If you followed the Helias boys basketball team to the Final Four the past few days, you definitely got your money's worth.
Not because you got to see the Crusaders play hard, which is what they always do, but because of the sheer amount of time they played.
Between their triple-overtime loss to Republic in Friday's semifinals and their OT win Saturday against Farmington in the third-place game, the Crusaders played 16 minutes of bonus basketball. To put it in perspective, teams typically get 64 minutes on the floor at Mizzou Arena. Helias, however, got to play the equivalent of another half of a game.
It was a wild ride, and a fitting finish for a team that engaged in a pair of wildly entertaining double-overtime games with the Jefferson City Jays during the regular season.
While plenty of fans got to see Friday's thriller, a decidedly smaller crowd enjoyed Saturday's game. While I realize there are plenty of reasons for that - a weekend contest vs. a weekday event, a game with less on the line, an earlier start time - it was still a poor showing. Those from Farmington, roughly 166 miles from Columbia, vastly outnumbered those making the 30-mile trip from Jefferson City.
And it got even worse when comparing the student sections, as the Helias students must have been enjoying the third day of the NCAA Tournament, because they definitely weren't watching high-school basketball.
Or maybe they were watching potentially the only meeting we'll get between Helias and Jefferson City on the baseball diamond this season, which thanks to some scheduling magic took place Saturday - IN SPRINGFIELD - as part of a three-game set between the two local schools and Glendale.
So it makes me wonder if it's not time to revisit a topic that comes up often at this time of year: Is it time to ditch the third-place games at state?
By their very nature, those contests have several strikes against them. Teams that have seen their one goal crushed the day before often find it hard to bring the same intensity. Players used to competing later in the day often have to play before or around noon, a vast difference. And if a team can bring that intensity, and not sleepwalk through the game, many times they're the only team that does. Very rarely do you get two teams playing at a high level.
I've said for years I'd rather see you bring twice as many teams to Columbia, making it an Elite Eight instead of a Final Four, and eliminate those third-place games. Turn it into a single-elimination deal - win and move on, or lose and go home. Sure, teams that keep winning might have to spend three days in Columbia instead of two, but I'm sure it's a worthwhile trade-off when you find yourself doing what all teams want to do - survive and advance.
However, as long as we still have the third-place games, they're worth attending.
A few other random tidbits from my two days spent at Mizzou Arena:
• There seems to have been a radical shift during the Final Four about how officials are calling the five-second, closely guarded infraction.
There were several turnovers whistled for players being "closely guarded" when their defenders weren't anywhere near the ballhandler. I'm all for rewarding defenders for playing tight defense, but let's make sure it's actually "tight" defense. Being five yards away with your arm extended shouldn't start the count, that's just being in the neighborhood. It's not the "five-second, in-the-neighborhood" call.
• The state-title drought continues for teams in the News Tribune's coverage area.
Out of the roughly 20 area schools we keep tabs on, there has been some trouble for them when it comes to bringing home the top trophy. In the 1993 Final Four, the last one held before I joined the News Tribune staff, the Jefferson City Jays captured the Class 4A title while the Helias Crusaders finished third in Class 3A.
Since then, we've had 21 Final Fours come and go, with 20 boys teams and seven girls teams make it to Columbia. For the girls, there have been three second-place finishes, three thirds and one fourth. The boys have come in fourth 12 times, third four times and second three times, leaving ... one championship. That title came in 2001 from the Blair Oaks Falcons, with a team spearheaded by future Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Paul Miller.
This is in no way a complaint, because the area's teams are to be commended for keeping those of us on the sports staff busy covering games deep into the playoffs virtually every season. It just would be nice to see one of our teams get a chance to hoist the big trophy.
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