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Packed with explosive talent

By David La Vaque, Star Tribune, 03/22/11, 10:25PM CDT

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Columbia Heights hoping to capitalize on fiery style of play


Columbia Heights head coach Willie Braziel gave star player Zach Lofton a hard time for getting to practice late. Lofton got a ride from his mother who refuses to drive on the highway. Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune


Columbia Heights star player Zach Lofton gets airborne for a dunk. Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

Columbia Heights senior guard Zach Lofton is one of the most dynamic, complex, talented and talked-about basketball players in the state. And if this were any of the past 80 years, none of that would have been on display on the grandest stage.

But this year is different. Lofton not only led the metro area in scoring with 30.4 points per game during the regular season but also led the Hylanders to the state tournament for the first time since 1930. The berth has given a badly needed jolt to the first-ring northern suburb, made Columbia Heights a buzzworthy team going into Wednesday’s quarterfinals — and put Lofton front and center.

“I think I might be the most emotional player in Minnesota,” Lofton said. “Most players have a short memory, but I don’t. That makes me the player I am, though.”

Lofton has taken his share of message board abuse from observers who view his inner fire and outward intensity as signs of disrespect toward referees and opponents. But he and his teammates have also given their community plenty to talk about.

Kay Mayer, a Columbia Heights booster and a fixture at basketball and football games since 1979, joined the throng of fans at last week’s section final victory over DeLaSalle, when Lofton scored 25 points in a 61-57 victory. Coach Willie Braziel cut down the net and put it around Mayer’s neck. After years of often discouraging results, plus two consecutive losses in the section final, Mayer slept with the net under her pillow to ensure she was not dreaming.

“Our city needed this again,” she said.


During basketball practice at Columbia Heights, point guard Rodrick Logan drives to the basket for a layup. Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

With community pride on the line and the season reduced to a win-or-go-home mentality in the 3A quarterfinals against Marshall at Williams Arena, the Hylanders (23-6) and their star player must find a way to produce light without heat — to, as Lofton put it, “play hard and shut up.”

A victory against Marshall could set up a tantalizing semifinal showdown with defending champion and No. 1 seed St. Paul Johnson. But basketball, in any form, liberates Lofton’s competitive instincts. His father recently purchased a new PlayStation 3 controller to replace the one Lofton threw against a wall. What happened?

“I think Blake Griffin dunked on me,” Lofton said.

Braziel called Lofton a “hyperactive kid” who when put in a “highly stimulated environment gives highly stimulated reactions.”

When focused, Lofton’s game is something to behold. The 6-3 guard scored at least 40 points in three of the Hylanders’ first six games. Later in the season he went for 47 points in a loss to Cooper and dropped 53 in a victory against Minneapolis Washburn.


Keanu Glover

“Not a lot of people get to play with a talent like Zach,” said senior Keanu Glover, who transferred from Armstrong this season. “He helps his team a lot. He actually taught me how to put on socks to feel stylish out there. He’s an amazing talent. Sometimes we get caught watching him.”

Teams often take on the identity of their star players, one reason the Hylanders can be construed as a mercurial bunch. Lofton and Fay’Miss Freeman were issued technical fouls in the DeLaSalle game. But like Lofton, other players say they are misunderstood.

“On the defensive end, you’ll see us screaming, clapping, diving,” Glover said. “There’s a lot of trash talking — not to the other team but to each other.”


The 1930 Columbia Heights state tournament basketball team.

It’s a part of their identity. But knowing when to dial it up and when to dial it down could determine how long Columbia Heights’ first trip to state in 81 years will last.

Plenty of folks are hoping the party keeps on going.

The high school is on spring break this week, but numerous students are scrambling to change plans in order to support the Hylanders. Players, meanwhile, were guests at a dinner put on by a neighborhood pizza place Monday after practice. Also on Monday, the son and daughter of Walter Pickens — a captain on the 1930 team — brought the team a photograph of that last squad to make state.

Part of the message with the photo read simply: “This is your year.”

Lofton and his teammates are about to find out if that’s true.

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