PHILADELPHIA - Sheldon Mayer smiled and considered the question for just a moment.
Did he honestly think this year’s Norristown squad had a chance to return to the District One AAAA title game this year?
“I thought it could happen, but I never look down the line,” the Eagles’ speedy point guard said. “But as the season started going on and we started picking up, I could see us getting back there again.”
And sure enough, they have.
The ninth-seeded Eagles have a potential date with destiny on Friday night when they take on third-seeded Penn Wood under the bright lights at Villanova University’s DuPont Pavilion in a battle for a district crown on Friday night (9 p.m.).
“Besides last year going to the state and district finals – it feels good again,” Mayer said. “Our goals are set in front of us, and it feels real good.”
Teammate James Ramsey echoed those sentiments.
“It feels real good,” he said. “You don’t get this all the time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go back to districts. We have to treasure it and go out and play hard against Penn Wood.”
Norristown’s journey to the title game was not without its obstacles – the Eagles had to defeat the tournament’s top-seeded team, defending state champion Chester, and then there was the not so little matter of upending a Pennsbury squad ranked first in the state in The Patriot News of Harrisburgpoll.
Norristown took care of business, downing Chester in a thriller 61-59 and following that with a 60-53 win over Pennsbury. Along the way, they effectively silenced their critics who said they were a one-man team.
“We have to let everyone know we’re not the Khalif Wyatt Show,’” Norristown coach Mike Evans said. “He trusts his teammates, and when we play together, we can do good things.”
Ramsey added, “From day one, everyone said, ‘Norristown only has Wyatt. Norristown only has Wyatt,’ and we’re tired of that. We just have to step up. That’s all it is. “Every game somebody different steps up with Khalif. It’s not only Khalif. We just have to help him. He can’t do it all.”
That being said, there’s no mistaking that Wyatt is the undisputed star of the Eagles. The senior guard with the silky smooth jumper is money with the ball in his hands. He doesn’t force shots, and he’ll happily defer to his teammates.
Just as he did in Norristown’s semifinal win over Pennsbury.
Wyatt didn’t score a point in the first quarter, but the Eagles had an 18-11 lead. Lorenzo Christmas, outstanding in a supporting role all season, had eight points – including a pair of treys. Ramsey had five – which also included a trey, and Mayer added a three-point bucket.
The crafty point guard also had four rebounds and a blocked shot, stuffing a shot by Pennsbury’s 6-3 center Tom Marcinkowski and coming up with the ball – a play that resulted in a Ramsey field goal.
“The starting five has to play big, but we’re not out there alone,” Mayer said. “We’re going to have to rely on our bench, and they came up big.”
Tom Smith came off the bench to score eight second-half points for the Eagles.
“They all play their roles,” Wyatt said. “They do everything they’re supposed to do offensively and defensively, and on nights when I’m not shooting the ball well, they pick me up.
“Tonight it was just a total team effort on offense and defense.”
A play that typified the Eagles’ effort came midway through the final quarter with the Falcons trying to claw their way back into the game. Ramsey had the ball stolen near midcourt by Eddie DiRugeris, but instead of quitting on the play and conceding a layup, he came out of nowhere to not only block the shot but then somehow saved the ball from going over the end line, giving the Eagles possession.
“We talk about it – when we make bad plays, we go straight to the next play,” Wyatt said. “He went straight to the next play, and the next play was on defense. He made a great play on Eddie.“That sparked us because if they had gotten that, they might have made a little run. That was big.”
Those plays – sometimes lost in the shuffle of big wins - are the trademarks of a champion.
“It’s just heart and determination,” Evans said. “They’ll make a mistake, but they’ll come back and correct it with hustle.
“You work hard, you make a mistake, but you keep working hard.”
Through hard work, the Eagles find themselves in a spot few gave them a prayer of attaining.
“Nobody gave us a chance,” Evans said. “They said we were too small.
“These guys stick together, they play good together, and they work hard every day at practice.”
And as a result, they have silenced their critics for once and for all.
“From the offseason, we knew everybody was going to doubt us, but we have goals, and one of our goals was to get back to the district championship,” Ramsey said. “Ever since the offseason, we just worked hard – hard work at practice, hard work in the weight room.
“It was just a lot of hard work, and as you can see, it paid off. We’re back in the championship game.”
“We knew it was going to be very, very hard to live up to last year, but being back is just unbelievable,” Wyatt said. “It means everything.
“Coming into districts playoffs, all 32 teams want to be where we are on Friday. Only two teams are there, and we’re one of them. It’s a blessing.”
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