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For Camden’s Lance Ware and other seniors denied chance to finish careers on court: ‘A big What If’

The frustrating thing for the Panthers' star, a Kentucky recruit, and others was the lack of resolution: They'll never know for sure how they would have fared in the final games of the cancelled state tournament

Camden High School basketball star Lance Ware said he will ask himself "What If" for the rest of his life after his team was denied the chance to finish its drive for a state championship when the NJSIAA cancelled the tournaments because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Camden High School basketball star Lance Ware said he will ask himself "What If" for the rest of his life after his team was denied the chance to finish its drive for a state championship when the NJSIAA cancelled the tournaments because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

The Camden High basketball team might have won the state championship this season.

The Panthers might have captured the Tournament of Champions title as well.

Or they might have lost in the state semifinals, or the state finals, or in the T of C.

The maddeningly thing for senior Lance Ware, his teammates and coaches and Camden’s faithful fans is the uncertainty: They’ll never know for sure.

“It’s like a big ‘What If,’” Ware said. “It’s a big ‘What If’ we’ll be asking ourselves for the rest of our lives.”

Camden’s sensational season ended when the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association announced Thursday night that it was cancelling the state basketball tournament as a precautionary measure because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.

That left Camden, the South Jersey Group 2 champion with a 29-1 record, with no real resolution to its season.

The Panthers were supposed to play Manasquan in the state semifinals on Thursday night, but the Central Jersey champions announced Thursday afternoon that they were withdrawing from the tournament.

A few hours later, the NJSIAA shut down the tournament in both boys’ and girls’ competition.

“It hurts a lot,” said Ware, a Kentucky recruit.

Timber Creek was able to advance farther in its tournament, winning a Group 3 state semifinal on Wednesday night.

The Chargers were scheduled to play North Jersey champion Irvington in Sunday’s state finals.

“When I saw the Tweet (Thursday night), I was like, ‘This can’t be happening,’” Timber Creek senior guard Justin Bladen said.

Timber Creek was set to play in the state finals for just the second time in program history. The 2008 team lost to Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the title game that season.

“We had a chance to make history,” Bladen said.

Bladen said the worst part was that Timber Creek (25-5) was denied the opportunity to finish its season on the court.

“It’s like they left it a cliff-hanger,” Bladen said. “Win or lose, we wanted to play the game and see what happened.”

Wildwood Catholic (24-7) had beaten Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public South B title game on Wednesday, advancing to a projected matchup with North Jersey champion Roselle Catholic in the Saturday’s state finals.

The Crusaders would have been trying to win the program’s first state title since 1960.

“We believed we were playing as well as anybody,” Wildwood Catholic coach Dave DeWeese said. “We thought we were going to win it all.”

DeWeese said he had “tears in my eyes” when he read texts from his players on Friday morning, spreading the news of the cancellation of the state tournament.

“We were building and building,” DeWeese said. “We were playing our best basketball. To have it taken away, it’s just so tough for all of us.”

Ware led Camden to one of the best regular seasons in the program’s fabled history. The Panthers finished on a 25-game winning streak. Their lone loss was to Philadelphia Catholic League power Roman Catholic in a showcase event Dec. 30 at Cherry Hill East, a game in which the Panthers held an 11-point lead in the third quarter.

“It was everything I hoped it would be and more,” Ware said of the season. “I was super proud of my team. Everybody played a huge role. We came to practice every day working to get better.”

Camden’s success ignited the team’s passionate fan base, which has been clamoring for the program’s 12th state championship since the last title in 2000.

“Our fans are part of our team,” Ware said. “I know this hurts the fans as much as this hurts us.”

Like Bladen, like all seniors, Ware knew his career was coming to end. He knew he was playing his final games in a Camden uniform.

Like all players, he had dreamed of finishing with a victory, of walking off the court in celebration, with a trophy.

Instead, his career ended with on-line news that there would be no more games played this basketball season.

“I think I would rather have lost than not get the chance to play,” Ware said. “We’ll all be asking ourselves, ‘What if we won that state championship? What if we got to play those games?’”