Nobody asked me but...the Charleston Invitational...I mean the Class 3 final four will tip off on Thursday morning. Seriously folks, the other three teams need not show. Scratch that. They should show up so one of them can pick up the second place trophy.
Charleston is not only the best team in Class 3, but the best team in the state. Yes, the state. They have been ridiculous this postseason. The Bluejays have defeated their five postseason opponents by an average of 33 points. Justin Clark is in desperate need of a cool nickname after his recent performances. Clark almost single-handedly defeated Malden in the sectional round. The Green Wave were quite possibly the most athletic team in the state and came into the game with only one loss.
Malden never seemed on the verge of defeating Charleston, but they would make a little run here and there to fire up their huge fan base. At the crowd's most fevered pitch, the Bluejays would come down the floor and calmly find Clark, who would drain a long-distance 3-pointer to quiet the crowd. It happened numerous times in the contest.
Clark continued his exploits in the quarterfinal round against Bayless, who were defense-less against the sharp-shooter. Clark was on fire in the first half, which allowed Charleston to cruise the rest of the game. The 'Jays dominated Bayless even without the services of Jamarcus Williams, who injured an ankle early in the first half.
The Bluejays will face Bowling Green in the semifinals on Thursday. Enjoy your new state title Charleston, your next might take awhile (see: next year's basketball preview).
* Congrats on a great season Scott Central girls and boys team. The Bravettes lost a tough quarterfinal game in overtime, while the Braves made a furious fourth quarter comeback against Bell City, only to fall two points short at the buzzer. Scott Central head coach Ronnie Cookson, who came out of retirement to coach for one year still has the magic touch. Happy re-
retirement coach.
* The Kelly girls team also had a great year. The Lady Hawks had a huge win over Doniphan in the sectionals, only to fall to Metro in the quarterfinals. You can look at stats and the heights and weights of players, but you can't measure a player's heart and desire. At Kelly, those girls had an ample supply of both.
* Some postseason thoughts to close the basketball season...
1. I was very impressed with the turnout by the Malden fans at the Charleston game. They owned the gym. Cool little chant also.
2. Notre Dame finished in second place in Class 4. I'm guessing the guys didn't rip their shirts off to receive that trophy.
3. Sikeston should receive a consolation price of being ranked in the last Class 4 poll. I guarantee you, if not for the Abe Dirnberger miracle, Sikeston enjoys another trip to Columbia for at least second, if not first place.
And finally, nobody asked me but...the NCAA should stop paring conference tournament winners in the play-in game. Those teams deserve some time to enjoy their win and also get the full experience of the tournament later in the week. Quick solution, make the last two at-large bids play each other. In this case, Arkansas and Illinois would do battle.