by steve34 » Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:44 pm
Okay, so in a separate forum, I was asked to end my references to "B shot" ball. I thought of responding to it in that forum, but that would only serve to erode that thread further. So, here's a new thread. These myths are the reason why, over the years, I have gone from total respect for B basketball (around 1996 to 2000), to a complete lack of respect for it now, thus my references to "B shot".
Note--If you like Class "B" ball, this thread will pi$$ you off. You may not want to read it.
Top 10 Myths of Class "B" Basketball
10. Class "B" is up-tempo
Not even close. By my observations, at best, style seems to follow a pattern based on affiliation. Since I live in the SE part of the state, I get to see mostly Region I and Region III ball. In Region I, the districts are nowhere near the same. District II is actually pretty good. District I is horribly boring, save for some younger coaches that are beginning to change the game (Example: Brandon Bata at Oakes). District I coaches love the idea of simply limiting mistakes, forcing games into a boring, standaround affair that make me want to get a refund at the ticket booth.
There are a few teams that may get up and down, but by and large, the "up-tempo" stuff was left behind 20 years ago.
9. Class "B" defense is as good as Class "A".
Um....no. 75% of Class B teams I see employ a 2-3 zone as their primary defense, regardless of scheme based on opponent. "B" teams are notorious in college circles for producing scorers that you have to hide in a zone to compensate for their lack of defensive skill.
8. Class "B" is as good as Class "A".
Average "A" teams would beat average "B" teams consistently. Bad "A" teams would win 50% of their games against average "B" teams, and would dominate bad "B" teams. Average "A" teams would challenge good "B" teams. Only a small fraction of "B" teams would compete regularly if they were placed in either of the "A" conferences.
7. A trip to the state "B" tournament is more rare than a trip to the "A" tournament.
The beginning of loser-out play at the "B" level has been cleverly named the "Region" tournament to promote the rarity of a trip to the "state" tourney. In actuality, the state "B" tournament is a 64-team, six-round tournament, in which the first three rounds are played at regional sites. The regional "A" tournaments are actually qualifiers, not loser-out. After the vote to move Valley City back to "A", there will be 20 "A" schools, of which 8 go to state.
20 schools, 8 advance, 40% attend.
In "B", 64 teams advance to state. If each district has 8 teams, half, or 50% of Class "B" teams advance to state. In fact, some teams, like Central Cass, a chief opponent of any three-division system, are virtually guaranteed a trip to state, cleverly mis-identified as "regionals" every year. Even Fargo South or West Fargo do not enjoy that guarantee, as referenced by last year's boys basketball and this year's volleyball seasons.
6. Class "B" is full of tradition.
Years of play is not tradition. The state has had a one-class system, a three-class system, and the current two-class system with a number of current "B" teams at the "A" level. "B" tradition was built basically from the collapse of Class "C" ball (around 1965), to the collapse of Class "A"'s North Star conference (1991). Up until 1965, the three-division system did not add to the "tradition", and the big "B"'s that moved down after the collapse of the North Star ended the "tradition" of B ball by polluting the "regionals" (first three rounds of state) with nearly automatic bids. The "tradition" of 60, 70, 80 years, and so on, of "B" ball is a myth constructed over the past 25 years by superintendents of small schools to make their kids feel relevant. I think those kids are relevant without the myth.
5. Class "B" does not need a shot clock.
The game is called basketball. That means putting a ball in a basket. When you begin playing a game that is built on holding possession of the ball, with no intention of putting the ball in the basket, that game is not basketball. Playing for one shot with 45 seconds left of the quarter in every quarter is rediculous. Having a 15 point lead and not having to play the game in the final 4 minutes absolutely stinks. Those people who defend the "art of being disciplined and playing clean, possession basketball" are spin doctors protecting the idea of just controlling the clock.
In football, you can run the ball to kill the clock, but you at least have to keep moving the ball down the field. If you don't you give it up. In baseball, you can defend a lead by moving your fielders, but you still have to throw pitches and give them an opportunity to hit. In hockey, the other team is allowed to hit the guy with the puck to go get it. Every sport allows you to get the scoring mechanism back if a team plays to defend a lead except for basketball, and in North Dakota, Class "B" basketball.
Oh by the way, before someone starts yelping about "hardly ever", three years ago at the Region I girls tourney, semifinals (meaning, best 32 teams in the state, right?), Fargo Oak Grove vs. Enderlin, end of first quarter, Oak Grove 5, Enderlin, 2.
4. Fargo is a bad place for the Class "B" state tourney
Absolutely false. I've been there for B tournaments, including the state "B". The Dome is a great host for the tournament, there are no atmosphere problems, and the only complaining is from fans that had to drive a long distance or superintendents denied their annual reunion with their other 70+ year old peers that constructed the myth as explained above.
Now, I will grant you that Bismarck is better, but Minot is not. I will also grant that, in the interest of logistics, it's probably better to keep the "B" in either Bismarck or Minot most years due to travel, due to how geography plays into the qualification process. But if you want to argue against Fargo, argue the correct points, not that the city is bad for the tournament, or that the Dome isn't a good atmosphere.
3. Three divisions would wreck "B" basketball.
Completely false. Every plan proposed thusfar would gut "B", which would wreck the "B" division. But three divisions, done correctly, would do nothing but breathe new life into a sport that is growing more stale by the year.
Something like a 16, 16, rest system is totally workable. If you can find a class out of 19 or 20 (as we have at A) then two classes of 16 would be fine. South Dakota's "B" tournament has all the atmosphere you could ever ask for from a high school tournament, and they have three classes.
2. The State "B" tournament is the "grand daddy of them all".
The NDHSAA builds in a bunch of fancy bells and whistles to guarantee themselves an audience that "A" doesn't use. "A" lets the game speak for itself. "B" recognizes every state champion in every sport and activity during it's parade, bringing in fans from all over that have nothing to do with the tournament. They have reunion teams acknowledged all over the place. 30-40% of the eventual audience is there for a reason other than basketball. If "A" did the same things, the attendance would be nearly equal. You shouldn't have to "sell" a tournament that is such a money-making powerhouse.
1. Class "B" isn't broken, so don't change it.
Even the meetings that are going on around the state are acknowleding that revenues from the state tournament are down. Crowds are getting smaller during the regular season, districts, the first three rounds of state ("regionals"), and "state". The shenanigans allowed (or pulled, take your pick) by Linton last year didn't help. Trinity hiding at the "B" level in a region with little competition to unseat them doesn't help any year. The path for 60 schools getting there having to go through Central Cass, Grafton, Linton, and Trinity is getting really old. There's growing dissatisfaction with our current plan, no matter how many Fargo Forum writers and radio broadcasters are "persuaded" to oppose any change.
Sorry, but it's tough to buy into all the glory about "B" ball on this website while being able to observe all of the untruths that surround the game. If even a few people would come forward and acknowledge even a few of these, I could be more complimentary to the game. But right now, I guess someone has to be the critic for a game that appears to have none. Not that there's nothing to critique. It's just that no one really cares except everyone who buys into these "myths".