The past two weeks provided beautiful news for Chaparral boys basketball coach Tellus Truesdale.
On the morning of Feb. 26, his wife, Sarah, welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world. On Friday night inside the Denver Coliseum, Truesdale’s top-seeded team defeated No. 5 ThunderRidge, 58-46, for a berth in the Class 5A state tournament championship game against Rangeview on Saturday.
Mom and the newborn, named Tellus Drake after his father, rooted on Chaparral from a hospital room where Sarah sported a giant red foam finger. Truesdale posted a photo on Twitter before the game, and then gushed with pride afterword, now sitting one victory away from just the second boys basketball state title in school history.
Breaks my heart that my wife can’t be at our Final 4 game tonight. These are the best two things to happen to me! Sarah and Tellus Drake will be rooting us on from the hospital. We’re praying she’ll be released tomorrow.
— Tellus Truesdale (@trues10)
“It’s been such a whirlwind,” Truesdale said. “I’m a proud father, really now, but I’m also like a proud father of my players. It’s been absolutely amazing. I’ve been on Cloud 9. I haven’t slept, but I have no complaints at all.”
Chaparral (23-4) is stacked with veteran leadership, six seniors in all, and brought that confidence to the court. In two previous Continental League games against ThunderRidge (21-6) this season, Chaparral prevailed by double-digits each time.
Yet the Wolverines were slow to start Friday, struggling to finish at the rim and defend the 3-point line, as ThunderRidge extended its largest advantage of the first half with just seconds remaining before the break. Junior guard Chris Franquemont dribbled through Chaparral contact in the paint and threw a prayer off the glass that found the net. Franquemont flexed to the crowd, cashed in his and-one free throw, and ThunderRidge led 31-21 entering the third quarter.
The first bucket after halftime sparked Chaparral’s comeback. Senior guard Tanner Giles stole the basketball near mid-court with an open lane to the basket. He converted the layup, two of his game-high 21 points, and Chaparral completed the third quarter on a 9-0 sprint to creep within 1-point of a tie. The Wolverines regained the lead when junior forward Dalton Waldron knocked in two free throws to open the fourth.
Chaparral then employed a devastating defensive press and a flustered ThunderRidge offense was lost for answers. The Wolverines flipped the advantage and went ahead by 10. The Grizzlies didn’t score over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. It iced any hope of a ThunderRidge comeback.
“In the first half our energy wasn’t good and we didn’t make very many shots,” Truesdale said. “At halfitme they said, ‘Coaches, get out of here.’ Tanner Giles talked to them and whatever he said was the difference.”
Chaparral has steadily climbed under Truesdale since he took over as head coach in 2015. His first year, a losing record. His second, a Sweet 16 bid. And last year, all the way to the Great 8. Expectations were high to begin this season and the team’s mantra was painted on a red banner in blue letters beneath Chaparral’s student section on Friday: Unfinished Business.
Chaparral’s only prior boys basketball championship was in 2012; a thrilling 69-67 overtime win over Arapahoe when Josh Adams’ miracle tip-in at the buzzer won the game. Chaparral will seek title No. 2 against Rangeview (25-2) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ve set a lot of goals and we haven’t hit any of them,” Truesdale said. “The championship game is the next step, but we’re still not done.”
