In almost every high school there is a team or an athlete who stands out from the rest. This year Smoky Hill’s boys basketball team went 16-7 during the regular season, and are 2-0 so far in the state playoffs putting them into the elite 8.  The team came into the season ranked number one in the state, which made their goal of winning a state championship an expectation.

The team had some unexpected losses this season in their league to teams like Grandview –  a team they believed they should’ve beaten, Cherokee Trail – a team they later beat by 30 points, and Overland – a team that took the win after Smoky Hill had a major breakdown late in the game.

The losses seemed to really affect the players. Senior John Harge posted on Snapchat after the Jan. 19 loss to Eaglecrest: “you guys don’t understand how much losing hurts me.”

Smoky Hill sports has only had a few award winning seasons. The players feel the pressure of the expectations.

“Sometimes I feel like people treat athletes as, like, they’re not people, and sometimes they forget that we as athletes have feelings too,” Harge said.

On the eve of going into the coliseum for the first time, junior Kenny Foster said, “ Usually most of the time I try not thinking about the game ahead, and when I do think about the game I try to think of it as one of the many many games that I’ve played and treat it as just another game and not a playoff game.”

The team has brought a lot of hope to Smoky Hill. Last time Smoky Hill had a team as successful as this one was in 2014 when Smoky Hill made it to the sweet 16 and lost by 4 to Arapahoe.

Last year Smoky had a chance to be in the same position as they are the is year, but they took a tough loss to Denver East in the sweet 16. “As an athlete on an elite and highly-ranked team, after losses I try not to listen to anybody besides my coach the next day,” sophomore Quinten Rock said.

The Buffs continue their State run tomorrow, Saturday, March 3, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. at the Denver Coliseum.