WOE IS ‘B’

Friday, Saturday and Sunday mark the 70 or 80-somethingth edi­tion of the Washington state B basketball tournament in Spokane.

Well, actually it’s only the eighth Class 1B and eighth Class 2B tournaments. The old B classification was split into bigger small schools (93 to 207 students) and smaller small schools (less than 93) back in 2006. But both tour­naments are still played in the same venue as previous B tourneys—Spokane’s Vet­eran’s Memorial Arena – and at the same time.

Well, that’s not exactly true either. The tournament’s first round is officially played at eight other venues spread across the state—this year at Mountlake Terrace, Mark Morris (Longview), Mt. Spokane and Sunnyside High Schools on the 2B side and Lynnwood, Timberline (Lacey), Eastmont (East Wenatchee) and Walla Walla High Schools on the 1B side.

Well, at least it’s still a wonderfully exciting double elimination tournament…oh wait. It’s not double elimina­tion anymore. At least not in the first round. Teams work hard in their regional tour­naments to earn the right to travel a hundred miles, some­times two, over mountain passes (for DeSales, Toutle Lake, Napavine, Lind-Ritz­ville/ Sprague, North Beach, and Wahkiakum on the 2B this year; a handful more on the 1B) for the right to be eliminated in a single game at some non-descript 4A high school, with few people in at­tendance and little to no me­dia coverage. Or if they win, to make the same trek back across the mountains one week later for the second, third, and final rounds of the tournament in Spokane. (Yes, the state basketball tourna­ment takes a week and a day to complete).

So, only the best eight make it to Spokane which at least guarantees good bas­ketball. Well “not so fast my friend” (hat tip to Lee Corso). This split has not ensured great basketball. In fact, the 1B girls’ side in particular has produced a horrendous viewing experience. Take for example the round of eight games last year: Colton 58 - Neah Bay 36; Columbia (Hunters) 75 - Northwest Yeshiva 33; Almira/Coulee- Hartline 72 - Lopez Island 15. The girls 2B wasn’t much better with Reardan blasting Bear Creek by 25, 49-24, and Brewster tearing apart Taco­ma Baptist 55-25. How does this happen at state? And in the quarterfinals to boot?

When the WIAA split the Bs into two classifications in 2006, they sent the smaller schools to Yakima to play for the state title, leaving the 2Bs to play a 16-team tourney in Spokane. The result was disastrous. The greatest, most well-attended tournament in the state turned into a quiet affair devoid of crowds— even on championship night. Prior to the split, the three major network affiliates in Spokane would broadcast their entire newscasts from the Arena. Every restau­rant and hotel readerboard screamed “Welcome Fans of State B”.

The classification split ended it all. The 1Bs includ­ed nearly all of the rural areas south of Spokane (the Whit­man County League) and half the schools to the north and west of Spokane (most of the Panorama League and part of the Bi-County League). Those loyal lo­cal fans who attended the Spokane tourney whether or not their team qualified now turned their attention to Ya­kima, and the local television media, seeing little local in­terest in Evergreen Lutheran vs. Darrington, stopped pay­ing attention as well.

So a couple years ago (or was it just last year?), the WIAA decided to put all the Bs back in Spokane, but with the caveat that teams had to play a first round single-elim­ination game at sites around the state. Sixteen boys teams and 16 girls teams from each classification were too many teams for the Arena to handle, so the fields were cut to eight teams apiece, and the Spokane portion of the tournament from four days to three.

Some of the interest from the general public has re­turned, but the lack of top- flight competition is still hurting the brand. Now, it may be unpopular among the little schools—as well as the pansies who want everyone to have a trophy—but this old geezer (I’m 40 now, I can say that) and lover of the movie Hoosiers (Go Hickory High!) says dump this whole 1B, 2B thing. There should be only one B. The best 1Bs have proven throughout his­tory and today that they can play with and beat the best 2B teams. So let bygones be B-gones and have the best of the best 16 schools with less than, say, 170 students duke it out.

Because watching the milquetoast tourney the WIAA is currently serving up leaves me rubbing my eyes and moaning “Woe is B.”