“Friday nights used to be ... you would see everybody out,” Berlin said. “You would go bowling, go to the movies, get something to eat. Now you do that, and it’s almost like it’s not fun anymore because things have changed so much in the last year.”
During that time, the unemployment rate in Wilmington has more than quintupled to 15 percent as the town has shed about 10,000 jobs because of air cargo company DHL’s drastic change in operations at the city’s air freight hub. With the area economy bearing the crushing weight of lost jobs, the city has turned its attention and enthusiasm to the boys basketball team, which is on one of the best runs in Clinton County history.
After winning 21 games last season, the Hurricane began their highly anticipated season with a sterling senior class by beating Little Miami. To see four returning starters, including college recruits Berlin and Miami University signee Quinten Rollins, and a hard-working team built on defense and discipline, Wilmington residents are willing to come out by the thousands.
“They’re scrappers, and they fight the whole way,” said Wilmington Mayor David Raizk, who grew up at Wilmington College practices following around his father, Fred, whose name now adorns the Quakers’ gym. “The community is pulling together, and the school activities and sports have been a catalyst for that.”
A difficult period
The city has a long history of packing high school contests.
“It was a Norman Rockwell type of community,” said Mike Wallace, the high school athletic director who graduated from Wilmington in 1964. “Everybody supported the high school 100 percent, and it was a great togetherness feeling. It’s still a lot like that.”
Residents increased their basketball support in 2006, when the Hurricane won their first Fort Ancient Valley Conference Cardinal Division championship by going 17-4. The current seniors were eighth-graders then, and superintendent Ron Sexton already was hearing about 60-point wins by the group at league meetings.
By last season, the bad news had started. DHL was eliminating its U.S. overnight delivery operation, which crippled the Wilmington Air Park. The basketball team, meanwhile, was beating Elder, Centerville, Dunbar and others and raising an already keen community awareness.
As celebrities Jay Leno, Rachael Ray, Nick Lachey and others reached out to help Wilmington, the basketball team became the avenue to fight back. Tickets were hot items, and as many as 4,000 fans followed the Hurricane on the road during their tournament run.
Many in those stands were residents who donated time, money or other items to help the school district stave off the need for athletic participation fees. The schools still provide all supplies for elementary students, as well, and the district has made cuts elsewhere, including four administrative and 9.5 teacher positions.
The school system overall has been a pride point, Sexton said. But with the basketball team, as can happen in any community, residents have found an outlet to prove the city is competitive.
“The worst thing that could ever happen to a community is to become dependent,” said Sexton, a former wrestling coach who is in his 30th year with the district. “These folks are not doing that.”
A fighting mentality
Rollins’ grandmother, with whom he and his mother live, was for many years a drug- and alcohol-abuse counselor. His mother is a day-care provider.
His family has not been directly affected by the massive job losses in Wilmington. Many on the team haven’t, he said. But they can feel the crowds and their enthusiasm.
“I remember the games when there were empty spots in the bleachers, but there aren’t now,” said Rollins, who also was an All-Southwest District running back in football. “Even when we’re on the road, even when it’s snowing, we have just as many fans.”
Here’s what they’ll see: scoring leadership by Rollins (14.8 points per game last season) and Berlin (14.7) and four other seniors — Malcolm Heard, Nyles Williams, Brandon Arehart and Kyle Blakeman — who have played mostly together since elementary school.
Along the way, the Hurricane likely will see packed gyms, plenty of faces and a community grateful for the distraction and pride.
“The town is about basketball now; people look forward to the Friday or Saturday night games,” Berlin said. “Wilmington can hang with those bigger teams from bigger towns now, when they couldn’t in the past. I think that can be a big thing for people.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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