Carroll gets big contributions from young players in semifinal win at McPherson
Carroll freshman Alex Littlejohn went for the basketball and felt a starting Class 6A left tackle crashing down on his hand.
He kept looking up at Lawrence Free State’s Jalan Robinson, who had at least 100 pounds on him. He wondered, “How am I gonna score on this guy?” And then he did.
Carroll beat the Firebirds 59-53 on Friday in the McPherson Invitiational Tournament semifinals, and the Eagles’ freshmen and sophomores accounted for more than 50 percent of the points. At halftime, it was at 70 percent. Coach Mike Domnick said even he didn’t expect his young players to play as well as they are.
“We only have one senior out there, and so as a coach, you kind of temper your enthusiasm, but I saw a lot of the shooting and a lot of the cutting that we do in our offense early on,” he said. “But I didn’t know how far we could take it. I didn’t know where we were gonna be. Right now, I have no limitations on this team.”
Carroll (7-4) has won seven of its past eight games and will play for the tournament championship against McPherson at 7 p.m. Saturday. Sophomore Tanner mans is one of the largest reasons.
Mans scored 18 points Friday, including a couple of pivotal buckets late. Mans’ production was a result of Carroll’s lone senior, Luke Evans. The Carroll senior finished one assist away from a triple-double against Derby in the quarterfinals, but he didn’t find his shooting stroke Friday with “quarter-sized blisters” on both his feet.
He sensed that early, he said and started to delegate the power. Evans was careful to pick his shots and became more of a distributor, letting the youth carry the load to the tournament final. Evans finished with four points.
Carroll has needed several young players to contribute this season after Clay Cundiff was injured late in the Eagles’ Class 5A championship football run. Littlejohn said he expected to be on junior varsity this season. Brenyn St. Vrain and Luke Larkin weren’t expected to earn many minutes with the varsity team. Tanner Mans helped last season but not the the extent he has this year.
Mans said when he saw Cundiff go down injured, he was worried the basketball team would suffer because of it.
“I was almost about to cry, honestly,” Mans said. “I knew we were gonna be really good with him, but I guess we’re good without him.”
Cundiff has been at almost every game for the Eagles this season, and though he isn’t listed on the Carroll roster for the McPherson Tournament, Littlejohn said Cundiff has been a huge asset.
“Every day, making me push 100 percent, making me give my all,” Littlejohn said. “He makes sure he tells me, ‘I’m there for you. Slow down.’ ”
Littlejohn was understandably “soft” to start the year. His torso is the width of his arm, making his 6-foot-3 frame look smaller than it is. He said it was a struggle to find his confidence, but when he did, he started to find success.
That has been the case for many of Carroll’s young players this season. Domnick said the turnaround after the slow start has been of no “special formula” or particular coaching. Although Evans interrupted Domnick’s postgame interview to tell the camera, “Coach Dom, City League Coach of the Year,” the Carroll coach said his players have just bought in.
“I’m speechless, really I am,” Domnick said. “I’m just enjoying the ride they’re taking me on.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Carroll gets big contributions from young players in semifinal win at McPherson."