This is the first of two stories you'll see on Liberty vs North Kansas City. This one is not hiding under the alias of journalism, and is what could be considered an Op-Ed, or a column.
 
Ed Fritz walked into North Kansas City High School on April 30th. He had accepted the job as the next head basketball coach at North Kansas City. With him, he brought a host of at least 20 of the most talented basketball players to come out of the Metro. Within those was Santa Clara's Parker Braun (brother plays at KU), Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson– both of whom played for Loyola Chicago in their Cinderella final four run– as well as Oklahoma's Alston Mason. If that didn't set the tone, what would?
 
What followed, I could only describe as incredible. The off-season regimen began June 1st, as a player turned-journalist, Fritz is the type of guy that puts everyone through the gauntlet. His style is about 2 hours of defense, and eventually skill work, but not before everyone in the gym has thought about going home, drenched in sweat, never more than 4 feet away from a trash can.
 
And so was in with the new. By season's beginning, the period known as "The New Era" had begun. An early loss to Raytown derailed efforts, but the expectation was still there. An 0-1 start turned into 11 straight victories. An eventual loss to Blue Springs in the Kearney tournament, began quite literally the craziest stretch I have ever seen.
 
Note: Since the founding of Metro Sports KC, I have attended, or watched from home, 157 basketball games. I have never, and I mean never, seen a team complete the sheer amount of second half comebacks this team did.
 
North Kansas City was 12-1 entering Tuesday night, when trailing at the break. Every other top 25 team has a combined win percentage of 18 percent. Call it as you wish, but something happened in the locker room, 12 or more times, that lit a fire so hot, that a group of 8-9 guys were able to do what to most of everyone thought was impossible.
 
And so it's over. The Hornets died how they lived. A second half deficit proved a few inches too tall, nonetheless, this team did what pundits and my colleagues alike thought was doomed to fail. 11-17 was their predicted preseason record. The Hornets finished 21-6.
 
When the smoke clears, only one team ends the year with a win, and in a district with 6 ranked teams, sometimes, the better team doesn't pull through.
 
I'll leave you with this: The staff built by Ed Fritz has ushered in a different style– a promise made to reporters and students alike on April 30th has rang true, even in the loss. The New Era is here to stay.
 
I mentioned it on twitter last night (cringey, I know), and I'll reiterate that message here. It has been the greatest gift of my career, to witness the growth of this program, from all aspects, and I owe the beginnings of my personal career to the conversations I've carried with players and coaches of this organization alike. That is the true meaning of the New Era.

Editors Note (which is also me, just in the future): Thank you, and congratulations on great high school careers to our 4 seniors, and some of my great friends. Dallas Whitney, Iverson "The Answer" Neal, John Elful and Dasean Tatum. Can't wait to see you all play at the next level, somewhere!
 
A full game recap will be coming soon.