Inside hotel rooms in Emporia last March the Hays High boys basketball team was preparing to play in the final four of the 5A State tournament.
The run ended in the same hotel room without a shot taken.
COVID-19 ended the state tournaments across the state of Kansas and the Indians were among the "Forever Four" teams that didn't get to finish their season.
Flash forward to mid-November and the Indians are back on the court under second year coach Alex Hutchins. Hays graduated just two players from last year's squad so expectations are high for 2020-2021.
According to Hutchins, though, the team is already practicing with a chip on their should because of the way last season ended.
Coach Alex Hutchins
Hays High was 17-6 last year but finished the year unranked. The Indians return their top five scorers. TJ Nunnery (10 ppg), Dalyn Schwarz (9.8 ppg), Carson Kieffer (7.5 ppg) and Jason Krannawitter (7 ppg) were mainstays in the starting line up. Jace Linenberger (7 ppg) came off the bench and is expected to be in the starting lineup this season.
Hays opens the season by hosting the Gerald Mitchell Hays City Shootout December 3rd-5th.