My thoughts on another week of basketball and another week of retirement…
Congrats- Todd Olinger has been assigned to do his third and final boys state tournament. That’s a great honor and a tribute to his dedication to the game.
Won Twice- I don’t know if you followed where the Missouri state association overturned Principia’s Sectional win, and started the game for a second time with 54 seconds to go in the third quarter. Principia went from winning the Sectional but started the second game down 5 points. Principia came back again and won the Sectional for the second time! Here is an outline of what happened.
Miami of Ohio- Miami is undefeated but some are now questioning whether they have to win their conference tourney to make the NCAA. Bruce Pearl says that they have to win to make it. Major conference teams with over 10 losses have a higher NET than Miami. All of that tells you how broken the system is. Major conferences came up with the secret NET formula, so it is no wonder major conference teams score high in it. Miami released copies of all the emails they sent to major conference schools to see if they would play Miami. Major conference schools will NEVER play at the mid-major schools, so Miami’s only chance to play a Power 4 is at their place or in a tourney. I say that I would rather give a mid-major with just a few losses a chance in the NCAA tourney.
Cheerleaders- Back in the day, when there were big Regional, Sectional, or State games, the cheerleaders were “on duty” before the teams even took the floor. There was a “war” between the crowds while the teams were still in the lockeroom and then as they warmed up. Chants roared of things like- “We Are Galesburg,” “Let’s Go Streaks.” When Galesburg girls went to State, it was chilling to be waiting to take the floor and hear thousands of fans chanting, “We Are Galesburg,” over and over. I have not seen ANY cheerleading squads do this in the last 20 years.
IHSA TV- I am guessing some would say we have advanced with technology where we have lots of games streaming- I would agree it is great to be able to see games during the season. I am not happy with the TV coverage of the IHSA Tourney. It does not appear to be in HD or I need a new TV. And there used to be people like Derril Kipp who knew girls basketball teams doing the announcing. Some do know the game but there are people hired who I am guessing have not seen a girls game all year.
Thumbs Down to Four Class- I am wasting my breath but Four Class Basketball was a bad idea. Schools of 1,000 students can and should compete with schools of 2,000. Schools of 150 can compete with schools of 500, and if they can’t, some of the schools of 150 should probably be thinking about consolidating anyhow.
This year Nashville in 2A beat Washington in 3A. Washington in 3A beat Loyola in 4A in OT. Washington played a team in the championship they had beaten earlier in the year by 30 points. The Four Class System has resulted in a general loss of interest in the State Tourney. When the boys finish next week- take out a sheet of paper and write down the names of the four winners in girls and four winners of the boys. Most bb fans won’t be able to list 4 of the 8 champions.
I would like to see the best teams play each other- I would like to have seen Washington play Loyola or Nazareth. Who is the best in the State? We will never know. Two-class basketball was the best.
Hanlon’s in Final Four- Olivia Hanlon and her Denver East team will play in the Colorado 6A Final Four next weekend. Olivia is the niece of Michael Hanlon, daughter of Sean and Karla (Emery) Hanlon, and granddaughter of John and Ruth Ann Hanlon. Sean is an assistant coach for the team.
Denver East includes Mia Avramovic, who is a 6’6”, sophomore. She is an exchange student who plays on the Serbian national team for her age group. East also has Mairead Hearty, who is 6’3” and headed next year to San Diego State.
You can follow Olivia and Denver East on the NFHS network. The semi-final game will be on Thursday at 8:15pm central time.
Take My Ball and Go Home- We think college is crazy with the Portal. It seems this is the season in high schools for malcontent parents or players to start throwing it out that they are thinking about transferring. Not sure this behavior promotes developing any sense of toughness or loyalty going forward.
LED Floor- The Big 12 Tourney will feature an LED court where they can change the design on the floor as quickly as you can change images on your computer screen. Good-bye wood.
Women’s FIBA World Cup- Next week we can get a chance to finally watch Caitlyn Clark again with USA Basketball. It will be a “Dream Team” of the young WNBA talent- Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, etc. Here is the schedule:
Wed March 11 2pm on TruTv
Thu March 12- 5pm on TruTV
Sat March 14- 2pm on TruTV
Sun March 15- 10:45am on TruTV
Tue March 17- 2pm on TNT
TV Advice- This week’s recommendation is Night Agent. Each season can stand alone. The first season was great but each season just keeps getting better. The latest season is the BEST.
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