A singular focus, derived from the bitterness of last year's fractured ending, drove Susquehanna Twp.'s point guard to a new level of leadership.
So when Gabriel Mack added a chunk of gold to his wardrobe late Thursday night at Hershey's Giant Center, a tremendous depth of pride filled not only his soul, but those who know him best.
Gabe Mack, or "G" as he's known to the Indians, didn't inflame the scorebook during Susquehanna Twp.'s run to the 2013-14 District 3 Class AAA boys' basketball championship -- he didn't have to with younger brother Nehemiah "Bud" Mack and bigs like Quintin Ward, Joe Marshall and Roman Letterlough taking turns with the hot hand -- but his impact was tremendous.
It goes well beyond the numbers, though the senior point guard did unleash nine assists without a single turnover Thursday night in the 59-44 triumph over Manheim Central in the 3-AAA title game.
"He works harder than any kid in the state of Pennsylvania, he and his brother," teammate Jordan Millberry said. "His leadership grew over the years, and he got better and better as a point guard over the years. And it led to a district title."
Vince Rogers, the Indians' impassioned head coach, goes as far as saying Mack is like his own kin.
"Gabe Mack has really been our true leader," Rogers said. "He took over. When [2013 graduate] Jonas Page left, he said, 'This is my team now,' and he took complete control. He has been a true blessing for this whole program, and that's why I'm extremely happy for this kid. He's going to make a college coach happy. He's really like my son. That's how much I love that kid."
THE BITTERNESS OF LAST YEAR
To understand what Mack and the Indians (19-7) accomplished this year -- winning their first District 3 title since 2008 and sixth overall -- we need to go back a season.
Last year's 'Hanna Tribe arguably boasted as much talent as this year's club, and the program was rolling into the postseason, having locked up a Mid-Penn Keystone title and a berth in the Mid-Penn championship opposite Harrisburg.
That's when, Rogers alluded, administrators tossed a wrench into the spokes.
"The [previous athletic director] calls all of our kids in the night before we played Harrisburg and basically interrogates them about our program," Rogers said. "That's what happened. After asking our kids certain questions about the program, it kind of pulled everyone apart.
"Leading up to that time, we were playing pretty solid, but I knew at that time we were done."
Susquehanna Twp. lost by 20 to Harrisburg in the Mid-Penn championship, then fell to Palmyra in the District 3-AAA semifinals and Donegal in the third-place game. After beating an overrated team in the first round of states, the Indians were knocked out by eventual champ Imhotep Charter.
Those aren't exactly lousy credentials, but the team's play was chaotic in its final weeks, switching from superb to subpar even more so than you'd expect from your everyday collection of student athletes.
"As a junior, I took on more of a leadership role, but I didn't take it on how I should have taken it on," Mack said. "Because if I took it on how I took it on THIS year, we'd have a [title repeat] right now. This year I came in with a mindset of, 'I just got to get this done. I got to lead my team and do whatever it takes to get here.'"
SEIZING THAT LEADERSHIP ROLE
So when the dust settled on the 2012-13 season, Gabe Mack was the first in line holding the mop and ready to sweep the slate clean.
He demanded the best from his teammates during summer league and offseason workouts. He called team meetings, private players-only meetings.
Mack's fellow basketball seniors -- Millberry, Takhi Turner and Lawrence Holley -- are gridiron standouts, too, and all will be playing football at the next level.
The rest of Rogers' key contributors are underclassmen, so Mack was the easy choice as conductor.
"Out of all my years of high school playing football and basketball, he's one of the best leaders," said Turner, who popped off Susquehanna Twp.'s bench Thursday night with 15 points and six rebounds. "He's not the type to yell at you; he's the type of guy who will let you know. And when he says something to you, you know he's serious."
Added Millberry: "He's the guy who keeps us together. He used to be shy, wouldn't talk as much, but coach Rogers got him going, his dad got him going, and we got in his ear about being a leader."
Mack called team meetings after a 15-point loss to Hershey in December, then another after an otherwise meaningless loss to Trinity in the team's regular-season finale.
His message, Turner said, was simple, particularly after the Hershey loss.
"We were down, and people were doubting us, talking about how we're not going to be that good," Turner said. "So we all came to practice 30 minutes early, and we sat there and talked about what we can do to make our team better, to forget about everything in the past and start fresh. We did it again before the playoffs just so we could refocus."
LOYALTY REWARDED
The image is almost comedic, picturing the smallish Mack -- while listed at 5-10, he's probably closer to 5-7 or 5-8 -- barking motivational speeches at 'Hanna's behemoths like the 6-6 Ward, 6-5 Letterlough, 6-4 Marshall and 6-3 Holley.
But everybody in that locker room respects the heck out of "G."
"They know that when Gabe talks, they need to respond, they need to listen," Rogers said. "They respect him a lot. They look at him as their older brother. They look up to him."
In fact, he actually is an older brother to the team's leading scorer, sensational sophomore Bud Mack.
And brothers have been known to scrap, to bang heads. For somebody like Gabe, who's been scratching and clawing for respect his entire four-year varsity career, it could potentially be tough to handle when Bud comes along and elicits deserved praise from recruiters, coaches and media alike.
Yet there isn't a tinge of that, in or out of the locker room.
"Gabe is very confident within himself," Rogers said. "When you feel good in your own skin, you're very confident and comfortable within that whole environment. That's Gabe."
And, as a true point guard, he knows when he needs to strike. Like when he popped an NBA-range 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter in a quarterfinal victory over defending champ Berks Catholic.
"I know teams know me as a threat," Gabe said. "My jumper hasn't fallen lately, but I know once I get going, I can't be stopped."
During this gold medal run, neither could the Susquehanna Twp. team with Gabe Mack's DNA implanted in it.
"We were here [at Giant Center] last year, and we came up short," he said. "That was a feeling I never wanted to feel again. So when this year came around, before the season started, I said, 'We're going to work hard, and in the middle of February, we're going to be holding gold.'
"So we just worked hard, and it came true."