March madness is my favorite time of the year. Many high school athletes put in a tremendous amount of hard work to arrive at this exciting moment. Sacrifices, sweat, cheers and tears. The fans go crazy when their team advances each game. The joy of continuing the playoff ride to a possible state birth is an experience never to be forgotten.
In March of 2003 there were six seniors that had played together since the grade school days. Josh Erickson, Ryan Rufener, and Robbie Wood played on their school’s tournament team (A Team). Matt Espinoza (Noza), Jared Wick, and Keith McCallister played on the school’s tournament team (A Team and B Team).
I know for a fact, that Matt, Robbie, and Jared spent countless hours at the Courthouse Athletic Club – it was their second home. Josh spent hours of practicing elsewhere including practices with tournament teams. Ryan was a kid that had natural ability, I never saw him at the athletic club, but I’m sure he was grinding elsewhere.
All of these kids had a drive to get better fundamentally – to learn the basketball skill sets required for them to eventually be part of a varsity high school team. For them it started with good coaching – not only on the basketball court but off the court as well. At the grade-school level defense was stressed – a big part of the game. Team work was always brought up and spending time together off the court was a huge a benefit. They would get together for barbeques or a day at the river.
By their freshman year they were all playing on the same team at McNary High School in Keizer, Oregon – which sits right next to Salem, Oregon. Josh, Ryan, and Robbie were all very advanced on their skills, but Matt, Keith, and Jared were still learning and improving everyday.
They were all decent shooters, but the most consistent were Matt, Josh, Ryan, and Robbie. It was all due to practice. If a player has the desire to get better, he will learn the fundamental way to shoot the basketball and he will put the necessary time in. I can’t count the number of times that my son, Matt, practiced in the backyard until it was dark. He requested that I put in a spotlight for him so he could practice shooting into the late hours. I’m pretty sure the others practiced similarly.
In 2003, their senior year, Head Coach Jim Litchfield acquired a group of boys that were well prepared and that believed in themselves – they were ready to compete in the Valley League Conference (which is now the GVC). There were 10 teams in the league back then, McNary; Crescent Valley; McKay; Sprague; South Salem; North Salem; West Albany; South Albany; West Salem, and Corvallis. Some of the teams had players as tall as 6’ 9”. Our tallest players were Matt Espinoza who grew from 5’ 7” as a freshman to 6’ 4” as a senior and Keith McCallister who also grew to be 6’ 4”. Ryan also grew to be 6’ 4” but the McNary guards were all 5’ 10” or shorter.
The Statesman Journal Newspaper predicted McNary to place fourth because of their size. These six seniors along with Malik Parker-Hill (a sophomore) were thinking a little different. West Albany was ranked first, South was ranked second, and Crescent Valley third.
Some of the boys were dealing with something at home. Two examples … Robbie was dealing with a dysfunctional family at home – his teammates kept him going. Matt was dealing with losing his mom to brain cancer. If you read my book, Noza: A True Basketball Success Story, you’ll get the full experience of his story and the McNary Celtic’s adventure. Basketball was a form of counseling for some of these boys – a positive thing.
During the regular season, McNary was starting to prove to everyone that they were among the top teams in the Valley League. They only lost two games during the regular season – one to West Albany and one to South Salem. They tied the longest winning streak in the state – 16 straight wins.
The Celtics became the Valley League Champions and earned a birth to the OSAA State Tournament at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, where the Trailblazers used to play (now there's a new coliseum, the Moda Center). These boys loved the game of basketball and the joy was displayed on their faces every game.
2003 - Matt Espinoza at the OSAA 6A State Tournament
As one of the parents, I couldn’t have been more proud of what they had achieved. At the coliseum, there were several seats reserved for all the parents to sit together. One of the parents took charge and organized that part. If anyone ever gets this opportunity, I guarantee it will be a memory that you will never forget.
McNary was facing the Barlow Bruins in the first round of the state tournament. Barlow had 6’ 5” Jeff Bell and 6’ 9” Tyler Otis. Matt Espinoza who was playing post at 6’ 4” had his work cut out. The blocking out and positioning earned him 10 rebounds. Ryan Rufener finished with 18 points. Josh Erickson and Robbie did a great job shooting and handling the ball as well. The Celtics won 56 – 46. The crowd went wild and the adventure continued.
In the second round of the state tournament McNary was facing number-three-ranked Jesuit – a powerhouse team who had the Tarver brothers, Josh, Seth, and Zach. The game was a battle to the end, Jesuit gave the Celtics their first loss in 16 games. Jesuit got by with a 74 – 67 win. The Celtics were still alive for the fourth place trophy but they had to win Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, they dismantled South Medford, 62 – 46 and on Saturday they convincingly beat the Southridge Skyhawks by plucking them, 67 – 44. The Celtics had won the fourth place trophy. All the years of hard work paid off for the McNary Celtics.
They set several records for the school, but the biggest one was 25 wins and 3 losses. I’ll never forget that year – it was an amazing ride all season long. There will be another group of kids this year that will experience the same adventure. I can say that I will be happy for them because it’s such a fun and rewarding experience. And I definitely plan on going to the Chiles Center at the University of Portland to watch some of the games. I'm really disappointed that the state tournament isn't held at the Moda Center. Come on Paul Allen, can't you donate to 6A Boys and Girls Basketball? It's only a few days.
Matt Espinoza went on to play college basketball at Southern Oregon University and minor-league-professional basketball. Josh Erickson went on to play at Willamette University. Robbie Wood went on to play at Chemeketa C.C. Ryan Rufener went on to play college football at OSU and then professional football overseas. Jared Wick went on to play college football at SOU. Keith McCallister went on to play college football back east somewhere. Malik Parker-Hill played college basketball at Umpqua C.C.
This time of the year is so exciting, March Madness! And every year I think about the time both my boys, Matt and Jake, played at the state tournament. Jake in 2001 and Matt in 2003. What a true blessing and accomplishment. I will never regret what I went through as a parent of two athletes -- I would do it all over again in a split second.