As I stood at the podium to present the 2015 Centercourt Coach of the Year during the Prep Talk/BCANY banquet at Ilio Diapolos, I asked the room full of the area's best players and coaches, "how many of you predicted at the beginning of the season that this Canisius team would win its first state championship and follow it with a federation title"? While the question was rhetorical in nature, the point behind it was simple. Kyle Husband, who is obviously one of the best coaches in WNY, not only guided his program farther than they'd ever gone before, he took them to the pinnacle of success by sticking to the same coaching principles he's always believed in, with a group that believed in him.
It's no secret that Canisius High School has been turning out some of area's best athletes in recent years and has become the banner basketball program in WNY since 2011. But coming off a season where the Crusaders were unexpectedly ousted from the Manhattan Cup Playoffs in the semifinal round on their home court, and then losing the area's most highly touted player when Howard Washington transferred away to Montverde Academy in Florida, their chances of winning the 2015 Manhattan Cup seemed much less predictable than in the past.
Despite some questions coming into the season, Canisius won the Tom Keenan Memorial Tournament and also beat Jamestown in a nonleague game in December. Then in the beginning of January, they were able to re-establish themselves as the team to beat locally with a resounding statement win at Nichols.
But then they entered midseason, and seemed to be stepping backwards. The wins continued, but they were getting pushed into the fourth quarter against quality opponents and waiting until the game's critical juncture to turn it on. After one game in particular, a close game that Canisius managed to pull out at the end in late January, I remember realizing Husband's frustration during the postgame interview. After several attempts to land a quality quote for my game story, I turned off the recorder. At that point, he voiced his displeasure with the team's lack of consistent effort and acknowledged that they had some things to figure out.
A week later, news came down that a pair of starters were deemed academically ineligible for at least two weeks. The timing happened to coincide with their rematch with Nichols at home. Playing with just two of the starters from the Manhattan Cup semifinal loss to the Vikings a year earlier, Canisius had a pair of reserves step into a starting role, and handed Nichols a 57-50 defeat.
"Our best game of the season might have been the Nichols game at home right after they became ineligible", Husband said. "We had guys step up and play great roles and got a gutsy win".
The circumstances that the team had dealt itself seemed to serve as an eye-opening motivator for all eleven players.
"It had a great effect", Husband said of his team needing to turn to its bench for players to step up. "We talked about it that day, and we never talked about it again".
What they did talk about was what their strengths and weaknesses were as a team. The 2015 Crusaders were a different type of team than the usual Canisius teams that thrived from the perimeter.
"We weren't an offensive juggernaut at any point", Husband said. "Once we understood that, we began to take advantage of our strengths as a team".
Canisius began by closing out the regular season as the undefeated champs of the Monsignor Martin Association. They followed that up by bringing the Manhattan Cup back to Delaware Avenue after knocking off Nichols for a third time in the season. Ten days later, the Crusaders took the court for the CHSAA state semifinals and faced a Chaminade team that was as well coached as any Canisius had faced all season. Despite a barrage of 3-pointers, the Crusaders outworked, outhustled, and outplayed their opponents, and advanced to the state championship game, looking as good as they had at any point in the season.
At Forham University on March 14th, Husband's Crusaders finally broke through and won the first CHSAA Class A state championship in school history, defeating a one-loss Kennedy Catholic team, 65-55. It was now on to the NYS Federation Tournament of Champions, where Canisius would draw the state champion from the NYSPHAA.
After I watched Scotia-Glenville, the defending Class A NYS Federation Champions, extend its state winning streak to 53 games by capturing another NYSPHAA title, I called Husband to get his thoughts on his next opponent.
"They're good", Husband said. "But I think we can beat them".
We went on to talk about what type of things he felt would be effective against the state power and why he liked his chances. Before that call, I didn't think Canisius would beat Scotia. But after we hung up, I felt a sense of excitement at the very possibility that they would win. I can only imagine how his confidence served as motivation for his players.
The Canisius/Scotia game ended up being a classic and remained tightly contested throughout. The Crusaders took the lead in the final minute and appeared on the verge of pulling it out, when a phantom foul was called with less than a second left, at the other end of the court. It sent the reigning Class A Player of the Year, Joe Cremo, to the line, where he sent the game to overtime. Trailing by two points with a minute left in overtime, Canisius closed the game on a 7-0 run, and sent shock waves throughout the state's basketball community. Scotia's streak was over, and there was a new favorite to win the Federation - the Canisius Crusaders.
Against Albany Academy in the Federation Championship, Canisius never trailed. They did turn up one last time in the fourth quarter, and built a 12-point lead that they rode to the final buzzer. The Crusaders won until there was no one left to beat. They walked off the floor as undisputed champions of NYS. Not bad for a team that left their coach at a loss for words just two months prior following a win.
"Everyone knew their role, especially the last five/six weeks", Husband said. "You saw that guys really cared for each other - they formed that bond more than any other team. You need everyone to buy in, you can't achieve something like that without everyone".
The only way you get everyone to buy in is if they all believe in the man at the helm. Kyle Husband has been a great coach from the word go. His teams are always hard working and disciplined. But getting a group to play at a championship level against the very best in the state, including the defending champions, is a whole other level of coaching.
"We were a true team - we were tough, we were gritty, and we were really good on the defensive end" said Husband.
All of those qualities came as a result of a coach who recognized those strengths in his team, saw the true completeness of his team, and then demanded it from every one of the players in a Crusader uniform. Congratulations to Kyle Husband on a historic run and a well deserved nod as the 2015 Coach of the Year.
-centercourt
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