Fueled by past heartbreak, Carroll boys basketball team on another state title run
The memories still haunt three of the seniors on the Bishop Carroll boys basketball team.
Seasons they believed were destined for state championship endings cut short unceremoniously. A 13-point, fourth quarter lead in the state semifinals? Basehor-Linwood rallied to win by one. A seven-point lead with 25 seconds left in a sub-state title game? Andover Central hit a game-winner to end Carroll’s perfect season.
“I just remember how bad I felt right after those games,” Carroll’s Alex Littlejohn said. “Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and just knowing that we could have stopped in. That really hurt.”
That pain has been the fuel of another state title run this season by Carroll, which has won 17 straight games heading into Tuesday’s Class 5A quarterfinal at Maize (20-2) for the right to return to White Auditorium in Emporia for the state tournament.
While the formula has once again been on a group of players buying into their roles, there’s no mistaking that Littlejohn, Enrique Lankford and Carter Reid — the three seniors who have experienced the last two years of heartbreak — are the heart and soul of this Carroll team.
“They talk about it all the time,” Carroll coach Mike Domnick said. “They have a refuse-to-lose mentality about them this season because they know what it’s like to be on the losing end of an important game. It’s something that’s very calming as a coach because my best players are my hardest workers and they’re just so dialed in this season.”
That intensity has carried over to the defensive end, where Carroll has become the best defensive team in Class 5A. Carroll (19-2) has held opponents to an average of 40.1 points this season. That figure drops to 37.6 points per game with Littlejohn, the team’s best defender who missed two games (both Carroll losses) early in the season, in the lineup.
Carroll’s defense has been downright scary in the postseason. The Golden Eagles held a 14-win Arkansas City team to 33 points, then followed that up by bottling up one of the most potent offenses in the state in a 53-34 win over Andover in last weekend’s sub-state title game.
“I think it’s because we’re all bought in,” said Littlejohn, who averages 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks. “We all want to win so bad. We help each other out on the defensive end and we bring the energy you need to play good defense. We’re not just out there playing defense just to play.”
“Coach Dom has three main principles he keeps pounding in our heads,” Reid said. “That’s deflections, taking charges and boxing out. Those are the big three things we do. Those are little things but they are a huge factor in us winning games and holding good teams like Andover to low points.”
That tenacity on the defensive end allows Carroll to pretty much switch freely on all screens, which takes away passing angles and driving angles that teams are accustomed to finding in games. As is Carroll tradition, this team is also adept at taking charges, which discourages teams from driving to the rim.
While Littlejohn (6-foot-5) is actually the biggest player for Carroll, it’s 6-1 senior Preston Rottinghaus who led the City League this season with 2.5 blocks per game.
On the offensive end, Carroll is difficult to guard because the team shares the ball (14.5 assists) and has several weapons. Lankford (13.5 points) and Reid (11.6 points) are both sharpshooters and form with Littlejohn as one of the state’s best trios. The team’s top six scorers are all seniors, as that trio is followed by Rottinghaus (6.4), Will Biby (5.3) and Stephen Nguyen (4.1).
“Most of us seniors have known each other since we were little and played with each other growing up,” Reid said. “We’ve always had a special connection. Now that we’re back here again, we want to take it all the way. It’s a very special feeling playing with these guys and I’m glad I get to share it with my brothers.”
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
Class 6A girls
Derby (18-4) at Dodge City (20-1)
Wichita Heights (16-6) at Topeka (21-1)
Olathe North (15-6) at Olathe West (14-5)
Blue Valley (16-6) at Shawnee Mission Northwest (20-0)
Class 5A boys
Topeka West (19-2) at Hays (22-0)
Bishop Carroll (19-2) at Maize (20-2)
Pittsburg (15-6) at De Soto (18-3)
Mill Valley (11-11) at Kansas City Washington (9-4)
Class 4A girls
McPherson (19-3) at Clay Center (21-0)
Clearwater (15-6) at Andale (17-5)
Wamego (16-6) at Bishop Miege (20-1)
Louisburg (18-4) at Labette County (19-2)
Class 3A boys
Thomas More Prep (20-4) at Hugoton (21-2)
Wichita Trinity Academy (18-3) at Hesston (20-1)
Royal Valley (20-3) at Rock Creek (21-2)
Wellsville (20-3) at Galena (21-2)
Class 2A girls
WaKeeney-Trego (20-3) at Sterling (22-1)
Garden Plain (16-5) at Moundridge (18-5)
Berean Academy (16-6) at Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (17-3)
Wabaunsee (9-14) at Valley Heights (20-1)
Class 1A-Div. I boys
Stockton (10-11) at Ness City (16-7)
Pratt Skyline (15-6) at South Gray (22-0)
Clifton-Clyde (20-2) at Little River (21-1)
Olpe (15-3) at Wichita Classical (18-3)
Class 1A-Div. II boys
Pawnee Heights (13-9) at South Haven (15-6)
Northern Valley (13-9) at Wheatland-Grinnell (15-6)
St. John’s-Tipton (12-7) at Hanover (21-1)
Waverly (12-9) at Elyria Christian (14-9)
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 3:16 PM.
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