By Mark Gregory
@Hear_The_Beard
Entering the Class 4A playoffs, there may not have been a team hotter than Bolingbrook.
The Raiders had won eight of nine games entering the postseason and nine of 10 heading into the finals of the Minooka Regional against the No. 1 seed and regional host Indians.
Minooka found a way to cool off Bolingbrook, defeating the Raiders 49-31 to end its hopes at a repeat trip to the state final four.
The win gave Minooka its second ever regional title and first since 1977.
“We work hard, we are tough and we have a lot of heart,” said Minooka coach Scott Tanaka.
That date has been reminded to the players all season.
“Coach has been talking to me about 1977 for four straight years and it feels better than I thought it would,” said senior Joe Butler.
The Indians did it the way they have all season, with defense, a slow-tempo offense and a group of players that are not basketball-first guys.
“They have bought in to being part of a basketball program,” Tanaka said. “At any point, any of them could have gone and focused on their other sport, but they have continued to do this and work hard for us over the summer. This team has a lot of heart.”
The fact that basketball is not the number one sport for a lot of players is exactly what kept them playing.
“Most of us aren’t basketball first players, we have one guy and that’s Larry (Roberts),” said Butler, who is headed to Illinois State University to play baseball. “We just love the game. Most of us have been playing together since fourth or fifth grade and we just love it. We can’t stop playing and it will be a sad day when this is over. It is in the back if my mind that my basketball career is almost over. I will miss playing this game with my brother and my best friends. The one thing I won’t miss are the injuries.”
Being multiple sports also is part of what helps Minooka succeed.
“Playing different sports and playing all year round helps you learn how to compete and learn how to win,” said Jon Butler. “Basketball will help us for that in baseball.”
Baseball has been put on hold for the Butler brothers as they lead the Indians through the basketball playoffs.
Joe led the team in scoring with 16 points, 12 in the first half, while Roberts added 11.
The Indians set the tone early getting out to a 10-0 run in the first four minutes of the game, a lead Bolingbrook could never recover from.
“That was big, it really set the tone. We just did what we do every day and when you do that, good things happen. We believe in it and we buy into it 100 percent,” Tanaka said.
In the regional opener, Minooka defeated Southwest Prairie foe Romeoville 51-46. Joe Butler led the Indians with 26 points, while Roberts added 11. The Spartans handed Minooka one of its two SPC losses during the season.
