May 8, 2005 in Sports

Whitman belongs at State B

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I unfortunately read an article in The Spokesman-Review this past weekend that basically stated the State B basketball tournament in Spokane is no longer going to include certain B schools with a lower amount of student enrollment.

Their (the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association) brilliant idea is too create a C tournament in Yakima for these smaller schools.

The reasoning behind this is to allow smaller B schools to have a chance to make it to a state tournament. What they didn’t realize is they are condemning some of the smaller schools with exceptional basketball programs that make it to the State B on a consistent basis.

I went to high school at Garfield-Palouse in the early 1990s and participated in three consecutive State B tournaments. I played against some of the best B players in the state. Our league in Whitman County was tough and, depending on the year, would have two teams headed to the State B every year. Some of these talented teams included Tekoa-Oakesdale, St. John-Endicott and LaCrosse-Washtucna.

Don’t punish the Whitman County schools because of enrollment, as it will only encourage talented athletes to enroll in bigger schools. The State B has a long tradition of dreams, a hope for something better, a hope of something beyond the wheat fields, and a hope of bringing home the big trophy.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” (“Shawshank Redemption,” 1994).

Don’t take the State B tournament away from the small Eastern Washington farming communities.

Joe Perkins

Liberty Lake

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