Anybody who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of having crossover games count during basketball season.
However, if that’s not going to change, then let’s tweak the seeding system. If there are eight playoff teams at the end of the year, let’s seed them totally based on win-loss record regardless of league.
That means the top fours seeds, in theory, could all be Sierra League teams and the last four could be all the High Desert entrants.
Case in point. Only three teams on the High Desert side, Reed, Reno and Spanish Springs posted .500 or better records in crossover games this season. Çonversely, Carson, Bishop Manogue, Douglas and Galena were all big winners in crossover contests. Manogue, under first-year coach Ralph Fields, has been a pleasant surprise. The Miners recently knocked off Galena by a basket.
With the regional tournament slated for Carson again this year, the Senators would like nothing better than to be playing in front of their home fans like they did two years ago. Had it not been for a fourth-quarter meltdown against Hug, Carson would have played in the state tournament that year.
The best way to get to the regional tournament is to get a first-round home playoff game which is accomplished by finishing first or second in your league.
The Senators have some tough obstacles to overcome to accomplish that. They have enough offense and play good enough defense to get in the top four on the Sierra side.
Carson needs to avoid having meltdowns like it did Tuesday against Damonte Ranch, however. There was no excuse for a 21-point lead to get whittled down to seven in less than six minutes.
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While we’re on the subject of basketball, I’m so sick and tired of the parade to the foul line late in games when the losing team fouls even though it means two shots at the line. It’s annoying and slows games down to a crawl.
Back in the 1970s, the foul rule was changed to stop shooting the common foul aka as the one shot foul. The rule was changed to speed the game up.
When it gets to the double bonus situation, why not let the offensive team have the choice of the ball out of bounds or to shoot the free throws? I think you would be surprised how often coaches, if they are already armed with an 8 or 10-point lead, might opt to run some more time off the clock.
And speaking of running time off the clock, I have yet to see a Northern Nevada team run a good 4-corner offense. St. Joseph’s of Alameda, Jason Kidd’s alma mater, won a regional title in the 70s without a player over 6-foot-3. The Pilots ran the 4-corner with precision. And, teams were defenseless to stop it. Teams attacked it different ways without success. The Pilots, especially when they were outmatched height-wise, would try to keep the game in the 30 and 40s.
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I question having state wrestling in Winnemucca. Do they have enough hotel rooms in town or even close by? If the tournament is going to be in the north it needs to be in Reno because there are plenty of hotel rooms.
