Bloomington Kennedy: 'This feels pretty good'

Starr's eyes widened and his head shook, and he let out a breath in disbelief.

"A lot of pride," he said. "This feels pretty good."

Though not quite 24 years, it's been a long road for Starr and classmates Bobby Fong and Alfred Jaryan. The three have played for Kennedy since their freshman year, when the team went 3-23.

"We've believed for a long time we could make it," Jaryan said. "We knew if we stayed strong, we could do it."

Kennedy (19-8) now has the tall task of facing No. 1 seed Minnetonka (25-3) at 10 a.m. today at Target Center in the first round of the state tournament.

While such a tough draw will not be easy to get through, it wasn't too long ago Kennedy faced a similar task.

Kennedy, the fourth seed, faced top-seeded Eden Prairie in the section semifinals March 14. Total score in two Lake Conference victories for Eden Prairie before that game: 178-103.

Even the strongest of believers had to know that a victory was, on paper, a long shot for Kennedy. But that's why they play the games.

Kennedy came away with a 74-71 victory.

"The guys finally said, 'This is it. We lose, we go home,'" Kennedy coach Matt Vollum said. "It was nothing we did as coaches. The guys just came to play."

The Eagles have gotten it done without a true center. No one on the roster stands taller than 6-4, and Fong at 6-3 is the tallest regular contributor.

Still, Starr at 6-2 has the leaping ability to pull down any rebound, and the team as a whole is highly athletic and has a scoring touch from outside.

"I'd love to have a 7-footer, but we don't," Vollum said. "We make up for our size with the amount of hard work we put in.

"We sometimes wonder what kind of team we have because it can be different every night."

What's remained constant is the team's refusal to give up.

Along with the huge losses to Eden Prairie and playing without size, Kennedy in January also lost one of its better point producers when Hakeem Bourne-McFarlane, averaging 14 points per game, left the program.

"We've stayed together as a team, and that's what you'll see at the state tournament," Starr said.

About the only thing in question was what Kennedy was going to do with the unusually long break this year between section finals and the state tournament.

Vollum was sure he and the coaching staff would come up with something. Players, though, could hardly wait for today to arrive.

"This is great for the school, great for us; it's great to be at the Target Center," Fong said. "We're going to play where the pros play. And it's going to be a lot of fun."