a 56-44 drubbing by Springdale Har-Ber. Twice in league play, Bentonville (22-8) dropped back-to-back conference games and ultimately finished as the No. 3 seed for the state tournament.
"We were definitely disappointed, especially since we went 14-0 last season," the 6-4 senior said. "But Coach is always reminding us that it doesn't matter how you played back then, it's how you're playing now. So we just kept focusing on playing our best when it matters."
The Tigers have done just that. They will carry a six-game winning streak into today's 7:45 p.m. clash with No. 1 North Little Rock at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs in the Class 6A championship game. Bentonville closed the regular season with three straight wins, then crushed its three state tournament opponents by an average of 25 points per game to reach the championship game.
North Little Rock is a team many in the state believe is the best boys team since the West Memphis juggernaut from the late 1970s and early 19080s led by Keith Lee and Michael Cage. The Charging Wildcats feature two McDonald All-Americans in Nick Smith, a University of Arkansas signee, and 7-foot Kel'el Ware, who has signed with the University of Oregon.
"There's not many people in the state of Arkansas that thinks Bentonville can go in there and even compete with North Little Rock," Tigers Coach Dick Rippee said. "And that's a credit to Johnny [Rice] and his team. They are outstanding and they've had an outstanding year. We feel like we're playing our best basketball right now and we're going to be loose.
"Sometimes, teams make the mistake of looking for this one moment, then when the moment gets there, we can't allow it to be too big. We've got got to go enjoy it and do what we do."
Hutchinson, the grandson of Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, plays a variety of roles for the Tigers. He is often asked to guard multiple positions including point guard. During the regular season, Hutchinson averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds. He is still hopeful to play collegiately, but also said he'd be happy to enroll at the University of Arkansas, where he plans to major in engineering.
Hutchinson said having a famous grandfather is not something he thinks a lot about.
"To me, he's just grandad," Abel said. "We've always been close and he's supported me and my brother in basketball."
Asa Hutchinson is an admitted gym rat himself and regularly plays lunchtime hoops when he can. Abel said he hasn't gone head-to-head much against his grandad, but added he wouldn't cut the governor any slack on the court or driveway.
"He would tell you his jumpshot is better," Abel said. "I think he knows the game of basketball pretty well, but I'm definitely more skilled and athletic."