85th Boys State Basketball Tournament Part II
Well..... after taking a little time to reflect on the past weekend, it is time to wade through some different thoughts and questions in regard to the 2007 OHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament.
1. The trip to Columbus was interesting...... Son #1 and I in the loser cruiser..... We stopped in Findlay to gas up and he got a quick snack at Burger King....... The conversation was pretty light and easy for the most part. Traffic was very tame and the trip seemed to fly along. We arrived at the Lane Ave. Holiday Inn a little after 8 p.m. We wandered through the lobby and around the area outside the front entrance. We landed a couple of nice seats in section 223 in the second row for games 7 and 8.......... the prices for games 9 and 10 were pretty high..... so we decided to wait and see what we could find later..... I have no problem dealing with scalpers. If I think I am being played, I will simply walk away.....
2. I was concerned about on campus parking on Wednesday night. #1 was not too sure about what was safe and what wasn't. We ended up parking in the Tuttle parking garage.... and I spent the night in Morrill Tower..... interesting place....
3. The quality of the division III and division II games on Thursday were pretty good. I was surprised how comfortable it was sitting with Mr. Morrison. His perspective is always interesting to consider. He is also very connected being the former president of the board of control.
4. #1 has some pretty good insights on the strategies of the game. He sees many things. He is so quiet. It is almost impossible to get him to talk and argue sometimes. Makes me more than a little concerned that he is a recluse.... maybe I just make him nervous.
5. The play of Upper Sandusky was excellent in this tournament. They play with intensity..... They had Poland Seminary down early and didn't let off. They ended up winning by more than twenty-five. Jon Diebler was held to something like 24 points..... but he is the kind of player that makes the players around him better. In the championship game on Saturday he had a poor shooting day but still managed 48 points.... the third highest ever in the tournament and the all time highest in Division II. He took a physical beating at the hands of Dunbar, but played through it, broken nose and all. Coach Diebler was as wild as ever, but I think impassioned as ever. The fact that the Diebler family had to overcome the loss of Coach's father just made the entire weekend more intense....... somewhere I heard that Jon had been giving his grandfather a piece of each championship level net that was cut down after the sectional, district, and regional games. Dayton Dunbar did a very classy thing by giving Jon a piece of the state championship net to place in the casket. It was a very emotional game in front of the largest crowd of the weekend at 18,000+......... A game that will be remembered for a long long time.
6. The Holgate Tigers played well on Friday morning but came up a little short losing in double overtime. A lot of basketball people sincerely believe that Coach Wayne teaches the stall. I am a believer that they are not stalling this year because after watching them play in the regional final and the state semi final games, I every once in awhile took it upon myself to count passes per possession..... I would say they averaged about 3 to 4 passes each time. The Holgate fans were very emotional, and it was a tough loss that was a little tainted by a controversial shot at the end of the first overtime that was counted, and there have been quite a few people who have since reviewed the video and said that the kid from Canal Winchester Harvest Prep did not get it off before the red light comes on behind the backboard. All I want to know is why did the officials put .9 seconds back on the clock prior to the shot. If they had put .7, the Tigers win without a doubt. Bottom line.... Harvest Prep got the win. On Saturday #1 and I ran in to Coach Wayne tailgating by the Holiday Inn. He was in pretty good spirit.... and I congratulated him on a fine season and a great tournament run. I have only met him a few times, and usually in the company of Coach Lehman...... Coach Wayne seems to be a genuine person without a hidden agenda.
7. Liberty Benton came into the weekend 26-0 or something like that. They played well on Thursday morning. I have great admiration for Coach Williman. Truly a class act. His kids are pretty disciplined, and I think he makes great decisions. I was sad to see him lose by not having a good third quarter in the championship game against North College Hill. But... I have a new respect for North College Hill since they can now say that they are only the third team in the 85 year history of the tournament to win three consecutive titles. This one was special because their two best players have moved on, even though most thought of them as juniors a year ago. Mayo went back to Huntington, West Virgina, and Walker was declared ineligible by the Board of Control and left high school early for Kansas State. Never the less, NCH overcame the losses of these two spectacular big time basketball players to win their third straight.
8. I had a difficult time getting into the Division I games as they seemed sort of ho hum...... the big kid that is going to Ohio State from Canton Glen Oak was pretty talented. The most entertaining part of the Divison I games were the student cheering sections from Cin. St. Xavier and Cin. Moeller...... the best exchange though might have been between the Glen Oak fans chanting "we've got girls" and the St. X section replying with "we got Jesus"....... good stuff...... Moeller wins on Saturday night to complete the Southwest District's sweep of the tournament. Moeller in DI, Dayton Dunbar in DII, Cin. North College Hill in DIII, and Georgetown in DIV.
9. The whole dynamic of the weekend changed with the arrival of #2 and Suzanne..... Not a bad change, but still a big difference. The search for tickets became much more intense..... and #1 and #2 sat together for games 8 and 9. #1 left the tickets for game 10 in the loser cruiser which was parked in Worthington at the hotel. So.... he and I bee lined for the van and the tickets only to make it back to see that Dunbar already had a 10-0 lead by the time we got to our seats in the upper deck.
10. It was a good time all in all..... I am still very concerned about #1's lack of confidence about his university. He is a man seeking something there, and it is odd that he doesn't know for certain what it is that he is seeking...... I hope he gets it sorted out soon.
Last thoughts....... I know that I was dreading going.... but I suppose it was a good thing. It is a positive to get away from time to time. I haven't been away that long (3 full days) since I took over as AD. The time spent with #1 was excellent except for the scrap over where to park the van on Wednesday night.....
Why do I dread going to something I love so dearly as the tournament? All I know is...... time is flying by..... as this was my 32nd trip and it was the most difficult one to decide on...ever....
I have a lot of other thoughts about the whole weekend, but... this blog is already very long..... so.... until next time.... as Bob Dylan would say.... remember... don't be flat.... and don't be sharp.... be natural......
1. The trip to Columbus was interesting...... Son #1 and I in the loser cruiser..... We stopped in Findlay to gas up and he got a quick snack at Burger King....... The conversation was pretty light and easy for the most part. Traffic was very tame and the trip seemed to fly along. We arrived at the Lane Ave. Holiday Inn a little after 8 p.m. We wandered through the lobby and around the area outside the front entrance. We landed a couple of nice seats in section 223 in the second row for games 7 and 8.......... the prices for games 9 and 10 were pretty high..... so we decided to wait and see what we could find later..... I have no problem dealing with scalpers. If I think I am being played, I will simply walk away.....
2. I was concerned about on campus parking on Wednesday night. #1 was not too sure about what was safe and what wasn't. We ended up parking in the Tuttle parking garage.... and I spent the night in Morrill Tower..... interesting place....
3. The quality of the division III and division II games on Thursday were pretty good. I was surprised how comfortable it was sitting with Mr. Morrison. His perspective is always interesting to consider. He is also very connected being the former president of the board of control.
4. #1 has some pretty good insights on the strategies of the game. He sees many things. He is so quiet. It is almost impossible to get him to talk and argue sometimes. Makes me more than a little concerned that he is a recluse.... maybe I just make him nervous.
5. The play of Upper Sandusky was excellent in this tournament. They play with intensity..... They had Poland Seminary down early and didn't let off. They ended up winning by more than twenty-five. Jon Diebler was held to something like 24 points..... but he is the kind of player that makes the players around him better. In the championship game on Saturday he had a poor shooting day but still managed 48 points.... the third highest ever in the tournament and the all time highest in Division II. He took a physical beating at the hands of Dunbar, but played through it, broken nose and all. Coach Diebler was as wild as ever, but I think impassioned as ever. The fact that the Diebler family had to overcome the loss of Coach's father just made the entire weekend more intense....... somewhere I heard that Jon had been giving his grandfather a piece of each championship level net that was cut down after the sectional, district, and regional games. Dayton Dunbar did a very classy thing by giving Jon a piece of the state championship net to place in the casket. It was a very emotional game in front of the largest crowd of the weekend at 18,000+......... A game that will be remembered for a long long time.
6. The Holgate Tigers played well on Friday morning but came up a little short losing in double overtime. A lot of basketball people sincerely believe that Coach Wayne teaches the stall. I am a believer that they are not stalling this year because after watching them play in the regional final and the state semi final games, I every once in awhile took it upon myself to count passes per possession..... I would say they averaged about 3 to 4 passes each time. The Holgate fans were very emotional, and it was a tough loss that was a little tainted by a controversial shot at the end of the first overtime that was counted, and there have been quite a few people who have since reviewed the video and said that the kid from Canal Winchester Harvest Prep did not get it off before the red light comes on behind the backboard. All I want to know is why did the officials put .9 seconds back on the clock prior to the shot. If they had put .7, the Tigers win without a doubt. Bottom line.... Harvest Prep got the win. On Saturday #1 and I ran in to Coach Wayne tailgating by the Holiday Inn. He was in pretty good spirit.... and I congratulated him on a fine season and a great tournament run. I have only met him a few times, and usually in the company of Coach Lehman...... Coach Wayne seems to be a genuine person without a hidden agenda.
7. Liberty Benton came into the weekend 26-0 or something like that. They played well on Thursday morning. I have great admiration for Coach Williman. Truly a class act. His kids are pretty disciplined, and I think he makes great decisions. I was sad to see him lose by not having a good third quarter in the championship game against North College Hill. But... I have a new respect for North College Hill since they can now say that they are only the third team in the 85 year history of the tournament to win three consecutive titles. This one was special because their two best players have moved on, even though most thought of them as juniors a year ago. Mayo went back to Huntington, West Virgina, and Walker was declared ineligible by the Board of Control and left high school early for Kansas State. Never the less, NCH overcame the losses of these two spectacular big time basketball players to win their third straight.
8. I had a difficult time getting into the Division I games as they seemed sort of ho hum...... the big kid that is going to Ohio State from Canton Glen Oak was pretty talented. The most entertaining part of the Divison I games were the student cheering sections from Cin. St. Xavier and Cin. Moeller...... the best exchange though might have been between the Glen Oak fans chanting "we've got girls" and the St. X section replying with "we got Jesus"....... good stuff...... Moeller wins on Saturday night to complete the Southwest District's sweep of the tournament. Moeller in DI, Dayton Dunbar in DII, Cin. North College Hill in DIII, and Georgetown in DIV.
9. The whole dynamic of the weekend changed with the arrival of #2 and Suzanne..... Not a bad change, but still a big difference. The search for tickets became much more intense..... and #1 and #2 sat together for games 8 and 9. #1 left the tickets for game 10 in the loser cruiser which was parked in Worthington at the hotel. So.... he and I bee lined for the van and the tickets only to make it back to see that Dunbar already had a 10-0 lead by the time we got to our seats in the upper deck.
10. It was a good time all in all..... I am still very concerned about #1's lack of confidence about his university. He is a man seeking something there, and it is odd that he doesn't know for certain what it is that he is seeking...... I hope he gets it sorted out soon.
Last thoughts....... I know that I was dreading going.... but I suppose it was a good thing. It is a positive to get away from time to time. I haven't been away that long (3 full days) since I took over as AD. The time spent with #1 was excellent except for the scrap over where to park the van on Wednesday night.....
Why do I dread going to something I love so dearly as the tournament? All I know is...... time is flying by..... as this was my 32nd trip and it was the most difficult one to decide on...ever....
I have a lot of other thoughts about the whole weekend, but... this blog is already very long..... so.... until next time.... as Bob Dylan would say.... remember... don't be flat.... and don't be sharp.... be natural......
posted by cpc at 10:04 PM
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