Coach Felix Turner and his staff liked the team’s enthusiasm and effort. The ability to guard for 94 feet on defense and push the tempo on offense was another plus.
Yup, Turner thought, this might be the season to turn a corner.
Then, a shriek.
“He was driving to the basket, and just came down on the foot of one of the Sidney players,” Turner said of Simmons. “He screamed like I’ve never heard a kid scream before.”
A second opinion didn’t help. Simmons, indeed, had broken his foot
“He’s the guy who down the stretch makes free throws, guides the team,” Turner said. “And all of a sudden, we didn’t have that senior leadership.”
A tough draw
OK, stop there. Let’s go back to the real beginning. Turner arrived at Meadowdale three years ago and helped the Lions limp to a 5-16 finish in his first season. Then he made a decision: Because Dayton Public Schools has an open-enrollment policy, the players with the best talent were not likely to choose Meadowdale. They would more likely be drawn to the recent state championships at Dunbar and the other talent at Marshall.
So, Meadowdale had to be feistier, in better condition and just doggone tougher if the Lions wanted to win.
“They’re playing these guys who were ahead of them on the eighth-grade teams,” Turner said. “This is their chance to show them.”
Meadowdale opened this season with a 74-70 loss to Dunbar, a team that has realistic state title aspirations. The Lions followed with a 67-62 loss to Marshall, then fell 90-89 in overtime to Western Hills.
In three games, Meadowdale was 0-3 by a combined 10 points.
“Three losses like that can absolutely destroy confidence,” Turner said. “But the kids are upbeat. They understand it’s not a lack of effort, but a lack of execution.”
Chasing elusive win
There won’t be a lack of effort at Meadowdale, where the underdog players compose an overshadowed team that has gone head-to-head nicely with recent state title game participants Dunbar and Marshall. Without their best player, the Lions are scrapping, and they’re threatening to become a player in area Division I, if they can just get that darn first win.
“But,” Turner laughed while driving between events this week, “this 0-3 has me concerned.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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