Welcome to The Deep Post, a weekly column/notebook unpacking the rumblings of the week past and ahead. This week’s offering touches on the basketball state tournaments as the season nears its conclusion.
The Spotlight
Congratulations to the 32 girls basketball teams that have punched their tickets to next week’s state tournament in Charleston.
Four months of practices and games have led to this week. As early as Tuesday, each of those 32 teams will make their way under the concrete steps behind the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center and through the dark gray door with a white sign that reads “TEAM & MEDIA PASS GATE” in bold blue lettering.
As they enter, they’ll follow the lower corridors of the venue to their left where they’ll dress for the biggest game of their season, hoping they’ll repeat the same routine again throughout the week.
The state tournament is an event unlike any other in the state. It’s THE event.
Families throughout the state take the two weeks off to come watch all of the action. Twenty-eight games a week, 56 total. If you’re in high school and have a teacher that doubles as a basketball coach, chances are you’ll have a substitute one of those weeks. If you’re from a basketball-rich county like Wyoming or a small rural community with dreams of capturing an elusive title, it may be the perfect time to plan a robbery as everyone funnels into the capital.
The players are treated like superstars and each win exposes them further to the spectators that spend all week in the city. There’s an indescribable luster that comes from being a team that not only makes it to Charleston but stays long enough to do more than just see the five remaining stores in the Town Center and eat at somewhere other than Chick-fil-A.
As the week progresses neutral spectators pick favorites – whether it be teams or players – that make a strong impression. As the field whittles down, the remaining players and teams become more visible and indelible, with their performances and successes recalled not just within their communities but the state as a whole. Those resonating memories include…
- The Nitro girls team, without the Mary Ostrowski co-winner Bailee Goins, pulling off an upset over a Fairmont Senior super team in the 2021 Class AAA title game.
- Beckley’s Shea Fleenor dunking on Fairmont Senior’s Jared Prickett, a Kentucky commit, in the 1992 boys title game.
- The Logan girls relying on the defense to win a state championship game 27-26 in 2022.
- O.J. Mayo dunking the ball and tossing it into the crowd during Huntington’s 2007 championship victory.
- Tickets being scalped outside the Coliseum on the morning of March 17, 1994 ahead of a matchup that featured an undefeated Beckley team against a Dupont team with Jason Williams and Randy Moss.
- Wyoming East’s Gabby Lupardus, after tearing her ACL earlier in the week, entering in the final seconds of the Class AA state championship game and knocked down a pair of free throws in her final high school basketball game.
- The Gilmer County girls rallying from a 12-point halftime deficit against seven-time defending state champion Huntington St. Joe to upend the Irish 42-41 in 2016.
- Mullens’ Herbie Brooks breaking the boys state tournament single-game scoring record with 50 points against Parkersburg Catholic in 1983.
- The No. 1 and 2 seeds in Class AAA falling in consecutive games during the boys state tournament in 2021. The final game of the day was won on a buzzer-beating 3 by Wheeling Central.
- The Mullens boys closing the school with a state championship in 1998.
- Maci Neely’s steal and game-winning buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the 2022 Class A title game starting what will likely be a three-peat for Cameron.
- Martinsburg’s upset win against the Moss-Williams led Dupont team in the ’94 title game.
- Wheeling Park’s 99-96 triple-overtime victory in the ’95 triple-A boys title game against a Beckley team whose head coach, Dave Barksdale, watched from the stands after a county-imposed suspension.
- Fairmont Senior guard Zycheus Dobbs’ buzzer-beating layup against Shady Spring in the 2022 Class AAA boys title game.
The list goes on.
As does the allure.
The state’s biggest stage brings envy with it. The stands are packed with talented players past and present. Some made it there in the past and succeeded on that stage. Some saw their seasons end short of Charleston and realized the closest they’ll ever get is buying a ticket and showing up. The consensus is it’s more enjoyable when the WVSSAC is footing the bill. But nothing is more fun than standing above your peers and cutting down the nets on the final Saturday of the season.
Hidden Advantages
For the first time since 2016 Wyoming East will be the No. 1 seed in the Class AA field. Every other year, except for 2020 when they missed the state tournament, the Lady Warriors have been the No. 2 seed. That’s worked out well for them as the 2021 and ’23 titles came as the No. 2 seed.
I can’t stress enough just how important it is to be the No. 1 seed in double-A this year. In fact it’s the most important seed in the entire state tournament, regardless of class. That extends to the boys side too.
Double-A drew the short straw this year and will be the class that plays three straight days. Previously that honor had been reserved for quad-A but last year marked the first that it started rotating. Triple-A played three straight days last year, getting the late championship game and double-A will do the same this year.
Why is the No. 1 seed so important in particular?
East gets the 5:30 games on Thursday and Friday, and should it advance to the state championship it will play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Should East win its quarterfinal game, it will face the winner of the 4-5 matchup (Ravenswood-Chapmanville) that tips Thursday at 9 p.m. and historically the 4-5 matchups have been the most competitive ones. So the winner there will finish up around 11 p.m. and turn around and play at 5:30 the next day.
The other semifinal game, if the seeds hold, would feature the No. 2 and 3 seeds – Williamstown and Wheeling Central – playing at 9 p.m. on Friday. So after finishing a challenging semifinal game around 11 p.m. on Friday, the winning team will need to turn around 20 hours later and play its third and most difficult game in as many days with less rest and recovery time.
The final eight minutes of the season will likely come down to who has the gas the crawl across the finish line.
History in the making
If you’re glancing over the Class AAA field and noticing it looks different than usual, you’re correct. That’s because seven of the programs have one thing in common – they’ve never won a state championship. East Fairmont, Wayne, Lewis County, Philip Barbour, PikeView, Keyser and Weir are all seeking their first title. Nitro is the lone program with a championship and that came in 2021.
For those that love new blood, this is your field. Every other classification is littered with historical powers. But the odds favor somebody becoming the feel-good story of the tournament in Class AAA. Philip Barbour nearly did that a year ago before falling to North Marion. Wayne and East Fairmont, the top seeds this year, had poor showings in their quarterfinal games last season, sticking around long enough to get a cup of coffee and leave.
The storylines will be plentiful in the state’ second largest classification.
The other bit of history involves two programs aiming for dynasty status. Wyoming East and Cameron have ruled Class AA and A, respectively, over the last four seasons. Cameron reached the Class A title game in 2021, losing to Tug Valley. Since then the Dragons have won two consecutive state championships and will travel to Charleston as the heavy favorites in their quest for a three-peat.
Wyoming East has appeared in six state championship games since 2016 but never had a graduating class win two titles until last year. With victories in ’21 and ’23, the reigning state champions have a chance to cement a dynasty. East is already a premier program that’s been in title contention since a freshman named Gabby Lupardus led East to the No. 1 seed in 2015.
A win would make this senior class at East the first in Wyoming County to win three state championships since the Mullens class of ’84 did so. Pretty impressive for a county that’s won a total of 19 state championships (14 boys, five girls).
Most Outstanding PlayerÂ
As I’ve watched players like Skylar Davidson (Wyoming East ’21), Leslie Huffman (Parkersburg Catholic ’22) and Eli Allen (James Monroe ’23) stand far above their peers in the state tournament I’ve thought about the awards process. Each year we in the media vote for our top eight players for the all-tournament team. But when those that weren’t there to witness an individual’s tournament run come along, it’s easy for it to fade.
I’ve often found myself looking at all-tournament teams from the past, wondering which of the two or three players from a championship team were the best.
We’ve remedied that problem.
In our annual meeting with the WVSSAC this past fall, the West Virginia Sports Writers Association proposed adding a Most Outstanding Player award for each class in both the boys and girls tournaments. I’m proud to announce the SSAC accepted our proposal but it’s on us to work out the logistics. As such Lootpress agreed to sponsor all eight of the trophies.
The process will be similar to how we vote on the all-tournament teams, we’ll just vote on the best player and give them a trophy to signify their accomplishments. It’s long overdue and I’m glad we’re going to be further recognize standout individual efforts.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94.
