Central York's state basketball title was historic. It doesn't have to be the last
Jeff Hoke probably wishes he could hold another practice instead of a team banquet Monday.
Central York's head coach repeated a similar refrain during the team's run through the PIAA Class 6A playoffs: "We're not close to reaching our potential."
When most observers thought the Panthers were peaking after an 11-point win over Pittsburgh powerhouse Upper St. Clair in the quarterfinals, Hoke dismissed that idea. When they handled defending champion Reading in the semifinals, he said "we're still not there yet."
And he punctuated that idea with a text message sent a few hours after Central York beat Parkland, 53-51, in Saturday night's final: "We have not even come close to playing our best basketball."
While there's certainly an air of levity to Hoke's comments, he might not be wrong.
The Panthers could just be getting started.
A lot needs to go right for any team to win a state title. You need to get the right matchups in the bracket. You might need some luck with injuries or the PIAA transfer rule (Philadelphia Class 6A champion Roman Catholic had three starters ineligible this postseason). Have a great team the same year a future NBA player like Lonnie Walker or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is tearing through the state? It's probably not your time.
But Central York is positioned to be successful in the state playoffs the next few seasons. The Panthers will only graduate one starter — all-time leading scorer Greg Guidinger. While that void can't simply be replaced, Central York will have two 1,000-point scorers and seven players who've started varsity games back next season.
Saturday night was a historic night for Central York and all of York County. But it doesn't have to be a historical anomaly.
"100%," Guidinger said when asked if Central York could repeat. "There are so many guy who did work behind the scenes who are going to step into big roles. And guys are only going to get better. You saw what (1,000-point scorers) Ben Natal and Ben Rill did on this stage. We've just got so much talent.
"They can beat anybody."
Meet the Panthers: Get to know Central York's state championship boys' basketball team
A culture of teamwork
It still feels stunning to see Central York listed as the state champion in the biggest classification of boys' basketball. Prior to this season, Central York had won just three state playoff games in its history with two of them coming in 1984. No public school from York County had won state gold.
But Hoke isn't surprised his program reached this pinnacle. He's surprised how long it took.
He took over a team in the summer of 2020 that was clearly ascending after going 24-5 and reaching the District 3 semifinals and state second round in current girls' coach Kevin Schieler's final season. In an interview with the York Daily Record last week, Hoke said he expected to win a state title his first season.
He wasn't the only one who felt that way at the time. The Panthers were expected to be loaded but football standouts Beau Pribula, Taylor Wright-Rawls and Judah Tomb were all banged up after a historic run to the state final and missed all or most of basketball season. A number of other injuries led to a 12-7 finish in a COVID-abbreviated campaign.
"That's how crazy optimistic I am," Hoke said last week. "I think that way every year. There's so much talent at Central York that people don't know about.
"But I hope they all find out about all of them."
The increased postseason success that Central's football and basketball teams have experienced in recent years is not entirely unrelated. The programs have shared a number of key players — notably starting quarterback Brooklyn Nace and highly recruited defensive back Saxton Suchanic, who both came off the bench for the hoops team this season.
Both teams have needed to ask players who would surely start at other schools to take lesser roles due to the stars around them.
That situation will still exist for the Panthers hoops team next season. Hoke has spoken glowingly about players who didn't see the court much this season like sophomore big man Eric Tati and juniors Nasir Ruppert, JoJo Woodard, Azmir Ludvig and Byron Pinkney. But none of them are guaranteed to get big minutes next year.
Not when the Panthers can create a formidable seven-man rotation of players who saw the floor Saturday.
Still, Central York has managed to foster an environment where players embrace whatever role they're given. Sophomore point guard Ryan Brown accepted taking less shots all season, but was ready to pull the trigger in two of the biggest moments Saturday — a tie-breaking floater at the end of the third quarter and a lead-changing 3-pointer midway through the fourth.
"That says so much about these kids," Hoke said. "It isn't easy. Everybody wants to play. It's a long season, and it's hard to imagine practicing hard every day knowing you're not going to get in. It's a life lesson, and those don't come when things are fuzzy and warm."
'Hungry for more'
The Panthers will need to learn more lessons next year. There will be a leadership vacuum to fill with Guidinger in college. Players like Brown, Nace and freshman Doug Layer will be expected to score more.
And teams throughout the state know who the Panthers are now. The last public school to win consecutive boys' basketball state titles in the largest classification was Chester in 2011 and 2012. It's not easy for everything to fall into place twice in a row.
But the standard has been set at Central York. Have the Panthers really not played their best basketball yet? They're the ones who're determined to find out.
"That's the goal," Ben Rill said about another state title. "Each one of us is hungry for more. We can't wait for next year."
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on X at @bad2theallibone.