Shelby's At It Again

High-flying Shelby point guard Jason Beckman (left) is
just one of many Tigers peaking at the right time
 as they look to make another run at the state title.
(Photo by Andy Roberts)

What a ridiculous year for the Shelby athletics program.

The Tigers' football team advanced to the Division 6 state semifinals last fall, their first berth ever in that game. Only the juggernaut from Ithaca kept the Tigers from Ford Field.

The Shelby girls' basketball team heads into tonight's game with Houghton with a shot at advancing to the state semifinals for the first time since third-year coach Sarah Wolting was a member of the team, in 1997.

And now the Tigers' boys, who advanced to the semifinals last year, are at it again.

Shelby, which replaced all 5 starters from the team that fell to Traverse City St. Francis in the semifinal game last March, is on its way to the regional title game after blitzing Pine River last night, 79-57, at Traverse City West High School. The Tigers draw Glen Lake in Wednesday's title game, and if they win that one, it'll be (most likely) third-ranked Negaunee coming out of the Upper Peninsula for next Tuesday's quarterfinal game at Gaylord.

What impressed me most about the Tigers Monday night was their composure. Pine River got into the double bonus in the first quarter, putting Shelby behind the eight-ball. But the Tigers weren't rattled. They simply buckled down defensively, turned to their deep bench and took control of the game. After the game was tied at 20 after a quarter, the Tigers pretty much dominated the rest of the way.

I suppose it shouldn't be surprising anymore. Coach Rick Zoulek, in his 28th season, has a clear knack for getting the most out of his players. The Tigers finished just third in the West Michigan Conference this year, but defeated WMC champion Montague, a team with significantly more talent, in this writer's humble opinion, rather easily in the district tournament, 83-71. It's a horrible, horrible sportswriter cliche, but in Shelby's case it's true: They just know how to win.

They win with terrific depth. Shelby has a slew of guys capable of knocking down the three-point shot — Jason Beckman, Spencer Peters, Devin Mussell, Shane Kajtazi, just to name a few — and at least one of them consistently comes out hot in the early stages of the game. Monday night, it was Mussell scoring 11 points in the first quarter, with three triples. Those points kept Shelby in the game when they were otherwise being outplayed by the bigger Bucks.

Despite the size disadvantage, though, Andrew Beckman, the Tigers' top big guy and Jason's cousin, outplayed Pine River's Lincoln Erickson, a monster of a dude. The last three quarters, it wasn't even close — Beckman handled Erickson, on both sides of the ball. Beckman scored 16 points, a team-high, while Erickson had just 10, most of them in the first quarter. Beckman's not the biggest or strongest — he pretty much looks like a taller version of his spindly cousin pictured above — but he's quick, has a soft shooting touch, and is tough as nails.

But it all starts with Zoulek. The man can coach.

"We’re not the type of team that any one player can do it all," Zoulek said after Monday's game. "We have a lot of scrappy guys. We’ve got to have it from everybody."

I don't know how he does it, but he's assembled a team where anyone can dominate on any given night. Jason Beckman had 26 points in the Tigers' semifinal upset of Montague. 14 different players (14!!!) scored in Shelby's easy district title win over Hart. Monday it was Andrew Beckman with 16. Wednesday night, it could be Peters, Mussell, a Beckman again...who knows?

This Shelby squad was supposed to be a year away. The only players who have played big minutes all season that will graduate are Peters and Kajtazi, so the Tigers will have four starters back in '13-'14. It could be a special season.

Of course, for these Shelby players, this one doesn't look so bad either.