Smith: Watching Ott and Timberwolves dominate was a learning experience
Photo Credit: Scott W. Coleman
It was hard to watch Cedar Park play or Donny Ott coach this season and not learn something about basketball.
The Timberwolves capped off an incredible season on Wednesday with a 46-39 win over Frisco Liberty to win the first state title for the girls’ basketball program, thanks in part to a coaching staff that has been building momentum over the last four years.
Whether the Timberwolves were playing the worst team in the state or getting ready to compete for the state title, the tireless preparation stays the same for the coaching staff and players.
Ott said he’s watched more than 300 hours of film scouting opponents throughout the season, which equates to about two and a half hours a day if you start from the first day of practice on Oct. 21 until the title game.
He has won as many games in four years at Cedar Park (120) as he has lost in the entirety of his girls’ basketball coaching career.
The year-by-year results at Cedar Park tell a similar story of improvement:
Year 1: Thirty wins with an averaging margin of victory of 12.2 points per game. Eight losses for a total of 77 points (9.6 points per game). An undefeated district title and a trip to the regional semifinals.
Year 2: Thirty wins with an average margin of victory of 17 points per game. Four losses for a total of 24 points (6 points allowed per game). An undefeated district title and a trip to the area championship game.
Year 3: Thirty-three wins with an average margin of victory of 21.9 points per game. Four losses for a total of 16 points (4 points allowed per game). An undefeated district title and a trip to the regional finals.
Cedar Park finished with 25 wins this season, including 23 in a row to end the year. The Timberwolves’ only loss was by one point to the team that finished the year ranked No. 6 in the Class 6A rankings, and they won their fourth straight undefeated district title.
I grew up in Michigan as an avid fan of the title-winning Detroit Pistons in the early 2000s, and especially Michigan State, which won a National Championship when I was nine years old and has been a perennial NCAA tournament team for as long as I can recall.
Then I went to Michigan State and got to cover Tom Izzo and the Spartans up close, writing about them until the season ended against UConn in the Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden.
By no means was I a basketball expert, but I’d argue my knowledge of the game was better than most at my age.
All those lessons pale in comparison to this season following Cedar Park.
Aside from their bi-district win against Kerrville Tivy, I saw every second of the Timberwolves’ postseason run in person, from the 92-point explosion against Highlands to the defensive clinic against Georgetown to the trophy celebration in San Antonio.
Basketball is a chess match, and the thing about Ott is he’s always four or five steps ahead. By the time an opponent could make an adjustment, it was far too late.
Perhaps the best quality about Ott is his selflessness. When he told me about how many wins Cedar Park has in the last four years, the pronoun he used was “we,” a small but significant detail.
Do you want to go to basketball school? Go watch Cedar Park and Donny Ott.
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Originally published at https://www.hillcountrynews.com/stories/smith-watching-ott-and-timberwolves-dominate-was-a-learning-experience,84832?