Massey Basketball: Tulsa’s Union HS- Great Visit for an Old Coach

All of us associated with athletics have pride in our schools, our conferences, and our state. When my teams first went to the Chicago suburbs to play, I was so impressed with their facilities and their skill level. It made us better playing stronger teams. When we started going to Mattoon at Christmas, it quickly became obvious that there were many good teams in central and southern Illinois. When we went to the University of Michigan and to North Carolina to team camps, I quickly learned there was good basketball played everywhere.

On a recent trip to Tulsa to visit my son, I thought it would be fun to go see a good high school girls basketball team play. I wanted to see what Oklahoma girls basketball was like- how did it compare to Illinois. With my son’s expertise and guidance, I went to suburban Tulsa to watch a tourney at Union High School.

When I first arrived at Union HS, it was obvious that it was a large and impressive school. Union HS has an enrollment of 3,516 students, the second largest school in the State of Oklahoma.

When I got out of my car, the first thing I was drawn to was their football stadium which was next to the basketball arena. Tuttle Stadium was remodeled in 2021 at a cost of $42 million dollars. It is nicer than any high school facility that I had ever seen. It is not just a set of bleachers, it is a stadium. It has 9 skyboxes, and a 2,000 square foot video board. While I was blown away by the quality of the facility, I was not surprised. I had heard stories of Oklahoma and Texas football.

Next door was the basketball facility, Union Multipurpose Center. I was built in 2003 for $22 million dollars.

In the lobby, I was drawn to the trophy cases. There were two separate areas full of trophies, but none of the trophies were anything but first or second place State Championship trophies. Later I found that the school had won 65 State Championships. I guess when your sports have that kind of success, you don’t mess with holiday tourney trophies.

According to their website, the mission of Union athletics is, “The mission of the Union Athletic Dept. Is to help our student-athletes reach their highest academic and athletic potential, to inspire champions today, and prepare leaders for tomorrow.”

The actual basketball arena is more impressive than places that many D1 mid-majors play. In fact, it is so good that the Summit League played their conference tourneys at Union HS 2005-2008.

The arena has all theater type seats. It has 5,662 seats and I am guessing space to allow another 1,000 in standing room around the top of the arena.

At center court, they have the U logo from the University of Miami. Miami has asked them to drop the logo because of trademark. Union reached a simple settlement- Union pays $1,000 per year to University of Miami for the rights.

The game that I got to watch was the tourney game between Broken Arrow (Tulsa suburb) vs Glenpool. Broken Arrow was ranked #2 in 6A Oklahoma and Claypool #9 in 4A according to MaxPreps. Broken Arrow is about ten minutes from Union. Broken Arrow is the largest school in Oklahoma with 4,672 students.

In Oklahoma, they have 6 classes for basketball. The largest 32 schools are in 6A. During the game, I noticed that they played on a college court (94 feet vs 84 feet), they had no shot clock, and they did not use a running clock.

Both teams were fun to watch. They played the game faster with more uptempo than most schools in central Illinois. Broken Arrow showed me why they were #2 in MaxPreps, they had multiple players who could score and had skills. It was good high school basketball.

The standout player in the game was Mackenzie Mathurin of Broken Arrow. She was a 5’11” guard, who could handle the ball and could shoot from long distance. She was as good as any HS player I had seen for sometime in Illinois. She is the #2 ranked player in Oklahoma, and is headed next year to the University of Michigan. She finished this game with an “effortless” 29 points. I hope when I go back later this winter that I can catch another Broken Arrow game.

I love college bookstores. I have never been to a high school bookstores that sold team lots and lots of Union gear. It was not my fault that I was late getting back to our Air BnB, there was too much to look at.

Allen had done a good job steering me to the right place to see a good girls basketball game in a great facility. And what is even more impressive, Allen introduced me to a Union HS grad so I could ask 1,000 questions about Union HS.

So you don’t think that Union HS is the exception. Broken Arrow has outstanding facilities also. Broken Arrow has a football stadium that holds 16,000.

They just finished adding an area that provides end zone seating, and a dining/social area for booster groups.