Eagles face Blue Springs South Thursday in District play

Eagles Girls Basketball head coach Randy Draper led the team through a transition drill in preparation for district play on Thursday. Photo credit: Bill Althaus

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by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News

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When Madison Rust was a freshman on Randy Draper's Grain Valley High School girls basketball team, she jumped for joy when the veteran coach told his players that he had prizes for them at the next practice.

"I was like, 'Oh, goody, goody, we're getting presents. I wonder what they're going to be."

She found at the next practice.

"Coach's presents were running - running! - after missed free throws," Rust said, laughing. "That's the worst prize I ever got. And now, I'm embarrassed to look back on that and think that I thought there were going to be real gifts."

The real gift could come Thursday when the No. 3 seed Eagles play No. 6 Blue Springs South in the first round of the Class 6 District 7 at Columbia Battle High School.

"None of us are happy about getting a No. 3 seed with only one loss this season," said Rust, the Eagles' Energizer Bunny. "It's not like we needed extra motivation, but we're all extra motivated. We want everyone to see what a No. 3 seed can do in district."

Blue Springs South coach Kory Lower wanted to make sure Draper and his players knew that he voted for them to be the No. 1 seed.

"I voted for Coach Draper's kids to be the No. 1 seed," Lower said, as his 8-18 is looking for an upset victory. "I know they're all thinking about being a No. 3 seed with a 23-1 record - and the bad thing is that they are going try and take all that disappointment out on us. I called Randy and we talked about the seeding, and he understands my respect for his team.

"We've played them twice, and lost both games, but we're playing really good basketball right now. We have to be ready physically and mentally because they are the smartest team I have seen, or coached against, this season. And they are skilled - and they know how to play the game."

The Jaguars beat Suburban Gold rivals Liberty North and Raymore Peculiar late in the season and Lower hopes those winning ways continue at Columbia Battle High School.

"We've got a group of great kids on our team," Lower said. "We're going to be ready Thursday night. It's going to be a challenge facing Randy's team, but we never back away from a challenge."

Draper held a spirited practice Monday afternoon, and said his team is ready to go.

"We're ready to go," he said, with a slight hint of how his team feels about that No. 3 seed. "You bet we're ready. We know Kory's team is going to be a handful - they're well coached and play hard. They have a couple of big wins over Liberty North and Ray-Pec.

"We have a lot of respect for his team, and we know they respect us."

Maddy Seyfert and Rust echo their coach's comments about the readiness of his Eagles.

"We're used to playing on Monday and Thursdays, so today Coach had an intense scrimmage," Rust said, "almost like we played a game, and then we play South Thursday."


Seyfert added, "We're super excited to play South. We've beat them twice this season, but they are much better now - and we're much better now. It should be a great game."

Draper started the practice with a transition drill where the girls crouched on the court, waiting for him to toss a basketball in their direction.

"It's a good way to get the energy going early in a practice," Draper said. "They're all on the ground, I toss them the ball and see how long it takes them to score."

Following that drill, Draper handed out his prizes.

"They don't really like my prizes too much," Draper said with a laugh. "But they get after it. They don't have to run if they hit their free throws, but I think everyone was running today."

Draper is one of those rare coaches who can even make sprints up and down the court a team-bonding moment.

"We had a great practice today," he said. "We got after it in a scrimmage, and the girls really responded. There are a few things we need to sharpen up, then we'll be ready to go Thursday."