EVANSTON — The five Red Devil basketball seniors took to the podium to give thanks to their coaches, parents and the fan base, but not before head coach Lex Cornia reflected on the five who ended their prep basketball careers at the state tournament.

“I’ve always considered this a senior banquet,” Cornia told the crowd in attendance. 

“Ordinarily, our focus is all about the team, but in this moment, we talk about individuals.

On Garrett Berger — “The first thing he said at the start of the season when I asked him how he was doing was, ‘Feeling dangerous, coach.’ That is something I will always remember about him, “ Cornia stated, as the crowd erupted in laughter.

“I watched people underestimate him, especially early on, “ Cornia said of Berger. 

“They underestimated Garrett due to his size, being a first-year starting point-guard and more” the coach began.

“As the season progressed, we watched as the competition took a completely different approach to him because they had to, and we were very proud of that. Some of the battles he had in practice, both this year and last season, were pretty intense, but after it was over, he always had that grin on his face, the same one he has now, which he always told us that all the ladies appreciated. He’s been a great leader for us and it’s been a pleasure to coach him,” Cornia concluded.

On Brady Hurd — Cornia relayed a story of Hurd coming in at the beginning of the season to display a research project the senior had completed about the history of Red Devil basketball.

“He’s the one who kept us grounded and what it meant to be a Red Devil. He always reminded us what it meant to wear red,” Cornia said of Hurd. The coach spoke of Hurd’s defensive prowess and how he was assigned to guard some of the best players in the state including Mcadams of Kelly Walsh and Fairbanks of Cody.

“I’ll bet he gave up 100 pounds to some of those guys, but you couldn’t tell,” Cornia avowed.

The coach related his enduring memory of Hurd will be the free-throws he hit at the end of regulation to secure Evanston’s consolation championship win against Central. The coach said he started to get knots in his stomach but then envisioned a future meeting with Hurd with his guard saying, ‘Hey coach, remember those free-throws?’

On Chris Moeller — “He might have more cat shirts than anybody on this planet,” Cornia told the crowd. The coach added, “When you get body-checked by Chris Moeller, you knew it.” 

Cornia spoke of Moeller’s offensive performance when the senior scored a career-high 14 points against Green River and how Moeller’s work ethic during the off season and in practice paid dividends as a high point and the ankle injury Moeller suffered as a low point during the season, but commended Moeller for his unwavering positive attitude.

On Seth Lloyd ­— “He was our glue. He had about a million sayings that we heard all season long,” Cornia shared.

“I think the best we looked this season was when Seth caught fire or was dishing down to one of our bigs,” the coach added.

The coach relayed having pits in his stomach when he watched Lloysd suffer a season-ending injury in football, but that Lloyd later told him in the hallway at school, “Don’t worry, coach. I’ll be fine and we’ll be fine.”

“He was also our best alternate bus driver when we needed it,” the coach joked.