Andy Hedrick wanted Blackhawk High School's basketball season to continue, but not for the normal reasons.

Yes, it would have been great if the Cougars had made it to the PIAA championship game tomorrow night at University Park, Pa. And it would have been cool if Blackhawk's win streak had lasted another couple of games.

But Hedrick wanted the season to continue because he just enjoyed being around the players.

"I don't think I've ever smiled as much in practice as I did this year," he said. "These guys were just fun to be around ... they were loose all the time."

That attitude might have had something to do with Blackhawk's success this season. The Cougars were ousted from the PIAA Class AAA playoffs this past Sunday by defending champion General McLane, 55-49, at Slippery Rock University.

But before that, Blackhawk won 23 consecutive games, captured the WPIAL Class AAA championship and proved that John Miller doesn't have to be on the bench for the team to be successful.

The Cougars' calling card was defense. They allowed opponents an average of 44.9 points per game and overcame a 2-5 start.

"I think our defense set the tone," Hedrick said. "We gave up only 55 points in the game we lost. You hold most opponents to that and you're going to win.

"This was my third year [at Blackhawk] and the difference was this was the first season I got the players to buy into what we wanted to do on defense. My first year here I think we gave up 66 points per game. Look at what we did this year [defensively] and it was about 20 points less."

Blackhawk's offense also played a part in its defensive excellence. The Cougars were methodical with the basketball and worked for high-percentage shots.

Because of that, Blackhawk didn't average a ton of points, only 57.2. But that was more than enough.

It helped that Hedrick had one of the WPIAL's top players in 6-foot-5 senior Antoine Childs, who has reopened his college recruiting after verbally committing to New Jersey Institute of Technology. But the Cougars had other talented players.

"I've been coaching for 18 years and this group is the closest I've ever had," Hedrick said. "They pulled for each other and there was no jealousy. If somebody was being interviewed by the media, they'd poke fun and get on that player.

"At our senior night, Antoine scored just 10 points. Some guys would be upset about that, but it didn't bother him. And if you would have been in the locker room at the Palumbo Center before the [WPIAL] championship game you'd have never known they were playing for a title because they were loose."

Hedrick also credited the fact he had players from other successful sports at the school on the squad. For example, senior guard Brooks Roorback was a standout on the football squad.

"We had a bunch of multi-sports athletes," Hedrick said.

Besides Childs, who averaged 20.4 points and 7.1 rebounds a game, and Roorback, the Cougars will have to replace senior starter Tim Lipp, who averaged 6.2 points, along with 6-2 forward Ryan Verlihay and 5-11 forward Jordan Spratt.

Hedrick will have starters D.J. Damazo, a 5-10 guard; Mike Pearson, a 6-0 guard; and Zach Hayward, a 6-3 forward, returning. All are juniors.

Hayward's 3-point shooting percentage in the playoffs was better than during the regular season, and he made some big shots in the postseason.

Add in Ben Rawding, a 6-4 junior, and Tim Denman, a 6-0 sophomore, and the Cougars' cupboard is hardly empty.

"We also have a ninth grader, Dustin Pringle, who is 6-4. We brought him up this year and he looks like he's going to be a player," Hedrick said. "And there is Chuck Lipp, a sophomore and Tim's younger brother.

"We've got some solid players returning, but whether they will have the same chemistry as this group won't be determined until next season."