This Writer Ready For Hoop Dreams
Pardon me for a moment while I apply a few eye drops.
I’ve watched 13 basketball games in the last nine days. You could actually say the last eight days because high school events are never played on Sundays.
Regardless, the Spaldings are beginning to run together.
Don’t take me wrong, I’m not complaining. Truth is, I’ve witnessed some of the best hoops I’ve seen in these here parts in some time.
And the baker’s dozen of games I’ve taken in will be topped by my teammates next week when that annual hoops du jour known as the Washington State B tournaments take center stage for four days in the Arena.
As I was saying, though, I’ve had enough hoops to satisfy the most rabid prep junkie. And there’s more ahead. It ends next week with the boys’ state tourneys in the Boise area.
So, indulge me for a moment as I offer some random thoughts. (This column is being written at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday because, well, basketball can be like caffeine and affect your sleep!)
Spacing is a term used in basketball to describe the room players need to comfortably execute their offensive sets. Could the postseason tournaments use a little spacing, too?
After watching the six-team, double-elimination Region I girls and boys tournaments, I must admit the format, in concept, is outstanding.
Consider the finish of both tournaments. In the girls, Coeur d’Alene and Moscow went all out in three straight games in three consecutive nights before the Vikings prevailed.
The same occurred in the boys tourney this week between Sandpoint and Lake City.
To the teams’ benefit, those scenarios simulate state tournaments, which in Idaho are conducted in three days. Throw in the crowd and atmosphere of the Sandpoint-LC showdowns and you can see why the coaches will likely put their stamp of approval on the format for next year.
I wonder, though, if the tail end of the regional should be more spaced out. Under the current format, if play continues to the ifnecessary game, the champion is decided on a Wednesday with the state tournament still more than a week away.
That gives the runner-up two days to prepare for a Saturday playoff for a second state berth. Which team really benefits the most?
The final numbers aren’t in yet, but the A-1 regionals had to be money makers for North Idaho teams.
A few intriguing matchups attracted large crowds.
Look who’s in the A-2 District I championship game tonight. Lakeland, fresh off its regular-season-ending upset over St. Maries, pulled off the first upset of the district Tuesday when it knocked off Kellogg at Kellogg.
Coach Trent Derrick’s late-rising Hawks meet defending district champ St. Maries when the Intermountain League’s state-qualifying tourney concludes the next three days at Lake City High School.
Who will prevail tonight? It wouldn’t be fair to give any team last-minute bulletin-board fodder.
It’ll be worth four bucks or so to take in the title game and the loser-out preliminary between Bonners Ferry and Kellogg.
Grangeville (5-17) will take on the District I runner-up in a playoff Saturday at LC.
Yep, Grangeville’s record is correct. The Bulldogs knocked off Orofino in the District II playoff series to advance to the showdown with the District I loser-out survivor. Three of Grangeville’s wins were against Orofino. The other two were against A-3 Central Idaho League teams Timberline and Clearwater Valley. The Bulldogs lost two non-league games apiece to St. Maries and Kellogg.
So, it’s a good bet the IML will still get its usual two teams to state despite playing the extra game under the new qualifying format.
In the North Star League, co-league champs Clark Fork and Falls Christian probably have their state travel plans and accommodations set.
That’s not meant as a knock against the league’s other two teams. But it would take something just short of a natural disaster for Clark Fork or Falls Christian to lose openers tonight in the District I tourney.
Under the NSL format, if the co-champs win tonight they will meet Friday night in the title game to decide seeding to state. Tipoff in that game, at Lakeland, will be 6.
The teams posted lopsided wins on their home floors in league. The rubber game could be entertaining and perhaps most telling in which team is the best.
It’s the only game in town Friday. If you haven’t watched a small-school game it would be worth the experience. These teams can fill up the hoop.
And how about Wallace, surviving another loser-out game Tuesday in the District I-II tournament at Lewiston? The Miners, who have been led all season by junior standout Tim Fleming, upset Central Idaho League South Division champ Timberline 69-68.
Wallace goes back to Lewiston tonight for another loser-out game against Kamiah. If Wallace wins, it will play for a state berth Saturday.
One final thought on the just-completed girls season.
The late-season runs by Coeur d’Alene and Moscow were every bit as engaging as reported. A marvelous job well done by the athletes and coaches.
(It’s 5:20 a.m. Time to catch some z’s and dream perhaps of the final regional showdown between Sandpoint and LC.)