The last time the UIL state basketball championships were held in Austin, Kenneth Coleman was on North Shore’s staff, helping the Mustangs win the 5A (present-day 6A) state championship.

The first time the finals were held in San Antonio, Marquis Saveat led Ozen to the title game in what is now 5A, falling short to Lancaster.

So, this week is nothing new to either coach.

“That’s one of the reasons we brought him up,” Coleman said. “He has that experience. Now, he gets to earn his money.”

Saveat probably wasn’t prepared to talk to members of the media following Memorial’s 5A Region III championship win over Fort Bend Elkins on Saturday, but senior forward Thailan Wesley offered one of Memorial’s top assistants a seat at the interview table, patting the chair for Saveat with a smile.

“It’s very special,” Saveat said. “I came over and started working with these guys, realizing they had a lot of talent and a lot of ability, but they never experienced this before. I was thankful for coach Coleman welcoming me to his staff and to their basketball program and family.”

Coleman, winding down his third year as Memorial’s head coach, has just orchestrated the first run to the state rounds for a Port Arthur team since Thomas Jefferson went in 2000. Lincoln, led by junior and future NBA star Stephen Jackson, won the city’s last championship in 1995 and was the last PA school to reach a title game, losing the 1999 4A final to Crowley.

It came at a much-needed time for a city still healing and rebuilding from the wrath of Tropical Storm Harvey after more than six months.

“It’s why we play,” Coleman said. “It’s why we play hard and we don’t quit. Our community has been through a lot. … They deserve a reason to smile, and we gave them a reason today.”

Saveat joined Memorial’s staff last August after 8 ½ seasons as Ozen’s head coach and was been one of Coleman’s top varsity assistants. Not so long ago, Saveat and Coleman engaged in chess matches of the hardwood floor as their teams rivaled in District 22-5A.

Getting to state, however, is a step-by-step process, according to Saveat, who was asked about drawing on his experience from the 2015 5A final.

“Along the way, each step gets a little tougher,” Saveat said. “You have to step up as far as every game and the next game is concerned. We’ve taken them one at a time, and these guys have worked very hard and our coaching staff has worked very hard to make sure the guys are prepared. They’ve done everything we asked them to do.”

The two coaches are linked together by two of Port Arthur’s greatest basketball minds. James Gamble, a four-time state championship coach at Lincoln, coached Coleman in the 1970s and mentored Andre Boutte during the latter’s time at the school. Boutte guided Lincoln to state crowns in 1991 and 1995 and coached Ozen’s 2001 title team with Saveat assisting.

“God has really blessed me,” Saveat said. “I was born into a coaching family, and then I’ve been around a bunch of great guys, coach Gamble, coach [John] Payton — Lord rest his soul, he recently passed — all those guys have been my mentors.”

LOOKING AT MIDLOTHIAN

Fourth-ranked Memorial (32-5) will take on No. 9 Midlothian (28-10) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alamodome. All state tournament games will be streamed live on NFHSNetwork.com (subscription required) with the exception of the 6A title game at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox Sports Southwest.

The winner will take on No. 2 Justin Northwest or No. 23 San Antonio Alamo Heights at 3 p.m. Saturday. Northwest and Alamo Heights will tip off at 8:30 p.m Thursday.

Like Midlothian, the last three 5A champions (Lancaster twice, Mansfield Timberview last year) all hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and play in District 10-5A, which also includes a Waxahachie club that was ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season. Midlothian was third in the district at 9-5.

Coleman said Tuesday he didn’t know much about Midlothian while Saveat was busy scouting the Panthers on video.

“They come from an extremely good district in an extremely good region,” Coleman said. “Anytime you can come out of that region, you’ve had a good season. The untrained eye will look at the record and judge by the record.”

This is the first state appearance for both Memorial and Midlothian. Coach Steven Middleton’s Panthers, who have won nine straight, only average 58.9 points per game, but they shoot the ball effectively from the field at 44 percent and pride themselves on defense at 5.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game.

Senior guard Kaden Archie (6-feet-6, 200 pounds) is the 13th-ranked player in Texas and 60th nationally in Texas, according to MaxPreps. He averages 18.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.

Senior Caleb Jordan (5-11, 150) spends a majority of the time at the point and averages 14.1 points a game. Classmate Evan Marshall (6-7, 215) can play the small and power forwards and pours in 11.2 per game.

JACKSON’S SHOUTOUT

Beaumont ABC/NBC affiliate KBMT posted on its Twitter account a 1-minute video of Jackson offering his congratulations to the Titans. The video has drawn 7,729 views as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Jackson encouraged the Titans to maintain their focus while in San Antonio.

“Y’all have done something that hasn’t been done since ’95,” Jackson said, his framed No. 3 San Antonio Spurs jersey from their victorious 2003 NBA Finals showing in the background. “Y’all have got to keep your focus, too, because a lot can happen from now until you play those games.

“If you remember back in ’95, a lot of people were hating on us because we were going back to state, and we got in fights and almost got sidetracked from winning the championship. We were able to win the championship, but it was a lot going on. We almost lost our focus.”

Lincoln’s title win, a 57-56 decision over Austin Anderson, was the seventh and final UIL crown for the school in their 10th of 11 state appearances since 1981. Lincoln also won a Prairie View Interscholastic League title in 1956.

Jackson, now a studio analyst for ESPN, said he’ll be at the Alamodome to watch the Titans.

INJURY UPDATE

Memorial senior guard Jyson Butler went down with an apparent right knee injury during the second half of Saturday’s win over Elkins. Coleman and Saveat on Tuesday said they had not yet received a diagnosis on Butler, adding he’s questionable for Thursday’s game.

Butler is a three-point threat who nailed five in Friday’s regional semifinal win over Whitehouse and two in the previous game against Humble.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews