Monday Mailbag: WBL hoops and more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

This week’s Monday Mailbag featurest questions about WBL teams in the state tournament and officiating, plus comments about Crestview’s girls basketball season and a shot clock.

Q: Outside of the MAC, it’s not often that you see two teams from the same league playing in the state tournament. Which Western Buckeye League team do you think has a better shot to win a state championship – Shawnee or Ottawa-Glandorf? Name withheld upon request

A: Good question and a tough one to answer.

No. 2 Shawnee will play No. 1 Akron St. Vincent St. Marys in the Division II semifinal round and No. 10 Ottawa-Glandorf will face No. 4 Lutheran East in the Division III semifinals.

If Shawnee can get by ASVSM, I think the Indians have a legit shot to win the championship, but that’s a big if. I do think O-G matches up well with Lutheran East, but the likely opponent would be No. 1 Worthington Christian in the finals.

Both teams have their work cut out for them.

C: I just want to congratulate the Crestview girls basketball team for an outstanding season. It may not have ended the way they wanted it to, but it was still a great season. Name withheld upon request

A: Agreed, it was a fun and memorable season for the Lady Knights.

As far as the way it ended, let’s face it – Fort Loramie by far was the best team in Division IV and they proved it in Dayton. There’s no shame in losing to a team like that.

WKSD’s Kenny Stabler and I both wondered if Fort Loramie could have won in Division III and both of us believe it would have been a real possibility.

C: Scott, as I said last year in your column I totally agree with you (about no shot clock).

There is an art to controlling possession of the ball and if you don’t have the best shooters it sometimes works out for you. As a former official (29 years) I officiated numerous Paul Wayne games and knew going in to the game it was going to be controlled tempo because his players were very good at ball handling and patience.

Before working his games I would always seek out some of his teams fans and talk over this strategy and they all thought due to the ability of their players to handle the ball and not being the best shooters the control offense was great because they had a chance to be competitive and even win some games.

It is an art just like playing good defense can stop the controlled game. Larry Mengerink, Van Wert

C: Thank you for your thoughts Larry.

I still believe a shot clock is the wrong thing for high school basketball, but I also think it will become part of the game at some point.

Q: What can be done about officiating, which has been poor, especially in the boys basketball tournament? Name withheld upon request

A: The officiating that I’ve seen hasn’t been bad. Personally, I think it’s been pretty solid to this point. Obviously if your team is losing or lost, you may think differently and I understand that’s part of the game.

If you’re referring to the Antwerp regional game, I’ve heard a lot about the offensive foul that was called with 1.9 seconds left. Yes, a call like that is big in a game like that, but you also have to consider what else happened during earlier stages of the game, including trailing by 16 points. To me, that was a much bigger factor in the game.

I’ve said for years now – if you don’t like the officiating, there’s always a need for more officials and classes are offered on a regular basis.

If you have a sports question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag feel free to email it to sports@thevwindependent.com.