Greg Oden and the Wildcats Draw Closer to State-Record Winning Streak
Should Lawrence North finish without a loss, it would tie Attucks' 45 in a row
By Jeff Rabjohns
It's getting to the point where Lawrence North's biggest basketball test might come from history.
With a 69-38 victory at Warren Central on Tuesday night, the Wildcats ran their record to 15-0 and pushed their winning streak to 31 games.
They have seven regular-season games left and possibly seven in the postseason. If they run the table and finish with an unbeaten state championship, their winning streak will be 45, matching the state record set by legendary Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks from 1954-55 through 1955-56.
"I didn't even know the winning streak we had going," said senior point guard Mike Conley, who scored 21 points in 22 minutes Tuesday. "Now that you mention it, it would be an honor to be mentioned with those great basketball players and be a part of Indiana history. But we're just worried about one game at a time and winning a state championship rather than a winning streak."
History has become part of the discussion surrounding Lawrence North because it has been so dominant. The Wildcats are winning by an average of 24.7 points; no team has come closer than 13 points. If nothing else, Lawrence North's run has made Attucks' winning streak part of the conversation.
"That's an honor," said senior center Greg Oden, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes. "We've still got however many games left, and we are going to take it one game at a time, play our hardest and hopefully win another state championship.
"We know we can't look that far ahead because every team is going to come at us hard."
As the two-time defending Class 4A champs, the Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated, take the best shot from every opponent. Another state title would tie them with Franklin (1920-22) and Marion (1985-87) as the only schools with three consecutive state championships.
"They don't even know what you're talking about, probably, although they did meet Oscar once," Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer said of Attucks' record. "We just don't talk in those terms. We talk about what we did to get back on defense better, what we did to block out better.
"I guess I'm like (Colts coach Tony) Dungy: I go for what's next in line. You've got to play every game to win, every game to do your best."
Lawrence North already has beaten the two teams, North Central and Pike, commonly viewed as the most legitimate threats. The Wildcats handled North Central 78-55 and 78-59 and beat Pike 73-60. The victory over Pike is as close as any team has come to the Wildcats this season.
With Greg Oden, the national high school Player of the Year, and Conley, one of the nation's top-ranked point guards, and a number of other athletic players, Lawrence North has become a stellar defensive team. They're holding opponents to 32 percent shooting. Warren Central, an above-average team with an 11-3 record, shot just 25 percent.
Conley said the senior class has learned, from two previous state championship seasons that each included two losses, that a lack of focus can quickly mean a loss.
"A lot of us have started varsity since our freshman year. We were on those teams that were 24-2 and 29-2," Conley said. "How we lost those four games was letdowns."
Against Warren Central, the Wildcats led by 22 points, 27-5, at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors tried to get it going from 3-point range but hit just 1-of-18 long-range shots.
Greg Oden started the second half with 11 of his team's first 15 points, including three dunks. The Wildcats' lead reached 47-17 on Conley's offensive rebound basket with 3:57 to play in the third quarter.
Warren Central sophomore Walter Offutt, headed to Ohio State as are Greg Oden and Conley, had 10 points and five rebounds.
