In terms of tradition and respect, Blair boys basketball coach Devon Richardson knows where the Vikings stand in the pecking order when it comes to high school basketball in the city of Pasadena.

There is Pasadena, Muir and that other school that plays eight-man football.

“We’re like the baby brother’s baby brother,” Richardson joked. “We’re the school that lives in the basement under the stairs, you know what I mean?

“You know how it goes with Blair. We’re not an athletic school and we put out JV teams. We can’t compete in Pasadena. Man, we’re just trying to change that narrative.”

It looked like Blair’s basketball program was starting to turn the corner in 2017 when it advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA championship game, although it lost to West Torrance 65-54.

The only other time Blair played for a championship was 1983, when it lost in the Division 1A title game to Santa Clara.

Blair (22-10) will get its third shot at a CIF-SS championship when it takes on Santa Paula (13-9) for the Division 5A championship Saturday at Colony High School at 6 p.m.

It’s an opportunity, Richardson says, they can’t afford to waste.

“It’s great to get here, but when we started winning, the goal was to win a championship and do something nobody else has ever done here,” Richardson said. “That’s how you earn your respect. That’s how you build a program. We know that opportunity is right in front of us.”

If Blair succeeds, it will be one of the more remarkable turnarounds in some time.

Blair had a decent season in 2018, but then it bottomed out.

Before this season, Blair had gone 18-71 over the past four years, missing the playoffs each season. Blair went 0-20 in 2019 and last season it was 9-17 overall and won just one league game.

What happened to turn things round this season?

Well, 5-foot-11 freshman Timmy Anderson happened.

Blair already had two core pieces returning in senior Shakour Sidney and junior Nazsir Cammon, who average 17 and 14 points, respectively. And sophomore Keshrey Smith Jr. averages 11 points while leading the CIF-SS with 12 assists per game.

But Anderson is the dude. He is one of the top freshmen in Southern California, averaging 23 points and seven rebounds, and he has continued to elevate his game in the playoffs.

In Blair’s 84-66 semifinal win over Tarbu V’Torah, Anderson scored a game-high 26 points. Anderson also scored a game-high 24 points in their quarterfinal win over Hesperia Christian.

Every team needs an X factor and Anderson is that for Blair.

“When the year started, he was just going down hill and it was attack, attack and attack,” Richardson said of Anderson. “He has matured during the season and figured things out. He’s more comfortable. The game has slowed down for him. We put him on the ball now and he’s picking his spots and also becoming more of a vocal leader. He’s not a freshman anymore.”

Richardson said Anderson’s toughness has earned respect from his teammates.

“He’s been hurt with nagging injuries all season,” Richardson said. “He’s taped up every game but never complains, and never wants to come out. That stands out when your freshman kid is fighting through all that and competing at the level he is.”

While it has been great watching Anderson and the other underclassmen perform, Richardson has a special place in his heart for Sidney, one of three seniors on the squad.

For coach and player, this is their first trip to the playoffs.

“I made a promise to Shakour that we would experience the playoffs and make a run,” Richardson said. “He had knee surgery last summer and it forced him to lift weights and now he looks like a man among boys. He used to be primarily a shooter, now he can do it all.”