Ahead of the Class A&B Early Season Showdown, which kicks off tonight with a top-five matchup against Lincoln Pius X, the varsity girls basketball team had the opportunity to discuss the tournament and upcoming games live on Dec. 10 on 1620 the Zone’s “After Hours” radio segment.
Speaking live on the radio to hundreds or thousands of people for the first time can be scary, but the girls enjoyed the opportunity to speak their minds and promote their team.
“I’ve never done anything like that, so honestly, it was kind of nerve-racking, but it was fun,” senior Addison Larock said. “We have a lot of potential, and we added some big assets that we’re going to need to succeed.”
“After Hours” host Jimmie Allen frequently brings teams from around the metro to talk on air and share their stories with all who tune in.
“A lot of kids are doing things in the area to better the community and if they’re an athlete, sometimes they get swept under the rug,” Allen said.
Allen invited Head Coach Wade Coulter and three of the girls to do the show, but left it up to Coulter to decide which three to bring.
“Honestly, I just asked our four seniors,” Coulter said. “He [Allen] said I could have three.” He told the girls about the opportunity and said, “So, if you three want to do it, you get first crack, otherwise I’m going to go to the juniors.”
The seniors shut that down quickly as center Hailey Levinson, guards Karli Williams and Larock volunteered as “After Hours” tributes.
“I personally wanted to go, I thought it would be cool,” Williams said. “Sonora [Defini] doesn’t really like those interview situations, so she kind of opted out and let us go.”
On air, the girls and Coulter discussed their 2-0 start to the season and their thoughts heading into this weekend’s tournament where they may potentially play three games in a matter of 48 hours.
“Ironically enough, we are basically playing a state tournament the second week of the season,” Coulter said during the show. “Three of our next four opponents will probably be the top three teams in Class B: Bennington, Pius and Omaha Skutt.”
On a weekly basis, Allen typically brings in two to three teams to talk high school sports and promote their team. Talking with student-athletes about what goes on behind the scenes is one of the staples Allen loves about the show.
“I think a lot of times what gets lost is the people behind the athletes,” Allen said. “You always hear the saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a kid’, they [families] don’t often get the recognition they deserve.
Along with bringing athletes and coaches on the show for interviews, “After Hours” which runs from 6 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday except when the station airs live games, discusses all things sports from collegiate to pro and even entertainment sports, and given the matchups this weekend’s tournament have lined up, Allen and his crew will most likely be discussing Griffin girls basketball in the near future, especially with tonight’s game which tips off at 5:30.
“Well, you realize Pius came down to Class B and they’re one of the top five teams in A every year,” Coulter said. “Omaha Skutt brings back a loaded roster, Bennington’s only getting better, and that’s not to mention the rest of the EMC and probably five other teams I’m missing. Class B– the top half of it is, honestly, equally if not more competitive than Class A; let’s be real. So, the state title is what everybody’s gonna say [is the goal], but you can’t win the State tournament if you don’t get to the State Tournament, and if you don’t get better every day in the summer, in the preseason, in December– January, you can forget about March basketball.”
