I'll Take High School Hoops Playoffs Any Day
Chase Colston
Fact: the high school basketball playoffs are superior to any other prep sport in the state.
Sacrilege? Nope.
Give me a postseason where district champions receive byes, three teams make the playoffs in all classifications and the top teams in the state can meet before the regional tournaments.
Give me a postseason where district champions receive byes, three teams make the playoffs in all classifications and the top teams in the state can meet before the regional tournaments.
Every round in the basketball playoffs is worth watching. Sure, every dog has his day in football, a la Converse Judson making the 5A state title game as a fourth-place team, but save me the otherwise watered-down system.
Two teams ranked No. 1 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (both in Class A) made the boys state tournament, set for Thursday-Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center.
Duncanville, ranked No. 1 in the nation at one point this season, lost in the regional tournament to North Crowley. Houston Yates, which beat the heralded Oak Hill Academy, lost to Houston Wheatley in the regional final.
Princeton (3A) and Caddo Mills (2A) lost in the regional quarterfinals, both missing out on berths to the regional tournament.
The talent goes that deep. The teams are that good.
Give me a state tournament where all of the semifinal and championship games are in one place, a historic basketball venue thousands of fans flock to watch some of the best basketball in the country.
Staff Photo By Amy Peterson
SEDRICK JOHNSON and his Arp team are after their second state title in three years.
You don't have to look past the first glimpse of traffic on Interstate 35 in Austin to know the excitement and hype around this tournament. It's almost as exciting as the games themselves to watch fans try to walk back to their hotels.
If you've never seen 60-year-old guys run across busy roads and dodge moving vehicles, set up a lawn chair along the I-35 service roads.
Give me a state tournament where scalpers number in the hundreds because that many people want lower-level seats.
Give me the basketball playoffs. The bar is simply higher than high school football can measure up.
Let's finish with some championship predictions sure to go wrong:
Class 5A: North Crowley over Klein Forest.
Crowley, ranked sixth in the nation, solidified itself as the best team going in with a 61-57 win over defending champ Duncanville in the Region I semifinals. And when you win a regional final game by 55 points, you're good.
Crowley, ranked sixth in the nation, solidified itself as the best team going in with a 61-57 win over defending champ Duncanville in the Region I semifinals. And when you win a regional final game by 55 points, you're good.
Class 4A: Houston Wheatley over Dallas South Oak Cliff.
Wheatley beat Yates, which beat Oak Hill. You could look at it that way, or that SOC may not have enough weapons to win it all again this year.
Class 3A: Kennedale over Burkburnett.
Kennedale is a solid combination of methodical basketball, athleticism and size. The Wildcats' big men are solid and can shoot away from the basket, and their guards are quick.
Kennedale is a solid combination of methodical basketball, athleticism and size. The Wildcats' big men are solid and can shoot away from the basket, and their guards are quick.
Class 2A: Arp over New Waverly.
Ponder is out for revenge against Arp in the semifinals, and that meeting could essentially be the state championship before the real game. Corey Walker is one of the best point guards around, and oh yeah, there's that Sedrick Johnson guy.
Ponder is out for revenge against Arp in the semifinals, and that meeting could essentially be the state championship before the real game. Corey Walker is one of the best point guards around, and oh yeah, there's that Sedrick Johnson guy.
Class A Division I: Thorndale over Dallardsville Big Sandy.
Region III, which Big Sandy won, is undoubtedly the toughest in this classification, but Thorndale, eyeing a second straight title, is a machine even after losing leading scorer and Class A player of the year Austin Falke.
Class A Division II: Laneville over Goodrich.
It's going to take all the Yellowjackets have to get a state title after falling short in the championship game last year. But when you beat Avinger and have a player (Marcus Anderson) who can score 43 against a team that good, you've got a good shot.
It's going to take all the Yellowjackets have to get a state title after falling short in the championship game last year. But when you beat Avinger and have a player (Marcus Anderson) who can score 43 against a team that good, you've got a good shot.
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Free Throws: General admission tickets are $12 per person at the Frank Erwin Center. All-tournament tickets are available for $80 for upper level and $90 for lower level, if there are any still available. ... Tickets for the Arp semifinal will remain on sale until 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Arp ISD administration building. Tickets are $10. If Arp beats Ponder, championship game tickets will go on sale immediately following the game at the Frank Erwin Center box office. ... South Oak Cliff and Thorndale are the only two teams who competed in the tournament last year, and both won championships. ... No teams in the tournament are unbeaten. Duncanville finished its 2007 season 37-0.
Free Throws: General admission tickets are $12 per person at the Frank Erwin Center. All-tournament tickets are available for $80 for upper level and $90 for lower level, if there are any still available. ... Tickets for the Arp semifinal will remain on sale until 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Arp ISD administration building. Tickets are $10. If Arp beats Ponder, championship game tickets will go on sale immediately following the game at the Frank Erwin Center box office. ... South Oak Cliff and Thorndale are the only two teams who competed in the tournament last year, and both won championships. ... No teams in the tournament are unbeaten. Duncanville finished its 2007 season 37-0.
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