Alex Rodriguez and the Swenson Lions had their best basketball season yet, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time. Rodriguez and company fell to Southern, 63–48, in a Class AAA preliminary round postseason contest. TIMES FILE PHOTO
Win or loss, the Swenson boys basketball team approached its first-ever playoff berth with no regrets.
After Thursday’s Class AAA preliminary round, 63–48 loss to Southern, head coach Kevin Lockett and company are sticking to that mantra. The accomplished season may have ended sooner than Swenson would have liked, but considering how far they came together, there was no shame in the result.
“Part of this experience was the guys’ goal to get to the playoffs,” Lockett said in a Friday morning phone interview. “It was evident in their excitement when they found out they had made it. To see the smiles on their faces and the overall joy it brought them, for them to be the first basketball team at this school to get to the playoffs, it was just delightful. We prepared hard and knew what we were getting into with Southern … in the beginning, our nerves just got to us a little bit.”
Swenson, a Division D team playing in front of a packed house on the road against a Division B opponent, got down early due to some costly mistakes, mainly turnovers. The Lions were down 16 at halftime, and fought back to cut it to eight in the fourth quarter, but an opportunistic Southern squad dominated the offensive glass late and left with a 15-point victory. Swenson’s season ended at 10–6 overall, including an impressive 9–4 mark in division play.
In an era where players at Public League schools tend to transfer from year-to-year at a rapid rate, Lockett had his entire core together for three seasons, a fact he is quite proud of. Senior guards Alex Rodriguez and Somah Slewion developed into fearsome scorers, while fellow seniors Jihad Warner and Clarence Brunot brought defensive stability. Lockett raved about the group’s commitment and dedication, citing an example from Thursday’s game in which Slewion drew a five-second count from a Southern player on the defensive end with less than a minute to go and the game already well in hand for the Rams.
“Down 14 late in the fourth and Somah gets a five-count,” Lockett said. “That kind of sums up our entire season. They were down a ton and still worked so hard defensively; o team works like that at the end of the game. They’re frustrated, because I think we could have won the game if we didn’t turn it over and play nervous early, but they were excited to be there to do something Swenson has never done. They never played in a playoff game before at any level and were playing against a perennial playoff team that’s very good. It was just a great experience for us.”
And no matter how much coaching success Lockett has beyond this year, he’ll always remember this first group more fondly than any others as the one that started it all. Lockett got emotional when asked to get reflective and put this group into a larger perspective.
“I’ve coached for 10 years, and these are some of the best kids I’ve ever been around,” he said. “They get a lot of crap for being ‘city kids,’ but they’re incredible young men, and it’s not just me who sees it. They are good young men raised well with morals and values they believe in.
“What is winning? Who defines the idea? Winning games is fantastic, but where will that take you? Basketball will end, but what happens later in life? These guys will be successful no matter where they go and what they do, because they bought in. I hope they keep in touch as time goes on, and because of their dedication, hard work and heart, I know they will find success in whatever it is they do next.”
