Here's My Idea Of How The IHSAA Could Satisfy The Single Class And Multi Class Supporters When It Comes To The Basketball Tournament

[Jayhoosier83]

Keep the Sectionals split up between classes, but make it a quasi single class tournament from the Regionals on. Since there's only 64 teams left after the Sectional round, it could look like an NCAA bracket. Sticking with the North/South format, have the North 3A and 4A Sectional Champions play each other, same with the South champions (and with the North/South 2A and 1A champions) in 3 game Regionals, (2 semifinal games; championship) on Saturday, and then move on to the Semi State with the same format. The Final 4 could be on the Friday and Saturday the following weekend, the 2 semifinal games on Friday; the championship game Saturday. It would result in a single State champion and guarantee that a smaller school would get a chance to play for a State championship.

Here's an image of how I would have the brackets split up this year. To explain further, the Fishers vs Peru and Kokomo vs West Lafayette games would be one Regional with the winner taking on the winner of Regional with Fort Wayne North, Delta, Fort Wayne Wayne, and Concordia in the Semi State Semi finals the next Saturday and the winner of that game taking on whoever made it to the SemiState championship from the 8 teams at the bottom of the North bracket.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GH_wU9TW0AAeKcP?format=jpg&name=900x900

 

[steelyvan]

interesting step in a better direction.

 

[bsmitty08]

Keep the Sectionals split up between classes, but make it a quasi single class tournament from the Regionals on. Since there's only 64 teams left after the Sectional round, it could look like an NCAA bracket. Sticking with the North/South format, have the North 3A and 4A Sectional Champions play each other, same with the South champions (and with the North/South 2A and 1A champions) in 3 game Regionals, (2 semifinal games; championship) on Saturday, and then move on to the Semi State with the same format. The Final 4 could be on the Friday and Saturday the following weekend, the 2 semifinal games on Friday; the championship game Saturday. It would result in a single State champion and guarantee that a smaller school would get a chance to play for a State championship.

Here's an image of how I would have the brackets split up this year. To explain further, the Fishers vs Peru and Kokomo vs West Lafayette games would be one Regional with the winner taking on the winner of Regional with Fort Wayne North, Delta, Fort Wayne Wayne, and Concordia in the Semi State Semi finals the next Saturday and the winner of that game taking on whoever made it to the SemiState championship from the 8 teams at the bottom of the North bracket.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GH_wU9TW0AAeKcP?format=jpg&name=900x900

Or just play a tournament with the state champions.

 

[MonvalleyJ]

Parents who has kids that play high school sports overwhelmingly like class sports. I would imagine that larger high schools could care less either way but my point, class sports work.

My son played basketball for a high school that is in the top 5 of the state (student enrollment) so he could have cared less. My daughter is at a 4A school and plays volleyball. Her school is one of the smaller 4A schools (bottom 10%). Once they get to regional, they go against schools with enrollment 100%, sometimes 200% of theirs.

My point, there is a better argument to go to 5 classes than back to one.

 

[MichaelRR]

Or just play a tournament with the state champions.

They did that, it was a slaughter as the small school Champs got rolled and no one showed up for the most predictable games ever played. They split to classes because there is ZERO chance of the small schools competing with the big schools. Kokomo lost three sectional games EVER before class basketball. The county schools had no hope and people quit going to watch boring routs.

 

[bsmitty08]

They did that, it was a slaughter as the small school Champs got rolled and no one showed up for the most predictable games ever played. They split to classes because there is ZERO chance of the small schools competing with the big schools. Kokomo lost three sectional games EVER before class basketball. The county schools had no hope and people quit going to watch boring routs.

I would like to play Kokomo again on a Neutral site. Tipton vs Kokomo in bankers life would be fun

 

[MichaelRR]

I would like to play Kokomo again on a Neutral site. Tipton vs Kokomo in bankers life would be fun

And competitive, for 5 minutes... lol and thousands of great seats available

 

[bsmitty08]

And competitive, for 5 minutes... lol

Disagree

 

[MichaelRR]

Disagree

Everyone has the right to be ridiculously wrong. Tipton could not even beat Brownsburg.... it'd be a 30 point rout

 

[bsmitty08]

Everyone has the right to be ridiculously wrong. Tipton could not even beat Brownsburg.... it'd be a 30 point rout

Why do you say that? Kokomo beat us 19 at Kokomo with our leading scorer having 3 fouls in the first quarter.
Also Brownburg lost to 2a Browstown central lol

 

[Bucket Getter]

I must be missing something here. We’ve got Dolson and Buckner about to climb into a cage for a death match, but a guy on an IU basketball forum wants to solve the high school class basketball crisis? Someone help me out here. 😳

 

[Jayhoosier83]

I must be missing something here. We’ve got Dolson and Buckner about to climb into a cage for a death match, but a guy on an IU basketball forum wants to solve the high school class basketball crisis? Someone help me out here. 😳

Crisis?! Lol, being a little overly dramatic there, aren't you?

 

[Bucket Getter]

Crisis?! Lol, being a little overly dramatic there, aren't you?

Must be. Or it wouldn’t be posted here. On a game day. In the middle of a media cage match.

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

Does anyone under the age of 65 even care that we don't have a single class any longer?

 

[IUfanBorden]

Keep the Sectionals split up between classes, but make it a quasi single class tournament from the Regionals on. Since there's only 64 teams left after the Sectional round, it could look like an NCAA bracket. Sticking with the North/South format, have the North 3A and 4A Sectional Champions play each other, same with the South champions (and with the North/South 2A and 1A champions) in 3 game Regionals, (2 semifinal games; championship) on Saturday, and then move on to the Semi State with the same format. The Final 4 could be on the Friday and Saturday the following weekend, the 2 semifinal games on Friday; the championship game Saturday. It would result in a single State champion and guarantee that a smaller school would get a chance to play for a State championship.

Here's an image of how I would have the brackets split up this year. To explain further, the Fishers vs Peru and Kokomo vs West Lafayette games would be one Regional with the winner taking on the winner of Regional with Fort Wayne North, Delta, Fort Wayne Wayne, and Concordia in the Semi State Semi finals the next Saturday and the winner of that game taking on whoever made it to the SemiState championship from the 8 teams at the bottom of the North bracket.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GH_wU9TW0AAeKcP?format=jpg&name=900x900

Or , keep class sectional and regionals. Then bring 16 regional winners to Indianapolis for the SW 16.

 

[MichaelRR]

Or , keep class sectional and regionals. Then bring 16 regional winners to Indianapolis for the SW 16.

Only moves the boring slaughter games to a different level and attendance would still suck hard

 

[IUNorth]

One of the more interesting ideas I've seen involves starting the tournament out as a single class tournament, then as the smaller schools lose, they drop down in to their own class state tournaments.

Last week/weekend in February...Single Class "Super Sectionals" (The good ole days sectionals reincarnate)

First week/weekend in March...Single Class "Super Regionals"/Class Sectionals

2nd week/weekend in March...Single Class "Super Semi State"/Class Regionals

3rd week/weekend in March....Class Semi States

Last weekend in March...Single Class Super State/Class State

Basically ask every team to either eliminate a game or two from their regular season schedule, or place the games they'd normally play that last week, within their schedules somewhere...so the state tournament could start a week earlier.

I think of all the ideas to try to keep class basketball, but to provide a chance for the good ole days feel...this one probably would have the best chance of doing that.

I actually have come around to not thinking any of this is necessary, though. The last tweaks they made are pretty good ones, I think the state tournament is fine at this point.

I would potentially tweak it a little bit, and ALL private schools are automatically bumped up 1 class size versus their enrollment. That would hurt the private schools that aren't recruiting actively for athletics, but would allow true single A schools to have a more legitimate chance at postseason success.

 

[ams66]

Does anyone under the age of 65 even care that we don't have a single class any longer?

I don't care about high school sports in any way, since all my kids are now out of high school.

Edit to say, I think high school sports are valuable of course, didn't mean I don't care in that sense. I just don't follow them at all anymore.

 

[IUNorth]

One of the more interesting ideas I've seen involves starting the tournament out as a single class tournament, then as the smaller schools lose, they drop down in to their own class state tournaments.

Last week/weekend in February...Single Class "Super Sectionals" (The good ole days sectionals reincarnate)

First week/weekend in March...Single Class "Super Regionals"/Class Sectionals

2nd week/weekend in March...Single Class "Super Semi State"/Class Regionals

3rd week/weekend in March....Class Semi States

Last weekend in March...Single Class Super State/Class State

Basically ask every team to either eliminate a game or two from their regular season schedule, or place the games they'd normally play that last week, within their schedules somewhere...so the state tournament could start a week earlier.

I think of all the ideas to try to keep class basketball, but to provide a chance for the good ole days feel...this one probably would have the best chance of doing that.

I actually have come around to not thinking any of this is necessary, though. The last tweaks they made are pretty good ones, I think the state tournament is fine at this point.

I would potentially tweak it a little bit, and ALL private schools are automatically bumped up 1 class size versus their enrollment. That would hurt the private schools that aren't recruiting actively for athletics, but would allow true single A schools to have a more legitimate chance at postseason success.

And I should add...there's a "Super School" size threshold that means if you're above a certain size...2000 students maybe? That your only tournament is the Sinlge Class Super State Tournament.

 

[ThreeToMakeTwo]

I represent the ‘tough love’ contingent. Make it single class and forget what anyone else says.

 

[MichaelRR]

I represent the ‘tough love’ contingent. Make it single class and forget what anyone else says.

You obviously went to a big school. Why not go simpler and make the girls compete with the boys? It'd be just as fair.

 

[bsmitty08]

You obviously went to a big school. Why not go simpler and make the girls compete with the boys? It'd be just as fair.

Why you ignoring my post? Eat your crow buddy

 

[Bucket Getter]

You obviously went to a big school. Why not go simpler and make the girls compete with the boys? It'd be just as fair.

That’s BS. I went to a small school. Winning a sectional was the goal. That actually made you legendary around town. My old school just played in the state finals in volleyball and girls basketball. The boys team is in the regional this weekend. None of those kids were more celebrated than we were. But of course the participation trophy crowd won out.

 

[asindc]

Does anyone under the age of 65 even care that we don't have a single class any longer?

I care.

 

[GThomas]

Or just play a tournament with the state champions.

Now THIS^^^ makes sense. Have 8 class champions and 1 state champion. Best of both worlds.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Now THIS^^^ makes sense. Have 8 class champions and 1 state champion. Best of both worlds.

Nope. Those poor kids that lost their last game will never recover. The scars run too deep.

 

[GThomas]

Nope. Those poor kids that lost their last game will never recover. The scars run too deep.

So you're saying there won't be a Hoosiers 2?

 

[MichaelRR]

Why you ignoring my post? Eat your crow buddy

Because it was inane. Losing by 17 when Kokomo took a big lead early and coasted doesn't make your point any more valid. No guarantee your best player would stay out of foul trouble against far superior players next game either. Or that you would have any more chance than a good D2 team against a mediocre BigTen team.

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

Now THIS^^^ makes sense. Have 8 class champions and 1 state champion. Best of both worlds.

Because seeing Pike beat LCC by 43 in the 'state championship game' of 1998 was so enthralling?

 

[bsmitty08]

Because it was inane. Losing by 17 when Kokomo took a big lead early and coasted doesn't make your point any more valid. No guarantee your best player would stay out of foul trouble against far superior players next game either. Or that you would have any more chance than a good D2 team against a mediocre BigTen team.

You said we would lose by 30 to brownburg. Not happening

 

[IUfanBorden]

Only moves the boring slaughter games to a different level and attendance would still suck hard

Seems to work for the KHSAA. Along with mid season small school tournament. Attendance should be solid. Especially in this state. Ive been to the KHSAA SW 16 @ Rupp. Very well attended. Especially Semis and state final.

You win the regional, at any class, you're probably pretty solid . Or that's been my experience through the years as a HS official. This year for example...Brownstown at 2A can compete with anyone . Evansville Christian, 1A school, could as well. Barr Reeve would be a tough out. Wapahni, 2A school, would be a problem as well.

 

[bsmitty08]

Seems to work for the KHSAA. Along with mid season small school tournament. Attendance should be solid. Especially in this state. Ive been to the KHSAA SW 16 @ Rupp. Very well attended. Especially Semis and state final.

You win the regional, at any class, you're probably pretty solid . Or that's been my experience through the years as a HS official. This year for example...Brownstown at 2A can compete with anyone . Evansville Christian, 1A school, could as well. Barr Reeve would be a tough out. Wapahni, 2A school, would be a problem as well.

2a wapahani 24-2 vs 2a Tipton 24-2 is Saturday at 1

 

[Liberty_Hoosier]

Brownstown is 7th in the state in Sagarin. Who the hell decided a 2A class title is more significant than say a school of 450 winning a regional in the old format. As a player or coach I would enjoy the latter more. I told someone from a community who won a 3A title and boasted unmercifully, nobody outside of your community will talk about it very long. Hell people still tall about games decades ago at the sectional level in a David vs. Goliath matchup. Class basketball sucks. (I am 38, coached in 13 class sectionals, and will have my own kids playing in class sectionals by the way)

 

[IUINSB]

Brownstown is 7th in the state in Sagarin. Who the hell decided a 2A class title is more significant than say a school of 450 winning a regional in the old format. As a player or coach I would enjoy the latter more. I told someone from a community who won a 3A title and boasted unmercifully, nobody outside of your community will talk about it very long. Hell people still tall about games decades ago at the sectional level in a David vs. Goliath matchup. Class basketball sucks. (I am 38, coached in 13 class sectionals, and will have my own kids playing in class sectionals by the way)

I can't remember last year's champ of any class.

 

[IUfanBorden]

Brownstown is 7th in the state in Sagarin. Who the hell decided a 2A class title is more significant than say a school of 450 winning a regional in the old format. As a player or coach I would enjoy the latter more. I told someone from a community who won a 3A title and boasted unmercifully, nobody outside of your community will talk about it very long. Hell people still tall about games decades ago at the sectional level in a David vs. Goliath matchup. Class basketball sucks. (I am 38, coached in 13 class sectionals, and will have my own kids playing in class sectionals by the way)

Brownstown is really good. So is Evansville Christian (1A). Shit Barr Reeve (1A) and Christian Academy (1A), are really good.

 

[dbmhoosier]

Not IHSAA but an insane ending. Looks like the spawn of Ted Valentine striking again. Feel bad for the kids who "lost".

 

[wi_hoosier]

They did that, it was a slaughter as the small school Champs got rolled and no one showed up for the most predictable games ever played. They split to classes because there is ZERO chance of the small schools competing with the big schools. Kokomo lost three sectional games EVER before class basketball. The county schools had no hope and people quit going to watch boring routs.

To be fair, my school (Castle) only won one sectional in basketball prior to classes... and it was in a sectional with county schools half it's size : )

 

[wi_hoosier]

Not IHSAA but an insane ending. Looks like the spawn of Ted Valentine striking again. Feel bad for the kids who "lost".

View embedded media

Sh!t, the ball was actually in the hoop when the clock hit 0.0. Terrible.

 

[sshogue]

Or just play a tournament with the state champions.

They tried that but no one showed up. I really thought it was a good idea… but Flopped