United vision boosts 17-1 Tigers

RANDLEMAN — Three letters. Three letters used to abbreviate a phrase that has sparked incredible success in the Randleman High School boys basketball program.

In an age where the last names of players are sometimes splashed across jerseys, uniforms and warm up jerseys, the Tigers have taken a different approach. A far different approach. It’s one that reminds anyone wearing a Tigers basketball jersey of what is truly important in basketball.

KTS.

It’s been on the back of the jersey for every RHS boys basketball player for more than a decade. It’s a reminder and a road map to how to be successful on the court.

“Know The Secret” means figuring out what each player must do every single game in order for the team to succeed. It may mean different things on different nights for each individual, but it’s a phrase that is much more than just a motto.

“It means playing your role, but it doesn’t mean you are pigeonholed to that one role,” veteran RHS boys basketball coach Daniel Mitchell explained. “It’s whatever you are asked to do for that game, whatever you need to do to help the team.”

That, in a nutshell, is what it means. Although it encompasses a wide range of fundamentals, versatility and adjustments.

“It’s what the team is built on,” senior Chase Farlow said. “It has been for all four years I’ve been here and even before that. It’s something we all buy into and it's a big reason for our success. All our roles change from game to game, depending on the matchups. We have to do different things to win.”

There has been plenty of success in the RHS boys basketball program since Mitchell first implemented KTS. In fact, Mitchell recorded his 200th victory as the RHS varsity head coach Friday night in the Tigers’ 52-30 win over Southwestern Randolph. Since taking over the varsity program in the 2012-13 season, the Tigers are 200-109, a .647 winning percentage.

KTS was first brought to light by Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who talked about the importance of KTS in a book written by Bill Simmons. Mitchell read the book and began implementing it in his own coaching style.

Everyone in the RHS boys basketball program has taken it to heart.

“It’s to know your role, and for me it means to always go out and hustle,” said junior sharp-shooter Pacey Wagner. “That is the one thing I know I can control. I hustle, play defense, trust my guys and do everything I can control.”

This year, the Tigers have used that philosophy to record a 17-1 record heading into action this week. RHS won its first 11 games of the season, including the championship of the SportsTone.net Christmas Invitational, before dropping its only game of the season, a 62-57 decision to Uwharrie Charter Academy on Jan. 7. Those two teams met again Tuesday night.

“The biggest difference between this year and other years is we have more offensive punch,” Mitchell said of his team, which had scored at least 80 points in three of their last six games entering play this week. “Guys one through five in the starting lineup can go for 10-plus any night. And we have guys coming off the bench who contribute. We do this without having to knock down a bunch of threes. We can hit threes. But we don’t necessarily have to have them.”

As always, the Tigers have been extremely active on defense, allowing an average of just 46 points per game.

“It’s a theme you know you can bring to every game so you can meet challenges,” Mitchell said. “I’m pretty sure all my teams have played defense at a high level. That is something you can carry with you every game.”

Wagner, Farlow, leading scorer Tyshaun Goldston, Connor Cassidy and Jirah Price are a veteran group of starters who are backed by a talented bench, which includes Brandon Boone, Ty Moton, Harold Burnett, Owen Leonard, Demari Garner and Jackson Cook. They all understand KTS very well and have used it to meet challenge after challenge this season.

“Any successful team has to take each challenge as it comes,” Mitchell said. “You can’t get caught looking ahead or behind or that can be a problem. You have to look forward to the next game, the next challenge.”    

The KTS system has helped the Tigers do just that.