VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- It's unlikely that many people filled out their high school region tournament brackets in office pools, but if they had, Green Run might not have been a popular pick to go all the way.
Nevertheless, the Stallions are still dancing, one of eight Class 5 teams still alive for a state championship.
"I know each kid would run through a wall for me," head coach Kenneth Harris said.
"We really only believed in ourselves and it's showing now," senior guard Eizayah Chisholm added.
Harris expected some bumps in the road for his Green Run squad this season.
"We had to really have them understand the culture of Green Run and we knew this year was going to be 'we've got to get better as the year goes,'" the head coach explained.
"Earlier in the year, we struggled hitting shots, we had low field goal percentages, we weren't playing as much defense," sophomore forward David Miller pointed out.
The Stallions were on the younger side and finished their regular season with a 9-13 record. It wasn't the mark they were hoping for, but the players never lost sight of their coach's message.
"They definitely stayed the course and they listened to us," noted Harris. "I was preaching that every game, like 'we're still in reach of our goal' and one of the goals was to get into regionals."
"We had to get more organized and we became more focused," said Chisholm. "We paid more attention to the details of what was actually happening to make us excel to the next level."
"A lot of our games were close games," Harris said. "We were learning from each loss."
Now it's all clicking. Green Run has gone on a playoff surge, entering the Region 5A Tournament as the number six seed but storming its way to a championship. The Stallions capped off the regional playoff with a convincing 75-50 victory over top-seeded Princess Anne.
"Nobody really thought we were going to do it because of how our season went," Chisholm said. "To be able to prove people wrong and show what we really have, it was a great experience."
"It felt good," added Miller. "That was the best feeling this season, raising that trophy."
The Stallions have found their gallop at just the right time and all of a sudden find themselves just three wins shy of a state crown. Chances are that they'll be an underdog in every remaining game, but that's fine with them.
"The pressure's not going to be on us, it's going to be on the team above us," pointed out Miller. "All we have to do is come out and play hard and we're going to win."
"It's always been our belief since the beginning of the season," Chisholm added. "It's always been our goal so we're trying to reach that goal now."
"Whoever's playing the best basketball right now and a this point there are no more lapdogs," said Harris. "Everybody's a greyhound now so you've got to be ready to play."
Green Run faces Maury in the Class 5 state quarterfinals on Friday at 8:00 PM. That contest tips off at Norfolk State.
