IHSA Talk

Roundball Sage · Mar 12, 2022

The Illinois high school tournament is just about the greatest single sporting event ever created on the face of the Earth.

And when it is played back again on the legendary floor of the Orange and Blue, it’s a little piece of Heaven.

Every big city and small town gets a chance. Every player gets his shot at being on the Big State Stage. Memories are made on the U of I floor that last a lifetime. Generations of them.

It is pure basketball yet unadulterated by personal agendas and the polluting lure of money.

Thanks for bringing this spectacle back where it belongs. Thanks for the three-day format and keeping the Third Place games (a chance for a second team to go back home winners and get a nice trophy).

Thanks to all the young men who work day and night on their games to become the best players they can be. And their coaches for dedicated their lives to these young men and the communities they represent.

The movie asks, ‘Is This Heaven’?

The answer is... YES. It’s Illinois high school basketball on the Illini floor. Doesn’t get any better than that.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Mar 12, 2022

Ramrod2010 said:
Yorkville finally got their tough game. Still won by 13 to win state.

And Liberty had a lead and kept with them for about the first 3 quarters. Yorkville Christian's talent won out in the end.

IlliniUnited · Mar 12, 2022

What a finish in the 3A final! Buzzer beater in double OT for SHG to top metamora

Illinivek23 · Mar 12, 2022

Paxton Warden looks great for GBW!

IlliniBrave75 · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
And Liberty had a lead and kept with them for about the first 3 quarters. Yorkville Christian's talent won out in the end.

I wasn't able to watch the game, but based on the score, it seems that Liberty must have really dictated the pace of the game! Yorkville Christian likes to really get up and down the court normally.

IlliniUnited · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniBrave75 said:
I wasn't able to watch the game, but based on the score, it seems that Liberty must have really dictated the pace of the game! Yorkville Christian likes to really get up and down the court normally.

They were ice cold in the first half. YC was only shooting 3s and missed most of them. Ask sister in the 2nd half

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniUnited said:
What a finish in the 3A final! Buzzer beater in double OT for SHG to top metamora

Metamora absolutely gave that game away though.

Feel absolutely gutted for the Metamora kids though. SHG doesn't make a single 3 the entire game until the very end and the shooter for SHG shot it off balance.

Scary thing about this SHG team is that they only had one senior on the team and he wasn't even a starter. Their entire starting 5 was all juniors so it is conceivable they could be back at the state tournament next season.

IlliniUnited · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniUnited said:
They were ice cold in the first half. YC was only shooting 3s and missed most of them. Ask sister in the 2nd half

Not sure how adjusted in the second half autocorrected to “Ask sister”

BillyBob1 · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
Metamora absolutely gave that game away though.

Feel absolutely gutted for the Metamora kids though. SHG doesn't make a single 3 the entire game until the very end and the shooter for SHG shot it off balance.

Scary thing about this SHG team is that they only had one senior on the team and he wasn't even a starter. Their entire starting 5 was all juniors so it is conceivable they could be back at the state tournament next season.

You have to give SHG’s defense credit for a lot of the turnovers. Metamora’s star player held to 3 points.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Mar 12, 2022

BillyBob1 said:
You have to give SHG’s defense credit for a lot of the turnovers. Metamora’s star player held to 3 points.

Agreed but the officiating left a lot to be desired in the 2nd half.

BillyBob1 · Mar 12, 2022

IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
Agreed but the officiating left a lot to be desired in the 2nd half.

They definitely let them play. Bad calls both ways.

Ryllini · Mar 12, 2022

I watched a little of Glenbard for first time and that is a special collection of talent to be assembled by chance. Crazy length! I’d have to say that has to be one of the best Illinois high school teams ever given they had zero losses against Illinois competition this year.

IlliniUnited · Mar 12, 2022

Ryllini said:
I watched a little of Glenbard for first time and that is a special collection of talent to be assembled by chance. Crazy length! I’d have to say that has to be one of the best Illinois high school teams ever given they had zero losses against Illinois competition this year.

Agreed. Once in a generation team. Size, skill, athleticism and basketball IQ. Amazing defense and efficient offense.

Roundball Sage · Mar 13, 2022

You didn’t even have to be a Glenbard fan to appreciate the amazing team they proved to be this season. Wire to wire excellence.

It was like they cloned the same ‘6-and-a-half’ foot guy and put him into all court positions. And the great shooting and ball skills. They could beat plenty of lower-level Division I college teams right now.

The entire tournament was a blast. Great competitive games, lots of passion, and well-coached young guys who represent Illinois ball well.

And the new format is great and the location back on the Illini floor just put some righteous order back into the Universe.

As a roundball fan, I’m ready for the new season to start NEXT WEEK.

OK, maybe soon. Let these guys rest a bit. Make it... TWO WEEKS.

illini80 · Mar 13, 2022

Roundball Sage said:
You didn’t even have to be a Glenbard fan to appreciate the amazing team they proved to be this season. Wire to wire excellence.

It was like they cloned the same ‘6-and-a-half’ foot guy and put him into all court positions. And the great shooting and ball skills. They could beat plenty of lower-level Division I college teams right now.

The entire tournament was a blast. Great competitive games, lots of passion, and well-coached young guys who represent Illinois ball well.

And the new format is great and the location back on the Illini floor just put some righteous order back into the Universe.

As a roundball fan, I’m ready for the new season to start NEXT WEEK.

OK, maybe soon. Let these guys rest a bit. Make it... TWO WEEKS.

For those who attended in person, I’d love to hear some feedback on the experience, crowd size, excitement level.

QCtoKC · Mar 13, 2022

illini80 said:
For those who attended in person, I’d love to hear some feedback on the experience, crowd size, excitement level.

Crowds were pretty good, especially on Saturday for the championship sessions.

We definitely missed the Experience, though. There just needed to be something else.

The third place session for the big schools was actually good. I was concerned the teams would not have an interest it. However, attendance was putrid. And the kids were gassed from having to play twice in one day. 4A in particular (and 2A for the small schools) had it rough having to play in two straight sessions.

Also, Friday (and Thursday I’m sure but we didnt show up until Friday) was too packed. Three sessions is too much. We immediately left after session two, went down the street for a quick bite, and came right back and did so with 4 minutes to spare before tip-off. Not sure what they can do, but 10 am to 11 pm is too much. And they require teams to play twice in one day. Product could really suffer.

For some reason, they didn’t let people in for the small school championship session until about 20 minutes before tip. It was freezing cold with harsh winds. It was poorly managed.

Also, the in-arena experience was bad. They didn’t show replays for the most part. They showed SHG’s game-winning buzzer-beater once in replay. Ridiculous.

Champaign has a lot of work to do to match, or even come close to, Peoria.

But they did have nice crowds, I’ll say again. I just hope they improve the overall experience and the IHSA needs to figure out the three sessions per day and the third place sessions will never draw well. Not sure what the solution is, though.

illini80 · Mar 13, 2022

QCtoKC said:
Crowds were pretty good, especially on Saturday for the championship sessions.

We definitely missed the Experience, though. There just needed to be something else.

The third place session for the big schools was actually good. I was concerned the teams would not have an interest it. However, attendance was putrid. And the kids were gassed from having to play twice in one day. 4A in particular (and 2A for the small schools) had it rough having to play in two straight sessions.

Also, Friday (and Thursday I’m sure but we didnt show up until Friday) was too packed. Three sessions is too much. We immediately left after session two, went down the street for a quick bite, and came right back and did so with 4 minutes to spare before tip-off. Not sure what they can do, but 10 am to 11 pm is too much. And they require teams to play twice in one day. Product could really suffer.

For some reason, they didn’t let people in for the small school championship session until about 20 minutes before tip. It was freezing cold with harsh winds. It was poorly managed.

Also, the in-arena experience was bad. They didn’t show replays for the most part. They showed SHG’s game-winning buzzer-beater once in replay. Ridiculous.

Champaign has a lot of work to do to match, or even come close to, Peoria.

But they did have nice crowds, I’ll say again. I just hope they improve the overall experience and the IHSA needs to figure out the three sessions per day and the third place sessions will never draw well. Not sure what the solution is, though.

Thank you. That’s a little disappointing. They’ve had plenty of time to get ready for this. I would have hoped for a more polished product.