Griffith's bizarre run to 3A boys title game continues to draw scrutiny

• 3A title game%3A Guerin Catholic vs. Griffith%2C 6 p.m.%2C Saturday

After his team clinched a berth on Saturday to the Class 3A state championship game, Guerin Catholic coach Pete Smith remarked of his upcoming opponent: "I wish it was somebody else, but it's Griffith."

Griffith, the opponent Smith referenced, advanced to the 3A title game under bizarre circumstances. The Panthers were forced to forfeit their final six regular season games and banned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association after a bench-clearing fight against Hammond on Feb. 7. After a three-week layoff, a local court granted Griffith a temporary injunction.

The Panthers, 13-3 prior to the fight, took advantage and have won six consecutive games to reach the state finals for the first time. On Monday, at media day for the state finals, Smith expanded on his comments.

"The IHSAA is a voluntary organization that you join and accept their penalties," Smith said. "I've had to sit out games because of two technicals in a game. There is no appeal process for that. That was pretty painful for me, so I'm really careful about getting a second technical nowadays. Since commissioner (Bobby) Cox has come in, there has been such an emphasis on sportsmanship that I think the schools know the message."

Smith, 54, said he doesn't have a vendetta against Griffith and respects the program. He said some Guerin fans remarked after the semistate win over Vincennes Lincoln that the state finals matchup would be "Catholics vs. Convicts," a sentiment he doesn't share. But he does believe the IHSAA did the right thing by suspending Griffith and Hammond, especially in light of a wave of sportsmanship issues in multiple sports around the state.

The IHSAA instituted a sportsmanship committee this school year.

"It's not reality that these aren't good kids (at Griffith)," Smith said. "They just made a bad choice in a rivalry game it looked like, when I saw it. It's a little bit of a distraction because our fans aren't talking about playing basketball, they are talking about playing a team with that reputation. That's really unfair to Griffith."

The IHSAA is in the process of appealing the decision to allow Griffith to play, although a decision is not expected until sometime after this week.

Griffith coach Gary Hayes, 68, was asked about Smith's comments that the IHSAA's decision should not have been overturned.

"I'm brought up in the old school of coaches in the 1970s and '80s to only talk about your team and not the other team," Hayes said. "I've always been that way. I really don't comment on what other coaches say. I learned that a long time ago from Mickey Sofiak at Gary Froebel when I was in my 20s."

Guerin Catholic (21-8) will meet Griffith (19-10, seven losses by forfeit) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Though the IHSAA is appealing the decision to allow Griffith to play, Cox said there is no guarantee Griffith would be stripped of the title should it win on Saturday.

"To be quite honest, I haven't even thought what that would look like," Cox said. "I know we have board members with strong opinions about this issue. We'll make a determination based on what the court decides and go from there."

Cox said the decision to ban Griffith and Hammond from tournament play doesn't necessarily set a precedent moving forward, though it appears likely the IHSAA will continue to take a hard stance against unsportsmanlike behavior.

"When this is all done, we'll have a better picture of what is appropriate to do," Cox said. "We don't know that yet because we don't know the outcome. Our focus this weekend is to have a great tournament and not have any incidents."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STATE FINALS

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse

When: Saturday

Tickets: $15 per session

Schedule:

Class A: Marquette Catholic (24-6) vs. Barr-Reeve (26-2), 10:30 a.m.

Class 2A: Frankton (26-2) vs. Park Tudor (25-2), 12:45 p.m.

Class 3A: Griffith (19-10) vs. Guerin Catholic (21-8), 6 p.m.

Class 4A: Homestead (28-2) vs. Evansville Reitz (29-1), 8:15 p.m.