On the one hand, nothing uncommon is happening this morning during the VHSL Group 4A boys’ basketball state championship game in Richmond.

King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball coach Josh Worrell said there is “not anything unusual for King’s Fork and Norcom to be playing at this time of the year.”

I.C. Norcom High School eliminated the Bulldogs from the playoffs in the regional quarterfinals last year. King’s Fork eliminated the Greyhounds at the same point in 2013 and 2012.

But on the other hand, it is not every year the Bulldogs are a game away from being state champions, and they are today, with only I.C. Norcom standing in their way.

Both schools have enjoyed success in the big game. King’s Fork won the Group AAA state title in 2009. The Greyhounds won it the next two years and again last year in the Virginia High School League’s new Group 4A classification.

The most recent meeting between the two basketball programs came on Monday in the Region 4A South championship game. The Bulldogs fell on their home court, 57-42.

“I feel like we need to get revenge,” King’s Fork junior guard/forward Keith Stagg said on Thursday after his team’s 69-58 state semifinal win against E.C. Glass High School.

Noting what needs to change from Monday’s performance to Saturday’s, Worrell said, “I think we just need to play harder for 32 minutes.”

The Bulldogs will benefit from having junior point guard Deshaun Wethington in action this time around. He was sidelined on Monday but proved just how big of a difference-maker he can be with his 21 points on Thursday.

Worrell said both King’s Fork and I.C. Norcom have scouted each other beyond simply reviewing film of Monday’s game.

The Greyhounds have quite a few players to keep track of, and they are led by three standouts who all average 12 to 15 points per game.

The trio includes junior guard Travis Fields, who was named the Conference 17 Player of the Year, sophomore guard Travis Ingram, who already commands Division I offers from Hofstra University and Bethune-Cookman University, and recent Nansemond River transfer, sophomore Kevin Davis, who also has an offer from Bethune-Cookman.

Rather than getting tunnel vision with regard to these players, Worrell said, “We take a general approach defensively. They have a great basketball team,” including talented role players.

Worrell said that for the final practice on Friday before today’s big game, he and his players would “just basically make sure we’re executing everything we do well,” and spend some time going over the scouting report.

Tip-off is set for 10 a.m. at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond.