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Murray • They got hosed. The upstart Murray Spartans, presumably one year ahead of schedule, had top-seeded Bountiful on the ropes after A.J. Hodges put his team ahead with three seconds remaining in the first round of the 2014-15 boys' Class 4A basketball tournament.
The Braves proceeded to inbound to Zac Seljaas, whose hand deflected the ball out of play as he was pressured, but instead officials mistakenly gave the ball back to the defending champs. Seljaas buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on the gifted possession to escape the upset en route to Bountiful's second straight title, while Murray was left devastated.
"It stung, but that shot has been a driving factor with how hard we've worked over the summer," said Zach Dickerson. "We're a different team this year. I think it brought us together."
The Spartans occasionally question the "what-ifs" of what transpired nine months ago, but the main focus is on the future. Murray was the surprise program in 2014. Now, with virtually the entire roster fully intact following the strong finish, the Spartans are in the discussion to win their first state championship since 1996.
"It was a good lesson for us that we learned more than once last year: Don't put it in [the officials'] hands and allow that to happen," said Murray coach Jason Workman. "There were some plays we could have made to make those calls a non-factor, and we didn't quite do it. I never filed a complaint; if [officials] screw up, I don't feel like I need to go after them with a personal vendetta. I let it go in the hopes that it's going to come back to us someday."
Workman said the loss was "less tragic" with the knowledge that every contributor still had eligibility remaining. Workman declined to specify names, but said he believes five players have potential to play at the next level.
"They already worked hard to be where they were, with a realistic shot of winning the whole thing last year," Workman said. "We felt it, but no one else knew it. We kind of proved it, and didn't get our shot. Those kids are the kind of group that took that the right way and put extra work in."
Hodges led the team in scoring last year, averaging 15 points per night. He's accompanied by James Walljasper (10.1 ppg, 3.7 apg), Dickerson (10 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Peyton Christman (9.3 ppg), Tyranny Pace, Nathan Page and Sunday Arok. Workman said "they're not even comparable to who they were last year" from a skillset and experience standpoint.
"We got to play every day like we're being hunted," Hodges said. "… No. 1 goal is to win a state championship. That's what all of us are looking for."
The Spartans are deprived of size, which is both an advantage and weakness. They'll rely heavily on hitting perimeter jumpers, pushing the tempo and defending passing lanes with active hands, but will need to compensate on the interior against taller, more powerful opponents.
"I look at it as an advantage because we're much faster than everyone," Walljasper said. "We're the best shooting team in the state. I feel like no one can stop us there. We'll struggle with big guys, but we're pretty good at guarding them."
Workman doesn't necessarily need to coach differently, but the motivation has changed. This group no longer has the luxury of sneaking up on opponents or using the underdog mentality. The stakes are raised.
"This year there will be a lot of reminding: Play hungry like you were. We can't play like we're the top dog," Workman explained. "We can beat anybody in the state, but we're the good team that can lose to some bottom-tier teams if we have that bad night."
Last season, as Workman stated, served as a learning lesson to not leave the fate of the season up to whistles of chance, because if it happens again this time around — it will be nothing but tragic for the program with such high expectations.
"State championship or nothing," Walljasper said.
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