Title
To honor and recognize the Pickerington High School Central Tigers for winning the 2012 OHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship.
Body
WHEREAS, prior to this year, the Pickerington High School Central boys basketball team had not won more than twelve games in a season since 2004; and
WHEREAS, while the basketball program has improved steadily since the hiring of Coach Jerry Francis in 2010, and the team drew attention for some impressive victories early in the regular season, few expected the young Tigers - who had never before appeared in a state tournament - to contend for the state championship this season; and
WHEREAS, Coach Francis's emphasis on hard work, humility, toughness, and teamwork was reflected in the solid play of his team as they won the Ohio Capital Conference and captured their first district championship since 2002; and
WHEREAS, in their run through the state championship tournament, the Tigers proved they could play any style of ball and win any type of game as long they played as a team, and this was never more apparent than in their gritty, grinding 45-40 victory over Toledo Whitmer in the state championship game, played before nearly 10,000 fans at Value City Arena on March 24th, 2012; and
WHEREAS, Coach Francis, his talented assistant coaches, the school's athletic department, and the Pickerington Central community have laid the groundwork for a basketball program that will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby honor and recognize the Pickerington High School Central Tigers for winning the 2012 OHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship.