Tournament memories

Final thoughts from the 101st West Virginia SSAC Boys High School Basketball Tournament:

—Coming to Charleston undefeated is like the curse associated with appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  Washington High School had not lost a game all year and came to the tournament as the top seed in Class AAA, however the Patriots lost to eventual champion Huntington 66-57 in the semi-finals.  Class AA top seed Robert C. Byrd lost their only game of the year to Bluefield in the finals, 64-39.  Only six schools have run the table since the state adopted the class system for schools in 1959.

—Tournament observers are calling Friday night’s Class AAA semi-final game between Hurricane and Hedgesville one of the best in the modern era.  The teams needed triple overtime to decide the outcome, with Hurricane winning 69-66.  It’s being compared with the 1995 Class AAA title game where Wheeling Park beat Beckley Woodrow Wilson in triple overtime 99-96.

—Speaking of Beckley, their legendary former coach Dave Barksdale was back in Charleston this weekend.  He’s now an assistant coach at Greater Beckley Christian.  The Crusaders were knocked out in the first round of the tournament this year by Clay-Battelle 61-56.  It’s doubtful any coach will ever match Barksdale’s record at Beckley: 17 seasons, 335 wins and 93 losses, 11 straight trips to the state tournament and five championships.

—West Virginia basketball legend Hot Rod Hundley was honored during the Class AAA title game Saturday night at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.  Hundley starred for Charleston High School from 1950 through 1953, averaging 30 points a game, but his team didn’t win a state championship.  Hundley did, however, make the all tournament team in 1951 when the Mountain Lions lost to Beckley 62-54 in the title game.

—Hundley, Jerry West, Willie Akers and a number of other WVU basketball players from the 50’s, will often say that one of the most beloved figures in their lives was Ann Dinardi.  She served as a “housemother” to the players.  Her small house next to the WVU Field House was their home away form home.  Morgantown native Sharon Lee, who is now a filmmaker in Los Angeles, is working on a film about Dinardi’s life.  Lee, who was back in the state this week to drum up support for the film, describes the planned movie as “The Blind Side” meets “Hoosiers.”

—Here are my tournament MVPs:  Class A—Chase Harler.  The Wheeling Central sophomore scored 65 points in three games, including 30 in the championship game against Charleston Catholic, to lead the Maroon Knights to their 11th state championship. Class AA—Anthony Eades.  The Bluefield senior guard had a team high 29 points to lead the Beavers to a 64-39 win over RCB in the title game.  Eades who has signed to play at Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn., scored 82 points in three games.   Class AAA—Tavian Dunn-Martin. The 5-6 Huntington sophomore led the Highlanders with 20 points in their victory over Hurricane Saturday night, including a three-pointer with 48 seconds left to tie the game.

—This was the last tournament for at least three veteran coaches who have made numerous appearances in Charleston.  Bill McClanahan is retiring after 13 seasons at Charleston Catholic. During his tenure, the Irish made the finals eight of the last nine seasons and won four titles.  Tucker County’s Tom Gutshall announced after a quarterfinals loss to Clarksburg Notre Dame that he’s stepping down after 31 seasons.  Gutshall led the Mountain Lions to 20 state tournament appearances, including 13 straight.  And Morgantown High’s Tom Yester will not be back next season after four decades of coaching.  Morgantown was knocked off in the quarterfinals by Washington.

—And finally, on a more personal note, one of the joys of participating in the Metronews’ broadcasts of the high school basketball tournament is working with Fred Persinger and Larry “Speedy” Bevins.  Collectively, these two broadcast professionals have more knowledge and insight into high school basketball than any other two people in the state.  Also, thanks to Secondary School Activities Commission Executive Director Gary Ray and his crew for putting on another great tournament.





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