Ten years later, the game between the Spartans and the Irish remains a celebration of one great team and one great player.
![lebron-svsm-wyrick-bacon-2002-ce.jpg]()
Cincinnati Enquirer photoRoger Bacon's Beckham Wyrick did everything but crawl inside the St. Vincent-St. Mary uniform worn by LeBron James in the 2002 Division II OHSAA boys basketball championship game. "I wanted him to know we weren't going to roll over like a lot of teams who played against him," Wyrick remembered.ST. BERNARD, Ohio -- The copper-plated steel doors at the front of Roger Bacon High rarely swing open anymore, save for special occasions like the annual sports stag on Jan. 19.
Several hundred alumni of the suburban Cincinnati school entered the 84-year-old building, negotiated the marble staircase and walked into the original gymnasium in part to pay tribute to the rarest of sports legacies -- one that appreciates rather than fades with time.
Almost every member of the 2002 Division II state champion basketball team was in attendance, including Beckham Wyrick, who flew home from Germany where he still plays professionally. But the individual most responsible for keeping the Spartans' accomplishment fresh in the minds of so many wasn't present.
LeBron James presumably has never set foot in this working-class village of 4,400 residents where Procter & Gamble gave the world Ivory soap and the Vidas family still serves cheese Coney dogs at Chili Time the way it did in 1943. Yet with each All-Star appearance, every trip to the NBA Finals and league Most Valuable Player trophy won, James supplies more clout to Roger Bacon's 71-63 win over St. Vincent-St. Mary on March 23, 2002 at Value City Arena in Columbus.
"Back when we won the title we knew how much it would mean to us for years to come," said guard Josh Hausfeld, 28. "But the more success LeBron enjoys, the sweeter our victory becomes. He's going to win his NBA championships eventually and it will just add to what we were able to do 10 years ago."
On that crisp January night, salesmen, policemen, coaches and middle managers from all parts of the country returned home, their features softened and weathered by a decade's erosion, to reassemble what some consider the perfect embodiment of team.
The Spartans became the only Ohio high school program to beat St. Vincent-St. Mary during James' four seasons (1999-2003), the only program to deny them a sweep of four state titles. The tales from that season are the topic of an upcoming book by Tony Meale -- "The Chosen Ones: The Team That Beat LeBron."
Wyrick understands James is a polarizing figure for his decision to leave the Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. He, too, wishes James would have stayed in Cleveland, but it hasn't stopped him and many of his teammates from rooting for James.
"You could go to any of the four corners of the Earth and you're going to find LeBron jerseys," Wyrick said. "Besides a few small cities in southern Germany and a bar or two in suburban Cincinnati, you won't find many Beckham jerseys out there."
Ten years later, the game remains a celebration of one great team and one great player.
Game before the game
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Cincinnati Enquirer photoA mid-season loss to SVSM didn't bother Roger Bacon assistant coach Brian Neal. "We thought we might be seeing them again in Columbus."Current Roger Bacon coach Brian Neal, an assistant in 2002, stood in the corner of the old gym, greeting familiar faces and catching up on old times. He has seen plenty of each as an alum and coach for 22 years.
Neal knows all the little stories behind the upset win and it pains him to think the architect of the victory could not be part of the 10-year celebration. Bill Brewer coached the Spartans to a 25-3 record that season. He stood 6-foot-5 and his presence over the program loomed even larger. He steered kids to community service and reminded them no individual was bigger than the team.
Brewer knew he had a senior-laden squad returning for the 2001-02 season and believed competition within Cincinnati's rugged Greater Catholic League would hone it into a state champion contender. They were a physically imposing, well-balanced team with Hausfeld, Wyrick, Frank Phillips and Monty St. Clair all averaging double-figure scoring. Eight members would play in college.
But Brewer had seen James and St. Vincent-St. Mary win a pair of state titles and realized the Irish were moving from Division III into Division II. SVSM already was outgrowing its gym and local rivals. Ten years before Linsanity there was St. Vinsanity. The Irish had begun competing in national showcases, playing against Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and its star Carmelo Anthony in Trenton, N.J.
Roger Bacon 71, St. Vincent-St. Mary 63
| Akron SVSM |
Min |
FG-A |
FT-A |
Reb |
A |
PF |
Pts |
| Lewis |
25:00 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
1-1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
| Mraz |
32:00 |
1-6 |
1-2 |
0-3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| Joyce |
32:00 |
2-5 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
| James |
32:00 |
14-21 |
1-2 |
0-3 |
6 |
4 |
32 |
| Travis |
28:00 |
8-14 |
3-4 |
3-9 |
1 |
5 |
19 |
| Jones |
4:00 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| McGee |
1:00 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
1-1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Cotton |
6:00 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Totals |
160 |
26-48 |
5-8 |
5-18 |
13 |
18 |
63 |
Percentages: FG .542, FT .625. 3-point goals: 6-18, .333 (Mraz 1-6, Joyce 2-5, James 3-6, Travis 0-1). Team rebounds: None. Blocked shots: 3 (James 2, Travis). Turnovers: 13 (James 7, Joyce 3, Lewis 2, Travis). Steals: 4 (Lewis, Mraz, Joyce, James). Technical fouls: Joyce.
| Roger Bacon |
Min |
FG-A |
FT-A |
Reb |
A |
PF |
Pts |
| Hausfeld |
32:00 |
7-12 |
7-8 |
2-7 |
6 |
3 |
23 |
| Johnson |
32:00 |
1-3 |
1-2 |
0-1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
| St. Clair |
32:00 |
5-11 |
5-7 |
2-4 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
| Wyrick |
24:00 |
6-10 |
1-2 |
2-6 |
1 |
4 |
14 |
| Phillips |
32:00 |
6-10 |
1-3 |
0-5 |
4 |
3 |
13 |
| Bush |
5:00 |
1-2 |
1-2 |
3-4 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Newton |
3:00 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
1-1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
160 |
26-49 |
16-24 |
13-32 |
16 |
14 |
71 |
Percentages: FG .531, FT .667. 3-point goals: 3-9, .333 (Hausfeld 2-4, Johnson 0-1, Wyrick 1-3, Bush 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: None. Turnovers: 13 (Hausfeld 5, Phillips 4, St. Clair 3, Newton). Steals: 4 (Johnson, St. Clair, Wyrick, Newton).
| St. Vincent-St. Mary |
17 |
13 |
16 |
17 |
-- |
63 |
| Roger Bacon |
15 |
16 |
20 |
20 |
-- |
71 |
A: 18,375. Refs: Hayman, Morris, Trout.
Brewer realized his kids needed to be exposed to the mania before possibly confronting it at the state tournament. In April 2001, he called the SVSM athletic department and arranged a game with the Irish as part of a holiday tournament in Kent.
"Whether it was genius or happenstance, that became critical to winning the title," Neal said.
Brewer wasn't finished. He also earned his team an invite to a tournament in Lewes, Del., where his players got to see the Irish play two more times.
"Their kids didn't care about us," Neal said. "They had bigger fish to fry."
First-year SVSM coach Dru Joyce was aware of how good Roger Bacon was. He had driven to Cincinnati to watch the Spartans play. Joyce was not surprised by what he saw on Dec. 22, 2001 as the Irish and Spartans met for the first time in the MAC Center. The Roger Bacon players could not say the same.
They were astonished, they said, to see their opponents signing autographs before the game and James posing for pictures with the referees.
"After seeing LeBron with the refs I knew the calls probably would not be going our way," Hausfeld said.
Key Spartans played nearly the entire night in foul trouble yet the game was tied at 66 with less than four minutes remaining. James and Dru Joyce III, the coach's son, were brilliant down the stretch and the Irish prevailed, 79-70.
Publicly the Spartans were furious. Brewer groused about the officiating. Privately, the coaching staff was delighted with the effort and not entirely upset with the outcome.
"If we had won that game St. V would have been more focused, more hungry for the championship game," said Neal. "After the game our guys were in the locker room throwing stuff. We knew they had gained a lot of confidence and we thought we might be seeing them again in Columbus."
Guaranteed motivation
Hausfeld said the Spartans arrived at the state tournament quietly confident. Roger Bacon and SVSM easily won their semifinals to set up the rematch. On the night before the game, Spartans players had gathered in a hotel room to watch the NCAA Tournament. During a break, they caught a segment on the local news previewing the Irish-Spartans showdown.
The clip showed James at a news conference in which he said: "I'm guaranteeing I'm not gonna let my team lose."
"We were sitting there and we all just went nuts," Hausfeld said. "There was that extra bit of incentive."
The most anticipated game of the tournament -- it drew a then-record crowd of 18,375 fans -- was played at the most unusual hour of 11 a.m. James woke up with back spasms and seconds into the game was the recipient of a Wyrick forearm shiver to the chest that went undetected by officials.
"I wanted him to know we weren't going to roll over like a lot of teams who played against him," said Wyrick, who admits to being a cocky teenager with a mean streak on the court. He guarded James most of the game and turned the 6-8 Sports Illustrated cover boy into a jump shooter for three quarters. He pushed, poked and prodded James at every opportunity.
Larry Larson, who has worked the past 42 state championships in a variety of capacities, said he cannot recall a player and a team trying to physically intimidate an opponent the way the 6-5 Wyrick and Spartans did that day. Larson said Roger Bacon was fortunate the officials "let them play."
Where are they now?
A look at some of the key figures from the 2002 Division II boys basketball state championship game between winner Roger Bacon and runner-up St. Vincent-St. Mary.
- Brian Neal, an assistant coach on the Roger Bacon title team, has served as head coach since 2005. The Spartans have reached the Division III regional final the past two years. He recently won his 100th game.
- Josh Hausfeld, who played at Miami University, is a sales manager for Shaw Industries in Tampa, Fla.
- Beckham Wyrick, who played at UNC-Wilmington, has played basketball professionally in Germany since 2006. He plays for BBC Bayreuth.
- Monty St. Clair, who played at Miami University, works as a commodities trader for Andersons Inc., in Toledo.
- Dru Joyce remains head coach of the St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball team. He has won three state titles and made five final four appearances.
- Romeo Travis, who played at Akron, has played professionally for five years, currently with Galil Gilboa in Israel.
- Dru Joyce III, who played at Akron, has played professionally for five years, currently with TBB Trier in Germany.
- LeBron James is an eight-time NBA All-Star. He has won two league MVP awards and has made two trips to the NBA Finals, one each with the Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
Reminiscing with LeBron
Few members of Roger Bacon’s state champions have been in the presence of LeBron James since the title game a decade ago. Even fewer have spoken with him.
In 2004, Josh Hausfeld was a member of the Miami University team waiting to play a Mid-American Conference Tournament game at The Q. He was sitting in the stands when RedHawks teammate Juby Johnson waved him into the tunnel to meet one of his friends. Hausfeld turned the corner and saw James.
He wasn’t sure whether to broach the subject of the championship game seeing how the Spartans won and he scored 23 points. But James had no trouble discussing it, he said.
“We talked about the game a little bit,” Hausfeld said. “He laughed a lot and told us how well we played. It was pretty neat to see him again.”
— Tom Reed
The Spartans' strategy was simple: Do their best to contain James and blank everybody else. For the rematch, they placed the 6-4 Phillips on Joyce III to contest his 3-point shooting. Joyce, who scored 21 points in the first game, managed just six in the championship.
The only other SVSM player in double figures scoring besides James (32 points) was Romeo Travis, who registered 19 and nine rebounds before fouling out. Roger Bacon dominated the hustle categories, allowing just four fast-break points and grabbing 13 offensive boards. Overall, the Spartans out-rebounded SVSM, 32-18.
In the stands, Brewer's wife Peggy sought divine intervention.
"I was a nervous wreck," she told the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time.
"I prayed a rosary the entire game. I remember thinking, 'They [SVSM] are a Catholic school, too, but maybe they're not praying as hard.'"
Roger Bacon led by 11 points late in the third quarter, but everyone knew the Irish had a run in them. James served notice hitting a near half-court shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 51-46.
Playing with four fouls, he finally moved to the low post in the fourth quarter and scored 13 of his team's 17 points. He went 14-of-21 from the field, but committed seven turnovers to go along with six assists.
"It was obvious that he was a special talent and you could just tell he was going to be a superstar," Wyrick said. "It's hard to have a guy score 30 on you, but hey it's LeBron James."
With the Irish trailing, 66-63, in the final 30 seconds, many figured James would either take a 3-point shot or drive the lane for a quick bucket. He did neither. Standing at the top of the key, James fired a pass to a wide-open Chad Mraz in the left corner with 22 seconds left. Mraz missed the shot and the Spartans salted away the victory.
Throughout a terrific pro career one of the few knocks against James has been his unwillingness to take the last shot in a tight game.
"Every time I see him pass the ball in that kind of situation I think back to our game," Neal said.
James was gracious in defeat. He shook hands with all the Spartans and praised their performance while acknowledging his failure to deliver on a promise.
"I'm upset with myself because I guaranteed a victory and we didn't come through," James said at the time.
The Spartans celebrated on the court and late into the night. The team dinner was at an Outback Steakhouse on the way home and their bus was led into St. Bernard with fire trucks and police cars sounding news of their victory.
"I've gotten married and had a child and that night ranks right up there with the best moments of my life," reserve guard Matt Reed said.
Enemies no more
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"He was the best coach I ever had," the Spartans Josh Hausfeld said of Roger Bacon's late coach Bill Brewer.Roger Bacon was not the only team that weekend to use quotes as a source of motivation. After the game, Brewer told reporters: "They had the better player, but we had the better team."
Coach Joyce and the Irish (23-4) stewed over that remark the entire off-season.
"As soon as I read that comment I made up my mind that I would never give another coach the opportunity to say something like that," Joyce said last week. "I really felt that if we would have played them 10 times we would have won nine times. Their one win came in the championship game."
The Irish rebounded not only to capture the 2003 state championship, but the mythical USA Today national poll title. Months later, James signed a $90 million deal with Nike and became the No. 1 pick by the Cavaliers. He completed his prep career with three state titles and an 81-1 record against Ohio opponents. In interviews, James has cited the Roger Bacon loss as one of the toughest in his basketball career.
The paths of players representing those parochial teams occasionally have crossed over the years.
Wyrick has competed against Travis and Joyce III in Europe. They have chatted multiple times, but never have discussed the state title game.
"We were sworn enemies at [age] 18 and now we were just three guys on another continent trying to make a living playing the game we love," Wyrick said.
In November 2007, he received a call from his father notifying him coach Brewer had died of a heart attack at age 42. While Brewer had left Roger Bacon to coach Cincinnati Princeton in 2005, at least half the '02 Spartans squad attended the wake.
Hausfeld and several teammates went to a pub after the service to remember their coach before retiring to David Johnson's house to watch the state championship game again.
"He was the best coach I ever had," Hausfeld said. "He was really hard on me only because he saw the potential. I still wish I could go back to him for advice."
Hausfeld cannot believe how many people know the story of their team and that game in Columbus. He said it's actually helped him network in the business world.
A decade later, the Spartans understand and appreciate why the memories of March 23, 2002 remain so vivid to so many.
"If LeBron James had turned out to be only a mid-level NBA player, I don't know if this article would even get written," Wyrick said.
Plain Dealer reporter Tim Rogers contributed to this article.
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