Square is center of world in Lund

Late at night, if you are within a bounce pass of Main Street, you hear the rattling sound.

Nothing but chain.

The Square is made of concrete, and the rims are not of regulation height. There are swings out back of the old elementary school, where the basketball playing youth of Lund often hoist shots past midnight.

Coach Shane Boren looked his team of nine girls in the eyes Friday morning and reminded them of that special place. He told them to play as if they were there, as if the hopes of a small town would be achieved not in a fancy arena in a big city, but in the purity of one aged spot large enough for a lifetime’s worth of dreams under the moon.

“We talked about the Square and the old chain nets and growing up playing basketball on it at night their whole lives,” Boren said. “That’s what it is about for them. Not all this. It’s about the love of the game, about playing in that atmosphere back home. That’s why they play.

“Chain nets. Just like it should be.”

Boren again will face those same players for a pregame chat today, because his Lund team advanced to the Class 1A state final by beating Virginia City 46-43 at the Orleans Arena.

Winning the state championship is an extraordinary feeling for high school athletes, no matter the sport or level. But there is no debating what the thought means to Lund, where back roads lead to old-fashioned values, where the only burger in town is grilled in the back of the only store in town, where outside sits the only gas pump in town.

They made a movie in 1986 starring Gene Hackman about this same belief, that basketball could be a vehicle to unite a small town in one common goal. I lost track of the number of times I’ve seen “Hoosiers” at around 60.

Stories like it and the girls from Lund never grow old, because just when you think the wholesomeness of prep sports has eroded to a point it might not recover, along comes Jimmy Chitwood on the big screen or this team from Lund in real life.

“I think what’s wrong with a lot of people in this world is they don’t ever get to experience a sense of community,” said Lund senior Keisha Stewart, whose 18 points and 11 rebounds led the Mustangs in their semifinal win. “When you live in a small town, you are truly part of something special. There is that trust, that loyalty.

“Look at the (enrollment) difference between us and other 1A teams. It’s amazing we are here. But it’s because of who we are and where we come from that makes it possible.

“I never take the keys out of my car when I go into the store. I know that if I were in trouble, every person would open their door and help me.”

Does she lock the door to her own home? “I wouldn’t, but my mom does,” Stewart said. “But she’s from the city.”

City folk. Always so paranoid.

Lund is a farming community 35 miles south of Ely and 200 miles from Las Vegas, and if you’re looking for a Wal-Mart or similar convenience, well, I’d tell you to accelerate straight through the town’s stoplight if it had one.

There is a post office, meaning you have a place to purchase stamps for mailing back any traffic violation, but you have to like the odds you’ll never receive one.

Lund won a state title in girls basketball eight years ago and has played for the crown several times. Always, undoubtedly, with a thin roster wary of foul trouble.

The school runs K-12 and includes 82 students, 47 of them in grades nine through 12. And as the national anthem began to play at the Orleans on Friday, nine girls stood in line, clutching the hand of the closest teammate and holding it over their own heart.

There is a scene in “Hoosiers” when Hackman’s character asks if anyone has anything to say immediately before the state championship. One player, Merle Webb, offers this: “Let’s win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here.”

Lund plays for a state title against Pahranagat Valley at noon today. The arena is beautiful. The rims are regulation height. The nets don’t rattle or rust.

It doesn’t mean, however, the thoughts of another place won’t run through the minds of a certain nine players.

“As long as there isn’t snow on the court, we’re out there playing most nights,” Stewart said. “Concrete, double rims, chain nets, no lines, short baskets.

“The Square.

“It defines us.”

In a perfect world, it would define us all.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 702-383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.