Jared Karner and Phil Schiffler are heading into new territory.
Karner, Ida’s boys basketball coach, and Summerfield’s Schiffler will coach in a regional tournament for the first time Tuesday.
Perhaps they could turn to Jordan Bollin for advice.
Bollin guided Whiteford to a district title Friday night.
He previously took Division 2 Dundee and Division 1 Bedford to regionals. This year he will try Division 3.
What advice would he have for Karner and Schiffler.
“Don’t rely on shot making,” Bollin said. “Shots get tougher to make the farther you get in the tournament. The rims seem to narrow. The defense gets ramped up and the nerves get ramped up.”
Bollin says teams that are able to score inside, play defense and rebound do the best in the state tournament.
“I ran into Phil the other night and he said he feels like he is playing with house money,” Bollin said. “In a lot of ways the pressure is off after you win a district. At least you know you got something from the work you put in.”
A preview of the regionals for Ida, Whiteford and Summerfield follows. All of the championship games will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday except Ida’s, which tips off at 6.
Ida found its way to the right side of the draw.
The Blue Streaks will put their 17-7 record on the line at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Redford Westfield (9-13).
The other semifinal that follows that night is a heavyweight battle featuring No. 1 Summit Academy (23-1) taking on No. 9 Dearborn Divine Child (22-2).
“Nothing is easy at this point, but the two quote-unquote favorites are on the other side,” Karner said. “Win or lose, we are looking forward to watching that second game.”
What will it take to win the first game?
“We have to continue to play the way we have been playing,” Karner said. “We have so many seniors. We have a lot of experience. We’ll need that to handle the pressure. Redford is very athletic and lanky.”
None of Ida’s players has ever made it to a regional basketball game before, but they know the pressures of the state tournament.”
“Most of our kids have made it past districts in football and baseball,” Karner said.
Whiteford faces its toughest task first.
The 21-3 Bobcats will take on No. 8 Onsted (22-2) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“They are kind of like us,” Bollin said. “It’s like mirror images of each other. They play very good defense.”
Onsted will have a size advantage.
“The go 6-8, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0,” Bollin said. “It will come down to keeping them off the glass and being able to generate offense in the half court. It could be a 30-30 game.”
The other side of the bracket features Jonesville (18-6) and Ecorse (18-5). Former Dundee coach Jeff Turner leads Jonesville.
“I expect Ecorse to get through that one, but either one those teams will be a lot less physically imposing than Onsted.”
Whiteford is a veteran team with seven seniors.
“The most important thing is this is the most unselfish team I’ve had,” Bollin said. “It’s a lot like the team I had that one year at Bedford. They really don’t care who scores.
“And they are smart. They are able to get in and out of things really quickly. I didn’t expect this much success, but I am blown away with how they are able to get in and out of things so quickly.”
Summerfield is the only team in this regional which hasn’t reached 20 wins this season.
Two state-ranked teams – No. 10 Hillsdale Academy (22-2) and No. 7 Concord (20-4) get things started at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The second semifinal features 17-7 Summerfield against 20-3 Webberville.
“I would say that Concord is the favorite in our region, but Hillsdale Academy and Webberville also are very good, which is expected at this spot of the tournament,” Schiffler said.
Just getting to the regional was a big step for Summerfield.
“I am very ecstatic, specifically because we had such an inexperienced roster heading into this season, returning only two kids with varsity experience from last year,” Schiffler said. “Our boys just need to play loose and enjoy this experience, enjoy the opportunity that presented in front of them.”
DIVISION 2 AT DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Tuesday semifinals
Ida (17-7) vs. Redford Westfield (9-13), 5:30 p.m.
Dearborn Divine Child (22-2) vs. Summit Academy (23-1), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s finals
6 p.m.
DIVISION 3 AT CLINTON
Tuesday semifinals
Whiteford (21-3) vs. Onsted (22-2), 5:30 p.m.
Jonesville (18-6) vs. Ecorse (18-5), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s finals
7 p.m.
DIVISION 4 AT CONCORD
Tuesday semifinals
Hillsdale Academy (22-2) vs. Concord (20-4), 5:30 p.m.
Summerfield (17-7) vs. Webberville (20-3), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s finals
7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: State-title quests continue for Ida, Whiteford, Summerfield boys
