SHOCK THE SHAMROCKS: Pulaski prepares for battle against Trinity

Mar. 20—For a second consecutive season, the Pulaski County Maroons are preparing to make the trip of a lifetime to play at Rupp Arena in the KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16. Also for the second straight year, however, the Maroons are very much underdogs as they head into a game against the Trinity (Louisville) Shamrocks, the winners of the Seventh Region. After being dominated by eventual state champions Warren Central, who are back in the state tournament and are in the same portion of the bracket as the Maroons, once again everyone is discounting Pulaski. Just don't tell that to head coach John Fraley.

"Winning that second-straight region title was really good for the kids. The whole year and basically their whole career they were told that they weren't going to this, weren't going to do that," he explained

Trinity is a formidable team but wasn't the best in the 7th Region this season, so in that case the Maroons caught a bit of a break. That distinction went to St. Xavier, who lost in an upset to Seneca. However, that doesn't mean that Pulaski should take them lightly in the slightest.

The two teams have played a few times in the past, according to the KHSAA, with Trinity holding a 3-1 record over the Maroons. The most recent game was a Shamrock victory 86-76 back in 2017.

The Shamrocks, just like the Maroons, feature a balanced scoring attack with three different players averaging over 10 points per game, with the team as a whole being extremely lengthy and athletic. The last time Pulaski played a team like that was Boyle though, and everyone knows how that turned out if history is any indication of the Maroons' chances here.

Trinity's leading scorer is senior guard Andrae Vasser, who averages 14.2 points per game. Jayden Johnson, a sophomore wing, is their second-leading scorer and a strong threat from outside, averaging a shade over 40% from three-point range. You also have junior big man Julius Edmonds, averaging 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Pulaski will have to match his strength down low should they hope to stop him, as Edmonds' 67% shooting from the field ranks him 10th in the entire state in that department. The Shamrocks have seven players that score over five points per game and Pulaski will have to be on the top of their game defensively.

Pulaski, to their own credit, have a very balanced offensive attack as well. With three players scoring over 10 points a game and six scoring more than seven points a game, this team can flat out score. Gavin Cook has come into his own as a knockdown shooter this season and will be one of the keys to the game. Will Blankenship, the team's leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, has been fearless attacking the paint over the last several games and will need to continue to do so to get his teammates open shots from long range. Zak Anderson has been key battling several bruising big men over the course of the postseason and will need to keep up his solid defense against a tough assignment in Edmonds. You also have the question of how healthy is sophomore guard Carson Fraley, but even if the Maroons can get 50% out of him, the ball-handling and passing he brings to the court is invaluable.

Just like last year, just about everything will have to go right for Pulaski should they want to advance to Friday's quarterfinals. But just like the Maroons have been saying all season long, why not us?

"Everybody all year has said we couldn't, but we have. We have done it all year long, so what's one more time? We know how good Trinity is and that it's going to be a huge task for us to undertake. But we are going to enjoy the process, enjoy the week of preparation, go enjoy Rupp, and hopefully at the end of the 32 minutes we are where we want to be at," he explained.

Pulaski County will take on Trinity at 6 p.m. on Thursday night at Rupp in the first game of the nightcap, with the winner advancing on to Friday's quarterfinal round to take on the winner of Butler County and Evangel Christian.

Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com.