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DEL.ICIO.USMilton bids to repeat ‘97 Wheeler upset
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every so often, Van Keys gets nostalgic about the most dynamic time of his nine-year run as coach at Milton.
It was Feb. 12, 1997, at Pope High, when his unheralded Eagles knocked off No. 1 Wheeler in the subregion tournament, an upset that reverberated throughout the state.
No one expected Milton to defeat the Wildcats, who were the most dominant team in Class AAAA that season, with D.A. Layne, Antwuan Dixon and others. But Milton pulled it out, on two last-second free throws, and ended Wheeler’s run.
That is of interest now because the two teams meet again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Milton. It is the Eagles’ best opportunity to defeat Doug Lipscomb’s perennial power in the past 10 years.
Since the 58-57 Milton victory, Lipscomb has built Wheeler into perhaps the state’s most prolific program. The Wildcats have won three state championships and are yearly contenders. Milton, meanwhile, has never had a moment like it did in ‘97.
This weekend offers that opportunity. The Eagles are 11-1 and ranked No. 7 in the state. Wheeler is ranked No. 3.
To defeat Wheeler, much has to fall into place, as it did for Milton 10 years ago.
“Just a great game,” recalled Keys, 46, a physical education teacher and tennis coach at Milton. “It was unexpected that we would upset them. It was the best we played all that year.”
Keys can recall details of the game as if it were a recent happening. “Nip and tuck the whole way,” he said. “We had our moments, but they had some great players in Layne and Dixon. They were great.
“What we did have was a 6-8 kid, Justin Valentine, who played great inside for us.”
Still, Wheeler held a 57-56 lead when a foul was called on Dixon against Greg Rosinski with 1.2 seconds to play. Fans recall seeing the entire Wheeler cheering section run behind the basket and wave their arms to distract Rosinski.
With the noise at ear-splitting level, Rosinski, “nailed them both, like it was nothing,” Keys said. “And that was the game.”
The Milton fans, from shock and glee, rushed the court. “It was an unbelievable celebration,” Keys said.
Rosinski, the son of former Falcons play-by-play announcer Bill Rosinski, was a hero, as was the entire team, which lost the next week to Marietta.
“I got home about 11 that night and received calls of congratulations until after midnight,” Keys said. “Even the Roswell coach called. He was glad. We had gotten Wheeler out of the way for them. And Roswell went on to win the championship.”
Since then, Milton has not beaten Wheeler. Hasn’t come close. In fact, the Eagles lost to the Wildcats twice in 1997 by double-figure margins.
“You win a game like that and it sticks with you,” Keys said. “Now, Milton has a chance to do it again. If it’s anything like the game we played 10 years ago, it’ll be a great game this weekend. … I can’t wait to see it.”
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By fosterjoiner
January 16, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this
Get it right. I called it a repeat of the Munich basketball game between USA and the Soviet Union. The foul came after the buzzer and two of the refs knew it. One of the refs came in and overruled. The videotape clearly showed the ref made a mistake and should not have stuck his nose in where it did not belong. The other two refs had it right and he was wrong. To legitimize the bad call he had the other two refs put more time on the clock.