Ant Atkinson: Wilson Prep overcame several challenges en route to state championship appearance
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Wilson Prep boys basketball coach Ant Atkinson explained how his team's road to the state finals included just a four-game regular season, a bout with COVID-19, and tough games in the playoffs.
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mhm coach. How does it feel to have Wilson prep and the first state championship game for the basketball program there at the school? It feels good. It feels good. Um, it feels it's a blessing, because this is one of the reasons I came home after playing 12 years with the Globetrotters. I had 12 great years traveling on the road. And, you know, I felt like there was something else that I want to do with my life. And, you know, I'm a big, you know, praying. Just wait guy and just seeing, uh, what I was gonna do for me and opened up. He opened up the door here, Wilson Prep. And in my first meeting with the head of school and administrators, I told him I wanted to build a program where we can compete and win the state championship. And here we are in my second year, playing for a state championship on Saturday. I feel pretty good about it. This has been kind of a different season for lots of different reasons. Obviously, um, you know, obviously everybody's dealing with covid and all the restrictions and protocols in place for that, but you guys had a different, even more different season. You know, everybody was allowed to play 14 regular season games. You guys only got to play four. You play Greenfield twice, Uh, edge come twice, North Edge come and will suppress the only teams in your conference to feel that boys basketball teams this year. I mean, how was that? How did you handle that? That's that's not easy to play four regular season games and make a run to a state championship. It was tough, and at times it still is stuff because our guys are still learning each other. You know, I told somebody I think it was a report the other night. Here we are about to play a state championship game, and it's gonna be our ninth game. We're not gonna reach double digits and games, and, um, but our guys have responded well, you know, at first three games, got council because the other team got covid. And then, um you know, we play Greenfield twice, and then we got hit with covid. So we had to sit two weeks out. So it was just like a whirlwind and, you know, it just felt like it wasn't gonna happen, But I think you know us going through the Covid situation for two weeks and sitting out. I think it made us appreciate the time and appreciate the game or because we missed it. And we miss being on the court practicing. And I have nine seniors and we were in a group chat with my team and they said everything we've been through this year with all the covid, all the, you know, the season being reduced and everything like that. Let's just go win it. And they've come back from the, uh, covid experience and they've been strong. They've been leading and we've been playing great basketball. And the crazy thing is, we're still learning one another. You know, you still we're still we're playing teams have played 16 games, 14 games, 12 games. We've only played six or 7 to 8, and I'm proud of our guys. They're locked down right now and looking forward to, uh, you know, going out there and getting a win on Saturday and the two you started with those two Greenfield games. Greenfield beat you guys both times, so to go from losing, opening with two straight losses into a covid quarantine. I mean, how does that sit with you? Is that coach? Well, I had to sit there and watch. Family was losing for two straight weeks, so it wasn't really good. But like I said, I think it woke us up. Greenfield is a great program with the top private school programs in the state when the top programs period in the state. And that's actually where I went to school in high school. That with my coach, Rob Salter, and playing them was very good for us because we played some high level competition and we played a playoff team that's been there before. The state championship team has been there before, so it helped our guys in, you know, preparing now because they know what to do and what not to do. And, um, but to sit there for two weeks and just, you know, just well on those losses, uh, it wasn't good. It wasn't fun at all, But I learned a lot about our team watching film, and they learned a lot about each other. Like I said before, it just really made us appreciate the game or and just want to get back out there and do the best thing best. We could make a run deep in the playoffs. When you look at the playoff run that you guys have made so far, you've had some pretty convincing wins. The Riverside game was obviously close for a time there. Um what? What have you guys learned through the course of this playoff run about this team, how tough we are. We've learned how tough we are and how how great of a defensive team we can be when we lock in and out on our opponents. And I think we've also learned, you know, paces everything for us. We have a lot of long athletic guys and we want to get up and down the floor. And, like I said, I got are still learning each other. They really are, and they're learning about me still as a coach. But it's coming. It's all coming together. And what I told him is, you know, every possession accounts that's been our model all year. Every possession counts. The biggest compliment I have for my team was last night. Reporter came to me and said, You know, there was a minute 14 left in the game. You guys pretty much had the game, you know, solidified as a win, he said. But you still have guys diving on the floor. That's the type of kid that's that's the way we coach. That's the way we play. We play, we make every possession count. But I'm proud of our guys, and we have had some pretty convincing wins. But we're a good team. We're a good team. And, uh, I guys, you know, felt that chip on the shoulder like we didn't get a lot of respect, that shit because of our schedule and things like that. But you know, these nine seniors, they want to leave a legacy here. They want to be the first to do it. And in our city of basketball. Team hasn't won, uh, championship of into a state championship since 1984. So it's not just about us and our program here. Wilson preppers about the whole city and how how big would it be for for the city Wilson and for the school, you know, fairly new school to to get this city championship? It would mean a lot. It would mean a lot, especially with everything that's been going on with the Covid. A lot of families have been hit hard, lost loved ones. And, like I told my guys when we came back off, I covid break. I told him. I said, You know, you guys are going to give people hope And, uh, that was one of the things that fans came in when that allowed fans to come back to the game. That's what they said. They said, Man, you guys are giving us hope. It's great for our city. It's great for the community and it's great for kids coming up because a lot of kids in our community look up to Some of these guys are playing on our team, so it's great, You know, that we can bring that hope back to our city and, you know, it shows people that you know, Wilson has talent here. I think the other night we have what, 10 11 college coaches at the game. Um, that's that's unheard of in this area besides being at Greenfield. So we're doing all weekend to make a name for ourselves and Wilson Prep, but we don't know we can as well to make a name for Wilson. You mentioned the length that you guys have. I mean, the size of your lineup is not something that you always see. Uh, on high school teams, Um, particularly one a level. How big of an advantage is that for? For your team. I think it's very huge because it's hard for people to match up with. And the good thing about it is without size and link our bigs and our forwards can guard guards. And that's what has changed the game for us. I think against these opponents that a lot of people picked, you know, for us to lose against, like a Henderson collegian, our forwards they could guard adjuvant wait, make a garden hoe *** Garda guard from Princeton, you know? So, um, it's been it's been huge for us. And as we've used to our advantage and we're gonna pound you inside and we're gonna we're gonna you know, where you down and we're gonna rebound the ball and we're gonna defend. You were gonna make every shot hard every possession. Like I said, it's gonna count. But every position for you is going to be difficult. And then the good thing about it. We have a lot of depth to, and when we come off the bench, we have more link coming off the bench, and that's a great thing to have, always, especially wearing these masks. I see other teams getting tired and I tell the guys said, You know, let's go to the second string and it's wearing down some more so you know we can hit you in waves But I link this one, something that really helps us defensively. Gonna handle a lot of balls in the passing lanes and it just creates a lot of havoc or what we call chaos for other teams in the game. The other thing about your team is you've got pretty balanced scoring. I mean, there's several guys that could go off on a given night. One thing I noticed looking at at Lincoln Charter and Wilson Prep. Um, you both have four guys in double figures. Another fifth guy who's right there at the 10 point per game. Mark. Uh, how how important is it to have a balanced attack? And then, on the flip side of that, how do you prepare for that when you're looking at a team like Lincoln Charter that has the same thing. Well, it's hard for people to prepare because you don't know who's going to go off on any given night. And the crazy thing about us is like you said, I'll tell you about the depth that we have, you know? Yeah, we have four or five guys, you know, double figures. But we have a couple of guys that can come off the bench and give us W figures as well. And that's a great thing. And it's very hard to people prepare against because, you know, some people say, Oh, they're gonna go inside Then you have, You know, a guy like Adrian Land that can hit 67 threes in the game you ever got like Christian Battle that could take over the game of Mariana Johnson. Now, as blacks and Edwin Devin Bullock, Uh, they didn't suddenly moved into the starting lineup last game as a freshman, he had a great game right at double figures. So you have people like that that can come in and, um, you know, change change the game at any given point at any point in time. But to scout against their or to, you know, look at Lincoln chart on what we watched is, Yeah, they do have a lot of people that, you know, score the basketball, but they have two main guys that they want to get the ball to, and everything runs through them. And, um, you know, our guys are locked in on that, but it's very It's very hard to, you know, scout against. But, you know, like like we teach our guys. We play principle and we play defense the way we can play, make every shot hard. You know they're going to make some tough shots because they're good basketball players. But we can just make every shot hard and contest and rebound the basketball. It's gonna be hard for anybody to beat us on any Given like and Lincoln Charters won a state championship before I think it's 2017. They still heights. Is that an advantage for that program to have been here before? Uh, you know, yes and no, because they've been there before, But what they don't realize is myself. As a coach, I've been in the state championship games. I want to state championships in Greenfield State, running up my senior year. I won a national championship with pardon. You know, I've been on the big stage. My guys playing with me, Uh, some some of you guys play me a you a couple of years back, we went to a national championship game, so, you know, Yeah, it's a big stage. Me Personally, I think both teams are gonna come out, you know, kind of jittery. That's always natural. But the main thing is, it's like I tell my guys they have to put five on the floor, just like we do. And if I five can dominate their five and make life hard for them and create chaos, it's gonna be a long night for anything that we play. I'm going to come back to the whole Martin thing, because that's what I want to talk about. I was a senior in high school when that happened, and I was okay. Uh, that was cool. Um, one last question about the game this weekend. If if you guys are gonna win What, uh, what has to happen? Has to go right for Wilson Prep. We gotta come out fast. We can't come out slow. We can't come up. We can't have a slow start. We have to rebound. The basketball we have. Every rebound has to be ours. We have to dominate the inside. We have to make every shot for them difficult. They have some great shoes on their team. They have some great drivers. But when they when their drivers drive, they have got to be seeing a wall. And that's what we're planning on doing. And the main thing is like I tell my guys now and like I'm trying to do myself, enjoy this ride. Have fun. We've had fun all year and, yes, the state championship game. But you go out there and you change your whole model of just not having fun and enjoying the moment. You know, all of a sudden you put a lot of pressure on yourself and you don't play how you're capable of playing. So I'm telling my guys, you know all this week, have fun. Enjoy this because it doesn't happen often. It doesn't you know we want to, but it's hard to get. It's hard to get to a state championship game like I told him, Look at everything you've been through this year. It's been very difficult. But you survived it and you're here. And what I'm trying to tell them is win or lose. We're winners because nobody expected us to be here. Nobody. And I'm proud of them, but yeah, man, we're gonna go out there. We're gonna have fun. We're gonna lay it all on the floor, and may the best team win, and hopefully they'll be us holding a trophy at the end of day. All right. I said I had to get into the Barnes, and I know everybody. Wilson knows what happened. There's no question about that. I'm sure all your kids know about it, but you know, everybody else around the state high school kids may not, um and so I actually went into the WRL archives, um, pulled out a video. Can't use the actual video that right the game because of, uh, you know, all the different restrictions there, But there was a video that wrl did with you when you were on the Globetrotters. You were back in Raleigh, and they talked about the, um, the the national championship at Barton. And for people who don't know, I think you scored 10 points. And what was it like 37 seconds to come back 10 points in 45 seconds, 45 seconds to come back and win the national championship. So I'm gonna play this video and we'll talk about on the other end. All right? I never forget a good game. They're still talking about the Division two championship back in 2007. Tonight we find our Tar Heel traveler in Raleigh with the Harlem Globetrotters. Scott Mason profiles a player whose heroics during his college days in Wilson remain legendary. You know, you're sitting in your hotel room tonight and you just get bored and you just started working on stuff. Ant Atkinson just keeps rolling along. He's a Harlem Globetrotter, Wilson native and Barton college hero. It's amazing I still get goosebumps from I still think we're gonna lose every time I look at it, and I was like, Okay, I was in this. We don't lose. Barton was losing big in the 2007 Division two championship and that passing out their T shirts that passed the championship has I'm saying I'm like, Hey, we still got some time before the game is not over you know the game looked over with just 40 seconds left. Spin move. Henderson Let him go by. They kind of just let me go past. And I was like these guys not even playing defense no more Barton down by five. Less than 30 to go talk about a long shot. Pull up, pop. Book it. And then they lasted. Basically threw the ball in like they were just giving up. 23 for Atkinson. Paul Barton is suddenly down by just one, and Ant Atkinson has reversed the odds. Let's ride reverse time for one last play. The old back tip play and we never ever did it in the game successfully. We always practice and it's a drill to everybody. Hated. They didn't hate it anymore. Four seconds left. Melvin stole a lawyer. He's got time Mackinson late. I mean, you saw my reaction. I just started running and I didn't know what to think. I was on top of the world. He'd scored 10 points and 39 seconds to win the championship. Have those last few seconds of that game changed your life? Definitely, because I honestly think if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here here with the Harlem Globetrotters, trotting the globe and making people smile. And that's what I did in college. Entertain people with basketball. But now we just do it in a more crazy type of way. So, do you guys practice the back tip and practice now at Wilson? We do. We do. They hate it. Hate it. Just like they hated it. Uh, well, how does it play and something like that help you as a coach? Now? I think, um, you know, as coaches, I don't think we realize how much our kids really, you know, look at our reactions and how if, you know, is he panicking or is he calm? And I think being in that situation and all the big time games I played in has really helped me, you know, stay even killed throughout the whole game. And even if we're down, you'll never see me panic because I know it's a long game. Um, if we're up, you're never gonna see me celebrate until that last buzz of hit. Because I know anything can happen because I was a part of it. So I think it really helps me as a coach, just, uh, maintain some sort of peace over myself and over my team. You know, sometimes as a team, you know, things can get erratic and things start going crazy and your team start doing things that they've never done before, and you've got to find a way to calm them down. And, um, I think that has helped me a whole lot as a coach, you know, like I said, just a even killed and keep that piece about myself even when things look bad. Well, maybe won a state championship game. Be as entertaining as that one on Saturday. I sure hope it is. Well, Coach, we appreciate the time. Good luck on Saturday. I appreciate it, man. Thanks so much.