If last weekend’s high school basketball action taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know what we thought we were going to do.
Whether they’re state championship contenders or defending state champions and No. 1 teams eliminated entirely from the playoffs, it proves that even if the NCAA tournament can be March Madness, the Oklahoma has its share of late February Lunacy. And if we (i.e. basketball fans, not necessarily the coaches who have to cross the stressful swamp of playoff basketball), the chaotic fun is just beginning.
Personally, I saw four games in person and learned a lot about the local teams during those games.
If history is an indicator, the regional semi-finals between regional hosts and their lower-ranked counterparts rarely have much to say. That’s why, when I was forced to choose between going to Lawton High or MacArthur on Friday night for a regional action for boys, I chose LHS largely because of the story surrounding Todd Millwee, a native of Lawton, bringing Westmoore back to his former hometown, certainly not because I had planned a big game. The problem for Lawton High was that the Wolverines seemed to know they were supposed to win big. So rather than hitting the ball indoors with players like Jamel Graves, they tried to hit as many pointers as possible and put the game away early so they could go easy in the second period. Of course, this did not happen. Instead, LHS escaped with a two-point victory.
The following night, while I was at MacArthur, Lawton High dragged Edmond Santa Fe by five at half time. Once again, the indoor game was dormant, Ashawnti Hunter still unable to play and Graves aimlessly. But an astonishing night from a 3-point field (13 team triplets against only 6 to 2 points) and a few shots on clutch allowed Lawton High to win emotionally.
The Wolverines are just a one-place win in a state tournament, and yet there seem to be more questions than answers at this point. How is the psyche after a weekend like this? Can they count on players like Marty Perry, Laquon Williams and others to keep shooting like that from afar? How will they do Friday night in the region’s championship against a team from Edmond Memorial who beat them by 13 at the start of the year? The team has a lot of talent and depth and played exceptionally well when it played the role of underestimated outsider. Now that they got their fair share, what is the mentality like?
Meanwhile, on the east side of town, I was fortunate enough to cover MacArthur for the Highlanders’ final regional game against El Reno on Saturday. And the Highlanders have done what they have done against almost every opponent since mid-December: they got up early and kept the fire on with a savage defense. What impresses me is how selfless the team is. When each player in the main rotation can nail ball 3, it is easy to make the extra passes, knowing that no matter which man is open, you feel comfortable when the ball lands in his hands.
MacArthur’s absurd athleticism will be put to the test on Friday against number 1 in Del City. The Highlanders faced DC in that same round a year ago. But this Mac team has improved a lot compared to 12 months ago. And even if they lose, they still have a shot at State against Southeast or an Ardmore team they have beaten twice in the past five weeks, winning an average of 35.5 points.
The other games that I saw where Thursday night in Anadarko, where the evening started with the top rated Anadarko girls against their rival Cache. And to be honest, after ‘Darko followed 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, part of me was wondering,” Is this the great Anadarko girls’ team that I’ve heard so much about? IT’S THE BEST GIRLS TEAM IN THE STATE ?? “
As if they had heard my mental questions, the girls of Jeff Zinn answered my questions right away, and I can confirm, with a resounding YES, that they are real. They are as tenacious in defense as when I covered them three seasons ago. They have so many players who can shoot from almost anywhere on the field. And they play generously. Is there a class 4A team that can beat them? If there is, the list is short.
The second game was also Cache and Anadarko, where the boys played a sturdy basketball game that included a second quarter where six points were scored. But as the coach of Cache Miles Thompson told me before the game, “it’s better to win ugly than lose pretty”, and his boys did.
In many ways, the Bulldogs’ path mirrors that of their Wichita Mountain rivals, the Elgin Owls. Elgin is probably a better offensive team, but certainly did not set the world on fire with a 15-11 record. But like Cache, Elgin reached the zone, even defeating the same upset John Marshall Cache team in the districts. Additionally, if Cache and Elgin were to win on Thursday, they would face each other with the loser returning home and the winner seated in a State win.
They are not the only local rivals who could face each other. Girls MacArthur and Eisenhower could play in a do-or-die zone game for the third time in four years. However, MacArthur hopes this is not the case, as they would much prefer to beat Piedmont on Thursday and avoid having to try to beat the Eagles for the third time this season.
A rivalry that certainly takes place is the battle between the opponents of the county of Stephens, Marlow and Comanche, in the girls round on Thursday in Chickasha. In their only meeting of the season, the No. 8 Indians defeated Marlow by 15 in the final of the Stephens County tournament.
But basketball fans won’t see a reunion of the best hoop rivalries in southwest Oklahoma – and one of the best in the state – like one of the weekend stunners, reigning class A boys champion Cyril has given up on ending not one but two games so as not to make it to the state tournament. Meanwhile, the Fort Cobb-Broxton Mustangs, who lost their four-round bid to Cyril a year ago yesterday, advanced to their eighth consecutive state tournament. Having seen these teams stage an incredible series of rivalry in recent years, it just doesn’t seem fair to have one at State but not the other.
I’m sure Mustang fans might disagree.
If last weekend’s high school basketball action taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know what we thought we were going to do.
Whether they’re state championship contenders or defending state champions and No. 1 teams eliminated entirely from the playoffs, it proves that even if the NCAA tournament can be March Madness, the Oklahoma has its share of late February Lunacy. And if we (i.e. basketball fans, not necessarily the coaches who have to cross the stressful swamp of playoff basketball), the chaotic fun is just beginning.
Personally, I saw four games in person and learned a lot about the local teams during those games.
If history is an indicator, the regional semi-finals between regional hosts and their lower-ranked counterparts rarely have much to say. That’s why, when I was forced to choose between going to Lawton High or MacArthur on Friday night for a regional action for boys, I chose LHS largely because of the story surrounding Todd Millwee, a native of Lawton, bringing Westmoore back to his former hometown, certainly not because I had planned a big game. The problem for Lawton High was that the Wolverines seemed to know they were supposed to win big. So rather than hitting the ball indoors with players like Jamel Graves, they tried to hit as many pointers as possible and put the game away early so they could go easy in the second period. Of course, this did not happen. Instead, LHS escaped with a two-point victory.
The following night, while I was at MacArthur, Lawton High dragged Edmond Santa Fe by five at half time. Once again, the indoor game was dormant, Ashawnti Hunter still unable to play and Graves aimlessly. But an astonishing night from a 3-point field (13 team triplets against only 6 to 2 points) and a few shots on clutch allowed Lawton High to win emotionally.
The Wolverines are just a one-place win in a state tournament, and yet there seem to be more questions than answers at this point. How is the psyche after a weekend like this? Can they count on players like Marty Perry, Laquon Williams and others to keep shooting like that from afar? How will they do Friday night in the region’s championship against a team from Edmond Memorial who beat them by 13 at the start of the year? The team has a lot of talent and depth and played exceptionally well when it played the role of underestimated outsider. Now that they got their fair share, what is the mentality like?
Meanwhile, on the east side of town, I was fortunate enough to cover MacArthur for the Highlanders’ final regional game against El Reno on Saturday. And the Highlanders have done what they have done against almost every opponent since mid-December: they got up early and kept the fire on with a savage defense. What impresses me is how selfless the team is. When each player in the main rotation can nail ball 3, it is easy to make the extra passes, knowing that no matter which man is open, you feel comfortable when the ball lands in his hands.
MacArthur’s absurd athleticism will be put to the test on Friday against number 1 in Del City. The Highlanders faced DC in that same round a year ago. But this Mac team has improved a lot compared to 12 months ago. And even if they lose, they still have a shot at State against Southeast or an Ardmore team they have beaten twice in the past five weeks, winning an average of 35.5 points.
The other games that I saw where Thursday night in Anadarko, where the evening started with the top rated Anadarko girls against their rival Cache. And to be honest, after ‘Darko followed 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, part of me was wondering,” Is this the great Anadarko girls’ team that I’ve heard so much about? IT’S THE BEST GIRLS TEAM IN THE STATE ?? “
As if they had heard my mental questions, the girls of Jeff Zinn answered my questions right away, and I can confirm, with a resounding YES, that they are real. They are as tenacious in defense as when I covered them three seasons ago. They have so many players who can shoot from almost anywhere on the field. And they play generously. Is there a class 4A team that can beat them? If there is, the list is short.
The second game was also Cache and Anadarko, where the boys played a sturdy basketball game that included a second quarter where six points were scored. But as the coach of Cache Miles Thompson told me before the game, “it’s better to win ugly than lose pretty”, and his boys did.
In many ways, the Bulldogs’ path mirrors that of their Wichita Mountain rivals, the Elgin Owls. Elgin is probably a better offensive team, but certainly did not set the world on fire with a 15-11 record. But like Cache, Elgin reached the zone, even defeating the same upset John Marshall Cache team in the districts. Additionally, if Cache and Elgin were to win on Thursday, they would face each other with the loser returning home and the winner seated in a State win.
They are not the only local rivals who could face each other. Girls MacArthur and Eisenhower could play in a do-or-die zone game for the third time in four years. However, MacArthur hopes this is not the case, as they would much prefer to beat Piedmont on Thursday and avoid having to try to beat the Eagles for the third time this season.
A rivalry that certainly takes place is the battle between the opponents of the county of Stephens, Marlow and Comanche, in the girls round on Thursday in Chickasha. In their only meeting of the season, the No. 8 Indians defeated Marlow by 15 in the final of the Stephens County tournament.
But basketball fans won’t see a reunion of the best hoop rivalries in southwest Oklahoma – and one of the best in the state – like one of the weekend stunners, reigning class A boys champion Cyril has given up on ending not one but two games so as not to make it to the state tournament. Meanwhile, the Fort Cobb-Broxton Mustangs, who lost their four-round bid to Cyril a year ago yesterday, advanced to their eighth consecutive state tournament. Having seen these teams stage an incredible series of rivalry in recent years, it just doesn’t seem fair to have one at State but not the other.
I’m sure Mustang fans might disagree.
