Devils Win First State Title

By Heath Bloxton
In order to achieve, you must first believe. For the 2005-2006 Ravenswood Red Devils basketball team, belief led to great success that was well deserved and that will not soon be forgotten.

Red Devils head coach Mick Price said that the team entered the 2006 season hoping to achieve four specific goals: to win the LKC conference championship; to win the sectional title for the eighth straight time; to win the regional championship, advancing them to the state tournament; and, once they got to the state tournament, to win it. The coach and his team reached all four goals, including the first state basketball title in school history. Price said, “It was our goal, and everything that we did this year was focused towards winning the state championship.”

Price said that Ravenswood has had many great teams in the past. Price thought, however, that this group of young men shared something special. “So much togetherness! These kids had all played together since they were in kindergarten. They were best friends and classmates throughout the years, and they all stuck together and played together,” said Price.

Price noted that senior leadership was a big reason that the team was successful. “The seniors were not going to be denied a chance to win a state championship. Their competitive greatness is as great as any group of kids that I have ever coached. They had so much confidence in what they could do. I told them before the [championship] game, that I was never more proud of a group of kids who had set goals and what they had done to accomplish those goals.” Price stated that this group of kids led him through great times and also through bad times, such as the passing of his father. “It was a pretty emotional year for me because Dad didn’t miss games. I think that he would have been pleased to have watched them play,” reflected Price.

Earlier in the season, the city of Ravenswood honored Coach Price for his success over the years, by renaming the gym “Mick Price Court at The Pit.” Price said that he remembered when he first accepted the job at Ravenswood High School. He spoke of how his team and community members physically painted the court and made “The Pit” a place that the town would grow to love. “I fell in love with it!” Price said. “I wanted it to be a place where the opponent knew that they better play hard, because Ravenswood is going to bring their best.” Coach Price said that it was a wonderful experience the night that the gym was renamed. “For them to honor me by renaming it, I cannot say enough how much it means to me and my family. I am very appreciative.”

The feeling of winning a state championship is something that some coaches will never experience. Coach Price said the feeling was “unbelievable.” However, after the final game, Price said that he walked to the opposing bench to congratulate the losing team for an outstanding season. “I have been there before,” Price said. “I looked in the stands where all of the other high school coaches sit, and I thought to myself: I have sat there 32 years wondering if I will ever get the chance to go on the floor for a team photo as a state champion. I felt blessed.”

Coach Mick Price is a great example of a class act. He and his team brought the entire town of Ravenswood pride, excitement, and the joy of watching Red Devil basketball. It has been said, “A man is only as good as what he loves.” Coach Price truly loves to coach basketball but, more importantly, loves his friends and family that he sees in his everyday life. He deserves any success that comes his way.