Past champs help prepare 2009 squad

Ten years after capturing the Class AAAA state championship, several of the 1999 Williamsport Millionaires are still helping the program flourish.

In the days leading up to Williamsport's second round state tournament game against Chester, those players who led Williamsport to the 1999 state title, along with some from the 95 state runners-up, did their best to help the current Millionaires reach high school's summit. Then Williamsport went out and did their predecessors proud, breaking open a close game in the fourth quarter and dethroning the defending state champions, 62-49.

"Playing against those guys (Williamsport alumni) made us go out stronger," Williamsport guard Darryl Worthy said. "We practiced stronger than we usually do and that helped us out."

Once a Millionaire always a Millionaire.

Williamsport has created one of the state's premier basketball traditions and right now it is flourishing as the Millionaires find themselves three wins from capturing their first state title since 1999. Williamsport (23-3) tries taking the next step toward a possible state championship Saturday at Pottsville's Martz Hall when it meets Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

And anyone who doubts how much basketball means to the Williamsport community will be silenced Saturday when he or she looks at the sea of Red and White embarking on Martz Hall. The Millionaires have been playing in front of raucous crowds throughout the postseason and fed off that energy Wednesday when they rallied from a two-point halftime deficit and became the first Eastern Region team to defeat Chester in states since 2006.

That's the way it is in Williamsport. Alum or student, young or old, the passion for those who wear the Cherry and White or who support those colors never fades.

"These guys (former players) are coming in and sharing some knowledge and wisdom and some of their experiences and giving them words of encouragement to get them fired up to go out there and play," coach Allen Taylor, a 1989 Williamsport graduate, said. "Most of those guys were sitting together at the game at Pottsville and it's great. It's just like old times when the '84 team used to come in and work out and tell us about some of their experiences. Then you have the Williamsport community behind you, especially the student body the way it has been and it's a lot of added incentive as well, especially for the players because it gets them excited."

There has been plenty to be excited about too because Taylor is right. It is like old times.

The Millionaires reached the state quarterfinals four straight years from 1999-2002, but then did not return to states until last year. Williamsport nearly upset Chester in the first round a year ago and returned all its starters while receiving a big boost from a talented bench this season. Put it all together and the Millionaires have their best record since 2001 and have a chance to do something only the 1984 and '99 teams have done-win a state championship.

As the wins have increased so have the fans. Now the Millionaires are packing the biggest of high school gyms and are showing fans of all ages how fun their brand of basketball can be when they are playing at a high level.

"Every time we see people in the community everyone is excited," valuable reserve Keith Haynes said after the district championship win over Hazleton. "They are getting us pumped up."

The results speak for themselves. Williamsport played one of its best games this season in the first round of states, pounding Cedar Cliff 87-58. And while the Chester win was not as pretty, it might have been more impressive simply because of how the Millionaires won.

Williamsport played one of its worst halves in the opening two quarters and was on the short end of a 21-19 halftime deficit. But at halftime, there was no panic, no finger-pointing. The Millionaires know what they are capable of and they simply went out and played the way they know how in the second half as Worthy hit a buzzer-beating third-quarter 3-pointer that served as a catalyst for an outstanding fourth quarter in which Williamsport outscored the Clippers, 25-14.

As has been the case throughout the season, several different players made big shots and key plays as the Millionaires kept alive their passionate quest for the Bryce Jordan Center. When Williamsport won state titles in 1984 and '99 it was the same way. The Millionaires had some tremendously talented players, but they also were deep and diverse.

It appears the more things change, the more they stay the same and this Williamsport team is trying to replicate that winning formula. It is no coincidence either because these Millionaires are coached by three men who know all about winning Williamsport basketball. Taylor, Demarr Wright and Jeremiah Washington combined for six district championships and Washington was on the '99 state championship team.

"It's great to be a part of this," Worthy said. "We have a good tradition with good fans and you see the student crowd is always big. We've been playing together since the seventh and eighth grade and people just know who we are because everyone follows the team."

Now they are hoping to follow them for three more games. Martz Hall will be rocking Saturday and what the Millionaires have learned is that they are not just playing for themselves when they take the court in front of those enthusiastic fans. The players are simply an extension of the community.

Players, coaches, fans...they are all Millionaires. They are all in this together.

"It makes a difference when you hear about it but you don't actually get to experience it. But now they're actually experiencing it and they're seeing what we we're talking about. They are going out there and playing with a lot more pride than we've played with in the past," Taylor said. "Now they understand this game isn't about them, it's about the community. They're playing for that name on the jersey and they're going out there and finding ways to win. They are battling when they get down and just persevering and showing that resilience."

And playing like true Millionaires.