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All's well that ends well for Setty, Royals
Sunday, March 23, 2008 5:50 PM EDT
He and his Mason County teammates were preparing to take the court for the championship game in the 2008 Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena, but a little more than an hour before tip-off, Setty was informed by his coach, Chris O'Hearn, that the Kentucky High School Athletic Association had decided to suspend the 6-foot-7 senior forward because of a technical foul whistled against him in the semifinals earlier Saturday.
Setty was on the bench at the time, but when teammate Ethan King was driven to the floor on an intentional foul from Shelby County's Donovan Johnson with 36 seconds left in the game, Setty sprang from the bench and took a couple steps onto the floor. That is when the technical was called.
But following another conversation with O'Hearn and Mason County administrators before the game, the KHSAA reversed itself, allowing Setty to play in the title contest.
That was quite a relief to Setty, his family and his teammates. Word had leaked out to press row about the suspension, causing a lot of speculation about the fairness of the ruling. The general consensus was that the correct conclusion was reached when Setty was reinstated. No punches were thrown, he didn't venture too far on the court when cooler heads prevailed and pulled him back to the bench. In addition to that, Setty was not ejected from the game, thereby avoiding an automatic suspension.
In an ironic twist to the drama surrounding Setty's eligibility to play against 9th Region champion Holmes in the final, he was honored earlier Saturday by the KHSAA. Setty's parents, Tim and Kim, were directed to center court at the end of the third quarter of the semifinal between Holmes and Lexington Catholic and presented the inaugural Ultimate Teammate Award, an award named after former University of Kentucky basketball player Larry Conley. The Ashland native was known for his excellent passing skills and unselfish play on the UK's 1965-66 "Rupp's Runts" squad.
"Trevor is so passionate and really loves his teammates. This team is so close, they have given up their summers and sacrificed so much. This is the culmination of all of that," Kim Setty said. "When he jumped off the bench, he didn't want to inflict harm on anyone. He wanted to make sure Ethan was OK."
Tim Setty spoke of the focus and determination his son and the Royals demonstrated during their 34-4 season.
"Their eyes were always on the prize," he said. "A trivial loss here or there wasn't going to stop them. They were like the New York Yankees this year, they had to win it all and they were striving for this goal."
Setty also mentioned his son's unselfish play.
"Trevor wants his team to win and it never mattered to him who the leading scorer was, he would take what was available, whether it was assists, rebounds or taking the three," he said. "He has always followed sports since he was little, he loves ESPN and the highlights, and the bigger the venue and the pressure, the more he relished it."
Setty's importance to the team was proven in the championship game. In spite of not having one of his better offensive performances (six points and no three-pointers) he contributed to the victory in other ways, by playing inspired defense and hauling down eight rebounds.
"I couldn't ask for better teammates," said Trevor. "We have played together a long time and we always said that in our senior year we were going to win the big one."
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