Perhaps the biggest theme surrounding the Northland High School boys basketball team's run to its first Division I state championship was about "doing it the right way," a phrase coach Satch Sullinger used again last Saturday as his team celebrated.

That's exactly what the No. 1-ranked Vikings believed they did all season, posting a 27-1 record that included wins over No. 8 Warren Harding (73-59 last Friday) and second-ranked Cincinnati Princeton (60-58 last Saturday) in the state tournament at Ohio State.

For Northland, that expression meant everything from forming a cohesive unit out of a group of college-bound post players and an inexperienced backcourt to having all of its players stay focused in the classroom.

It marked the completion of a march that began in 2007 with a district championship and also included the disappointment of a year ago when Jared Sullinger was benched for not doing his schoolwork and the Vikings lost in a district semifinal.

"The kids had a mission to win their last game," coach Sullinger said. "If they put their minds together, they can accomplish anything. This lets everybody know that there's a lot of good basketball in the city of Columbus."

What might bring fright to the rest of the state is that several of the key components to Northland's title run are eligible to return.

Jared Sullinger added to a list of accolades last Saturday in the state final against Princeton when he scored 15 points, including a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining. After Princeton rallied from a 10-point deficit to tie it at 58 on a pair of free throws by Orlando Williams with 14.4 seconds to go, the junior post playertook the inbound pass and was fouled while shooting an off-balance 3-pointer. After Sullinger made two of three, Williams' desperation 3 from well behind halfcourt came up short.

Jared Sullinger already had earned first-team all-City League-North Division, district Player of the Year and ThisWeek Super 12 Captain honors by the time he was named Mr. Basketball on March 25. He scored a season-high 31 points in a 62-56 win over Eastmoor in the City championship game Feb. 21 and had 22 points in the state semifinal against Harding.

Also eligible to return is junior J.D. Weatherspoon, who averaged 15.2 points and made first-team all-City, third-team all-district and the ThisWeek Super 12. Weatherspoon scored a season-high 25 points against Harding.

The Vikings will lose seniors Sam Belisle (1.3 points), Javon Cornley (6.4), Dimonde Hale (8.9) from the frontcourt. Hale was second-team all-City and honorable mention all-district, Cornley was second-team all-league and Belisle made honorable mention.

The other senior, guard Ricky Bennett, averaged 2.1 points. After failing to score in eight consecutive games, Bennett was 4-for-4 from the floor and had a season-high nine points against Harding.

Eligible to return after starting all season at point guard is sophomore Trey Burke (8.8), who made second-team all-City andhonorable mention all-districtand scored a season-high 17 points in a 64-50 win over Whetstone in a district semifinal March 7.

Freshman guard Jordan Potts (3.2) moved into a prominent role in the backcourt by the postseason, and freshman guard Ke'Chaun Lewis also was inthe eight-player rotation by season's end.

"Drew Lavender told me to bring a championship back to the City, so that's what we wanted to do," Weatherspoon said. "We'll see (about next year)."

Lavender is a 2003 graduate of Brookhaven who led the Bearcats to the City's last state title in 2002.

Northland, which has won three consecutive City-North championships, lost its only game of the regular season to Canton Timken 67-61 in overtime Jan. 31.

The Vikings won their final five of the regular season, beat Eastmoor for the third consecutive season in the City final and downed Watkins Memorial 70-25 on Feb. 25, Dublin Jerome 65-46 on Feb. 28, Whetstone and Westerville North 59-56 on March 14 at the district level.

Wins over Grove City 70-64 on March 19 and Dublin Scioto 54-53 in overtime March 21 followed at the regional.

Also eligible to return are sophomores Jakyl Cornley, Charles Edgerton, Quentin Henderson, Lavante Justice and Roberto Pierre.

For Jared Sullinger, the state title was as much a relief as it was jubilation last Saturday. After shooting 9-for-12 from the floor as Weatherspoon made 11 of 12 against Harding, Jared Sullinger was 4-for-13 from the floor before coming up with the game's key play last Saturday.

"Right now I'm just speechless," he said. "I told them that we're going to win this game, no matter what. It takes a whole bunch of pressure off my back because now I know I'm not a bust."