Superior starting five lead Bobcats to victory

SUPERIOR – At the start of every Superior home game, the announcer called Clint Voll, Tanner Smith, Tucker Smith, Jarrod Tippens and Wyatt Zylawy as the starting lineup of the Superior Bobcats. According to Head Coach Chris Toivenen, the starting five were the strongest players of the season and the source of the Bobcat’s 24-0 season.

“It’s almost impossible to pick one without the others,” Toivenen said.

With the season over, the guys had some time to reflect on what happened over the last four months.

Throughout the season, one of the team’s biggest strengths was also a flaw – the use of their strongest plays. The seniors explained throughout the season the team used strong defensive tactics to win the games. According to Tippens, the team was taken off guard when opposing teams came out with methods to fight against their guards.

“I didn’t know what to do when I couldn’t do the same things we could do in other games,” Tippens said. “It was pretty frustrating.”

Tanner agreed and said they were used to everything working against the teams they had faced in most of their previous games. As they went through the season, other teams began to figure out the Bobcat’s strategies and tried different ways to break them. This eventually paid off as teams in the Class C Divisional Tournament and State Championship made Superior fight for their victories.

For Voll, the season’s outcome started out with a pretty good ending. He said he set himself a goal at the start of the season: if the team made it to state, he would be satisfied with his senior year season. However, when the moment came and the Bobcats were not in the championship game, he was filled with remorse for not going all the way.

“When we lost in the semis, I knew that we should be [in the final round],” Voll said. “But it ended and that’s all we can do about it, I guess.”

Tanner was a little disappointed by the outcome of the season as well. He thought they had the same level of talent as any of the other teams in the State Tournament and should have been able to beat the opposition.

Tippens felt differences in the athletic strength of the teams might have been the clincher. He said the teams on the eastern end of the state were bigger and played with different styles than schools in the west. This would only add to the nerves before each match.

Going into games, the pressure would hit the guys and stage fright would threaten to set in. Each of the starting five had different ways of responding. For Voll, it was not much of a problem. He said he was usually fairly confident going into games. While it depended on the team the guys were facing, he was usually ready to face the other team.

Tanner admitted he got nervous for some of the games. It never got to him and he pushed the feelings down as he prepared for what was to come. He knew the coach had prepared them properly and if they did as he had taught them, they would do well.

Tippens said he was usually nervous going onto the court as well. He would feel pressure from the people with high hopes for the team. He was able to swallow the nerves and keep confidence in the team’s ability.

The guys had a hard time with the final game of the season. The team’s final defeat came at the hands of the Wibaux Longhorns. Most of the starting five were also on the football team this year, where they were also defeated by Wibaux during playoffs.

For Tanner, this has led to some resentment toward the Longhorns. He said it was rough for them to have been beaten by Wibaux twice, especially since he felt they could have won in basketball.

“There’s definitely some hatred there for Wibaux,” Tanner said. “I know we should have beat them at basketball.”

The Bobcat’s season was unquestionably a major victory for the school. According to Voll, Superior has not seen an undefeated season for approximately 50 years. Even though it ended at the final round, he felt it was a big accomplishment to put under their belts.

The three guys hope their efforts on the court inspired their younger teammates to push for victories as they continue. Tanner hoped the younger players would be inspired to come out strong and play every game as though it were their last.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s regular season or tournament time, you’ve got to come out and you’ve got to play,” Tanner said. “I feel like we did that. We just had our ups and downs in the State Tournament and that’s what got us.”

He also hoped their accomplishments would raise the bar for next year’s players. Voll felt the younger players would do well if they brought the work ethic the starting five had this year. Looking forward to next year, the Bobcats were already in a good place.

The seniors saw how well the underclassmen performed during the season. According to Tanner, if they keep up the strong pace through the summer to next season, Superior will have a very strong team once the younger students are juniors and seniors.

They did want to give some advice to the players continuing on after this year. The seniors agreed one key was to listen to the coach during practices and games. They also said the underclassmen should work hard every day and try to outdo themselves by pressing their boundaries.

“You don’t want any regrets at the end of the season,” Tanner said. “You don’t want to leave any stones unturned. You want to be the best you can be and carry the team as far as they can go.”