Hartland girls basketball coach Don Palmer didn’t know a whole lot about his team’s first-round opponent in the KLAA tournament, but he was doing his best on Sunday.
“I was able to watch a tape this morning on one of their recent games,” Palmer said. “It was a pretty close game. They seem to be very athletic and they have some pretty good basketball players, so it should be a very good matchup.”
The Eagles (17-1) take on the Tigers (13-5) at Hartland tonight in the championship semifinals.
The game will be broadcast by The Livingston Post, starting at around 7 p.m. Click here for the link.
it’s going to be all tests for the Eagles from here on out. Depending on how things work out tonight, they will play at Wayne Memorial (16-1) or home against Howell on Thursday, then take on a strong Linden team in the district semifinals next week and possibly face Howell in the district final at Howell a week from Friday.
“Win or lose, if we’re competitive it should help us down the road,” Palmer said. “I believe (Belleville) is solid. They’re 13-5 and two of those losses are to Wayne, so they’re having a good year.”
Playing for a league title creates a postseason atmosphere after spending the last two months working on getting a share of the West Division title, which the Eagles shared with howell this year.
“Our emphasis the last couple of weeks has been on the West,” he said. “We tied with Howell and I’m pleased we did that. Howell did a great job, and I thought we did a great job after they beat us. But they’re young kids, We had Plymouth and Canton at the end of the (KLAA) season and I know everyone says we should win those games easily, but you didn’t want to stumble.
“Maybe we’ll be flat,” he continued. “It;s just hard to tell. Then you’ve got the districts on the horizon, and I just think that’s a lot on their plates. On everyone’s plate. It’s just a fun time of year, but most pressure is self-induced, and if it’s not induced by them, I induce it.”
Much of Palmers pessimism can be summed up in a saying a former player coined: “Players play, and coaches worry.” It seems unlikely the eagles won’t be motivated, with nine seniors wanting to go out on the highest note possible, but then, as Palmer wall knows, things sometimes happen.
And, for all the talk and speculation, the game is still played on the floor, and Palmer is expecting quite a show.
“I think it’s going to be an up-and-=down game,” he said. “Belleville’s going to press and we’re going to attack their pressure and we’re going to try to score in transition if we rebound well. And so I think it’s going to be a fun game.”
In the end, it is a regular-season game, meaning win or lose the season won’t be over for either team.
“If we match up with Wayne Memorial or if we match up with Howell, we’re going to have another great opponent,” Palmer said. “I think this is a good week for us to get better. We could sweep or go 1-1, but we should be able to get better going into district play.”
The top two teams in the East and West compete for the KLAA title. The top seed in each division plays the No. 2 seed in the other division tonight. Should Hartland and Howell both win or both lose, they would play at Hartland on Thursday. If Hartland and Wayne win, the championship game between the teams would be at Wayne for the second consecutive season.
