PARKER — The transition game has been essential for Lutheran High School hoops.
We’re not just talking about pushing the basketball up the court. We’re talking about changing coaches, cultures, strategies, and philosophies — for both the boys and girls teams.
“There’s been a lot going on and for 15- and 16- and 17-year-old kids,” Lions boys coach Josh Adams said. “For them to be able to handle it and embrace each other as teammates has really been spectacular to watch.”
Both squads play on Thursday afternoon in the at the Denver Coliseum.
The 10th-seeded Lions boys (18-8) play No. 11 Windsor (19-7), with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. The Lions boys advanced to the Final Four despite switching coaches in early January, when Adams replaced Marty Clark, who had been fired by the school 10 games into the season.
Lutheran girls stick together
The Lutheran girls, riding an 18-game winning streak, enter the Final Four as the No. 1 seed behind first-year coach Robby Gabrielli. His 23-3 team takes on No. 5 Standley Lake (22-4) in a game slated to begin at 2:15 p.m.
“From the moment I arrived on campus, the girls were really eager and ready to buy into the vision we painted for them to be successful,” Gabrielli said.
The Lions girls are led by seniors Berkley Schneider and Makenna Mudd. Schneider, a 5-foot-11 forward/center and Lutheran’s all-time leading scorer, is headed to NAIA powerhouse Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa. Mudd, who carries a 4.7 GPA, will play basketball for Grove City College (Penn.), where she will study chemistry and mathematics.
Lutheran’s five starters — junior center Isla Koffmann, junior guard Laila Purvis and junior point guard Gia Genovese, along with Schneider and Mudd — pulled together to make their transition season a success. Lutheran finished 13-12 last season and got bounced in the second round of the state playoffs.
“For the past three years, we have all been together, so it was easier to play for a new coach,” said Koffmann, who hauled down nine rebounds and also had four steals in Lutheran’s 50-39 win over Pueblo East in the quarterfinals.
“And having the trust from the beginning that Coach Gabrielli was going to lead us where we needed to go was huge,” Koffmann continued.
The Lions’ defense has been tenacious and key to their success.
“We full-court press the whole game, man-to-man, then drop back into a (3-2) zone,” Mudd said. “Itap a really tough defense.”
A double-dip at the Coliseum
Both the girls and boys teams advanced to the Final Four in 2023, so Lutheran knows about hoops success. The girls have won five state titles, the last time in 2016 (3A). The boys have won four state championships, the last time in 2021 (3A).
Still, the school is jazzed about Thursday’s double-dip at the Coliseum, and not just because the kids have a get-out-of-school-free card.
“You can’t go through the hallway without somebody saying ‘congrats.’ Thatap so awesome,” Schneider said.
Center of attention
And you can’t walk through the hallway at Lutheran High without looking up at 6-foot-9 forward/center Kade Speckman, who’s headed to Indiana State on a basketball scholarship.
Speckman, who transferred back to Lutheran in the middle of the season after attending South Central Prep in Oklahoma, averages 18.9 points and 10.9 rebounds a game.
“Kade is a unique player,” Adams said. “He’s super athletic and can move inside and move well outside, too. He can shoot a little bit and play above the rim.”
Because Speckman is 6-9 and playing at the 5A level, he towers above his competition in the paint, so Adams says that Speckman “doesn’t get to showcase his perimeter play a ton.” But Speckman’s elevated play on the outside has the Lions playing their best basketball at the right time.
“We have been building and building, week by week,” Speckman said. “We can see it in practice, and thatap been showcased in our late-season games.”
In the Sweet 16, Lutheran trailed Rampart by five points late in the game but came back to win, 60-58.
The players say that when Adams took over the team, the culture improved.
“As soon as we got our new coach, we completely changed up,” senior guard Evan Makkai said. “We bonded better as a team.”
Senior shooting guard Logan Clarkson said the team is thriving under Adams.
“I don’t think we were playing as freely before as we are right now,” Clarkson said. “By that I mean, before we ran more plays, and we were kind of in this circle, where we had to ‘do this and then do this.’ Right now, I feel like we are all playing to our best abilities, and we are really vibing as a team.”
Adams called Clarkson “the embodiment of a silent leader.”
Makkai is headed to Adams State to play football, but he blossomed on the court over the last five weeks, and that’s been key to the Lions’ run to the Final Four.
“He flipped a switch starting about a month ago, and he’s become an absolute gem,” Adams said. “He’s probably the best guard, defensively, in the state. In my opinion. He’s tenacious.”
Rounding out the Lions’ starting five are senior guard Kaden Tisdall and point guard Landon Hasdedt, whom Adams relies on in the clutch.
And speaking of clutch, it was Adams’ legendary tip-in at the buzzer in overtime of the 2012 championship that lifted Chaparral to the Class 5A championship over Arapahoe.
“I don’t talk to the kids about my career,” said Adams, who went on to play at the University of Wyoming and then played professionally overseas. “I let them find out on their own, if they want to. This moment is about them, so I try to keep my nose out of it.”
Added Speckman: “We know about that game, what he did for Chaparral. He knows what it takes to win. We also know he wants that for us.”
