Are you depressed the football season is finally over?
Bummed because the Razorbacks have likely played themselves out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament again?
Well, here’s a remedy for you that is far less expensive than anything college and professional sports can offer: High school basketball.
Before March Madness, there is Frantic February and the action heats up this week with district tournaments throughout the state. Regional and state tournaments will follow before the winners convene again at the Hot Springs Convention Center to decide championships in seven classes.
Malik Monk is no longer around to draw large crowds, but that doesn’t mean postseason in Arkansas will be any less exciting.
Can top-ranked Jonesboro remain undefeated and take the championship in Class 6A? Will the Valley Springs and Greenland girls meet again to decide the championship in Class 3A?
Raise your hand if you think you know what’s going to happen. Now put them down because you don’t.
I was reminded of the unpredictability of sports while covering the Prairie Grove boys in consecutive games. Prairie Grove blew a 15-point halftime lead and lost 53-52 at Lincoln on a late 3-pointer. Four days later, Prairie Grove returned home to face Pea Ridge, which entered the game 23-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class 4A. The game was a rematch from Jan. 10, when Pea Ridge routed the Tigers 74-43.
Losses like those can devastate a team, but the Tigers refused to stay down. They built a 10-point lead in the second half then fought back after Pea Ridge rallied to tie the game. Zeke Laird, the quarterback on the Tigers’ football team, answered with a 3-point basket with under two minutes to play to put Prairie Grove up for good. Pea Ridge missed a tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer, which prompted fans from the Prairie Grove student section to rush onto the court and celebrate with the winning team.
“We kind of gave one away at Lincoln, but it says a lot about this team in the way they responded,” Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston said. “When you lose a game like that, everybody has to make their own decision whether they’re going to stay the course or say ‘oh, well, let’s look to next year.’ I didn’t have to go on a long diatribe about it. They made that decision and that’s what I love about them.”
The upset serves as a reminder to Pea Ridge and other high seeds that easing up even a little bit can send your team home sooner than expected. I’m sure Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson wasn’t thrilled in 1994 when the Razorbacks lost 90-78 to Kentucky in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament in Memphis. Whatever Richardson said, the Razorbacks got the message and strung together six consecutive victories in the NCAA Tournament to earn their first national championship in basketball.
I can’t predict how far Pea Ridge will go, but the Blackhawks followed the loss to Prairie Grove with a win over Elkins to end the regular season. Pea Ridge now heads to Berryville, where it will face the host Bobcats in a first-round game on Monday night.
The fun doesn’t stop with district tournaments throughout the area. Fans in Northwest Arkansas can then choose between regional tournament sites at West Fork (Class 4A), Charleston (Class 3A), County Line (Class 1A) and the Class 7A state tournament at Van Buren. You can count on a Hoosiers-type moment somewhere, hopefully with your favorite team.
So, get out there and support our high school athletes. It’s tournament time in Arkansas, the best time of the year.
Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARick.