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State finals postscript: Is there a lesson from Griffith story?

Kyle Neddenriep
Guerin Catholic's Matt Holba defends the basket against Griffith's Tremell Murphy during the Golden Eagles' 62-56 win over the Panthers in the state finals to win the IHSAA Class 3A Boys State Basketball Championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

Emptying the notebook from a long Saturday of high school basketball state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse:

• I don't know if there's any big theme to be taken away from the Griffith story. The Panthers' journey to the Class 3A state finals was well-documented. Griffith was banned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association for fighting, only to have that decision overturned by a Lake County judge. As the IHSAA appealed that decision, the Panthers made a run all the way to the Class 3A state final, losing 62-56 to Guerin Catholic.

In our business, we look for compelling stories. Griffith's certainly was that. I'm not sure it can be wrapped up in a nice, tidy bow, though, until we know what happens next. If it wins the appeal, will the IHSAA vacate Griffith's runner-up appearance? That would seem unnecessary, though certainly within the IHSAA's rights as the governing body of its member schools.

But that's just bookkeeping, really. The IHSAA can't erase Griffith's run. The more important answers lie with Griffith. While I agree with Griffith coach Gary Hayes that a lot of the perceptions of his program were overblown and unfair because of the fight against Hammond on Feb. 6, Griffith also has to hold up its end of the deal beyond this tournament run. Though it didn't play into the decision to ban Griffith and Hammond for the remainder of the season – a decision I personally felt was probably too harsh, even though schools had asked for harsher penalties on fighting – IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox told me Griffith was one of the worst offenders of unsportsmanlike offenses across multiple sports.

And maybe that is the lesson here. Maybe the fight was the breaking point and Griffith – a community I greatly enjoyed visiting a couple of weeks ago – can fix these issues moving forward. The team, on the court Saturday, was a model of sportsmanship. They picked up Guerin players off the court, shook hands after hard (clean) fouls and played an excellent game even in defeat.

Guerin Catholic's Matt Labus, the Mental Attitude Award winner, called Griffith "a great group of guys."

"Nothing but nice things were said (after the game)," Labus said. "There was no talking on the court. They are great guys, good character guys and obviously have great leadership after everything they've been through."

Guerin Catholic point guard Cameron Lindley went toe-to-toe in a tough matchup all night with Griffith junior Kelston Hayden. After Lindley crossed him over on one play, Hayden smiled and told him, "Nice move."

"At the end it was a basketball game," Lindley said. "We forgot about all the articles that were written and just played. It was five on five. It was just a game."

Just a game. Maybe there's a lesson there, too.

• I was seated on press row directly in front of the Evansville Reitz crowd for the Class 4A game. They were so loud at times I couldn't hear my recorder, with earbuds.

Then, silence.

Homestead's 91-90 overtime win in the Class 4A game was a cruel finish for an Evansville Reitz team that was so fun to watch. Reitz led by eight with less than 2 minutes left and by six with 1:21 left. Credit Homestead, especially junior Tahj Curry, for making it happen on the defensive end. But it also took a brief stretch of basketball that was very unlike Reitz.

*What a great basketball game in 4A. It set the record for points in a championship game since the class basketball era started in 1997-98 and tied the all-time record.

I know every March we go through the "high school basketball ain't what it used to be" cycle. I get it. And I think there are some good ideas out there to improve the current product.

The crowd for the night session was 12,862. That's down from a sellout of 18,000-plus last year and more in line with crowds of 2012 and '13. If you weren't there, you missed out.

• Speaking of improvements, Todd Golden of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star had an interesting column this week about changes he'd like to see made to improve the tournament. One aspect I like in particular, and believe is doable: eliminating the semistate round.

With only one game in the semistate, it just doesn't seem necessary. The tournament seems to drag a bit and lose some momentum after the regional. It would also seem to alleviate the IHSAA from some of the semistate scheduling headaches that seem to crop up every year.

Granted, I don't know all the logistics of nailing down Bankers Life Fieldhouse for two days. But a Friday-Saturday "state finals" the weekend after the regional, I think, would make it more of an event. Play the Class A semifinals at 9 and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, the Class 2A semifinals at noon and 1:30 p.m., the Class 3A semifinals at 3 and 4:30 p.m. and Class 4A semifinals at 6 and 7:30 p.m. The Saturday schedule could remain the same.

Seems like a win-win on a lot of levels.

• Thanks for reading. Always enjoy seeing so many familiar faces at the state finals. Hard to believe another season is in the books.