Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
What a week. A week that seemed more like three or four, but an eventful one, nonetheless. The Class 1-A / 2-A State Basketball Tournament is my second-favorite event after the All-Class State Track Championships, coming in May.
It’s felt like track season, aside from a couple of days in November and early February, since the last track season. We take the warmth, don’t care for the wind (who wants to live in Casper, Rock Springs, or Rawlins, though we share the same conditions this year), but worry about how dry it is.
There was no drought of talent, conversations, drama, drive, and just a dose of idiocy on full display at Casper College and the Ford Wyoming Center last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
We spent 12 days in Pittsburgh, so I missed the Class 2-A West Regional once again. It’s become a bit of a tradition to miss this tournament since Jayne and Norah’s birthdays are always just before, during, or just after the regional.
This year, they bracketed it. At nine and seven, birthdays and grandparents still matter, so I’ll miss a few of the great moments at Wolverine Gym.
We also had Sue’s first annual checkup since being declared cancer-free, and it was in an oncology center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Fabulous follow-up.
Though it is almost 1600 miles between Casper and North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, I stayed up to watch the tournament on my laptop. The NFHS Network is a great alternative to being there.
I used to miss all but the Saturday afternoon games when Brian was competing in multi-events in indoor track at Dickinson State. Since the meets were held at the Black Hills State facility in Spearfish, South Dakota, I could often cover the distance easily early Saturday morning to reach Rivercity.
Getting to Casper isn’t an issue. I missed last year’s state tournament and the entire basketball and wrestling seasons to isolate myself from any bugs I might bring home. Sue was on chemotherapy with a weakened immune system and didn’t need me bringing the flu or even a cold home from the gym.
As I checked into my traditional working space, the Quality Inn on Poplar just below the Ford Wyoming Center, I gave my name and asked if they needed to see an ID. Debbie, the manager, grinned and said, “How long have you been staying here? Maybe 30 years? I don’t need your ID.” I did snag a couple of their freshly-baked peanut butter cookies, though. It is a great place to stay at a moderate price with the best continental breakfast in town.
That’s where the conversations came in. I met Greybull radio announcer Scott Good, former Lovell standout and Rocky Mountain coach Tim Winland, and legendary Cokeville football coach Todd Dayton, all in the space of 15 minutes. There were dozens of others.
As I told a gal from Lusk that Sue had gone to high school with, “Wyoming is just a small town with really long streets.” Thanks to the late Senator Al Simpson of Cody for that line.
Onto the court.
Congratulations to the Wranglers, Lady Blue, and the Chiefs and Lady Chiefs. They all had memorable tournaments.
For the Shoshoni boys. You did it, you broke the curse and won a Class 2-A game at state, next year can only be better with just the loss of Oakley Hicks and Carson Kisling. A note on Oakley. What hustle, desire, and reckless abandon. On a loose ball in a crucial moment of Shoshoni’s double-overtime win over Sundance, Oakley flew like Superman through the air after the ball. He flipped the ball back but flew into the far north table on press row before bouncing off the steel rails behind it. Unphased, he jumped up and sprinted back into position. Tough kid.
The Lady Blue, who I torment about their vertical disadvantage, (OK, they’re short) played like they were 10 feet tall in all three games. The upset win over Big Horn 41-39 was a spectacular defensive effort separated by cool perimeter shooting. They almost pulled it off again on Saturday against Greybull, a team that had beaten them three times this season. They had the lead with 40 seconds to go, but couldn’t hold it.
The Lady Chiefs were in the same situation, leading eventual state champion Sundance by 12 points with two minutes left in the third period. They just couldn’t hold on. It was painful watching the Lady Bulldogs chip away at the lead before finally overtaking the girls from Ethete.
Everyone from Fremont County was hoping for a rematch with Thermopolis in the championship game, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, the Lady Chiefs held off a good Tongue River team for third place.
The Wyoming Indian boys lost to just powerhouse Class 3-A Lovell and to Thermopolis this season in Wyoming play. Strangely enough, they beat Thermopolis when their star guard Cordell Spoonhunter was sidelined with a back injury, but lost in the West 2-A Regional and the state title games to the Bobcats by close scores.
Matchups matter. Rocky Mountain beat Shoshoni with starting point guard Andrew Garcia, but when Andrew broke his leg and Cameron Eder took a starting role, the Grizzlies didn’t match up as well, and the Wranglers beat them twice. It is a strange game.
I first saw Wyoming Indian in the 1982 state tournament in Laramie. I thought at the time that their playing style seemed so strange. Now it’s the standard across Wyoming.
One thing I hadn’t seen in those intervening 44 years was how cold the Chiefs were last Saturday night. Much of it had to do with the Thermopolis defense, but not all.
Aside from Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black, none of the Chiefs could hit, inside or out. It was frustrating to watch. It’s not hard to imagine how the players and the coaches felt as the ball kept clanking off, rolling out, or glancing off the backboard.
The Ford Wyoming Center is not a shooter’s gym. A high point for the Chiefs and for most basketball fans across the 2-A classification is how easily Wyoming Indian handled Pine Bluffs in the semi-finals.
The Hornets have a great program and know it. When they get knocked off, a lot of teams live vicariously through the winning team.
It’s over for another year. Thanks for the effort by coaches, players, and especially officials. It was a great “winter.”