Should NC eliminate high school basketball conference tournaments? No, and here’s why

NCHSAA state playoffs began this week after an exciting weekend of conference tournament championships. There has been much discussion about conference tournaments, and some would like to do away with this format. After watching several conference tournaments last week, I’m in the belief they should be kept, for various reasons.

Since North Carolina is the home of the ACC conference, the ACC was a pioneer at the collegiate level of hosting a post season conference tournament to select its eventual conference champion. In regards to the NCHSAA, the team that finishes first in the conference is crowned the conference champion, as well as it should be.

That being said, conference tournaments are a great format for teams to have that “one more chance” to play for a state championship. More importantly, it gives teams another opportunity to salvage a season that could have been plagued by injuries or in today’s environment, suffered from COVID postponements. Whatever the reason, conference tournaments are great for the schools, fans, and more importantly the players.

No environment like the NCHSAA

Say what you want, but there’s no other basketball environment like the conference tournament and/or the state playoffs. Local communities and students from each school rallies around the team and that was illustrated by the numerous conference tournaments across the state. Teams were playing in front of packed gyms with enthusiastic fans. The atmosphere was simply electric at the locations we covered, and what player and/or team can’t get excited about playing in front of 1200 plus fans?

It’s what high school basketball is all about. For the most part, the championship games played last Friday night were exciting, fun and entertaining. Just look at some of the scores that were decided by one, two, three or even four points. In the Northwestern 3A/4A championship, Alexander Central won 52-51 over Morganton Freedom. Defending NCHSAA 4A state champion, Millbrook, went undefeated in conference play and won the tournament championship 45-44 over Wakefield. In the Mountain 3A/4A, A.C. Reynolds won 49-48 over T.C. Robertson, Ben L. Smith won 66-65 over Dudley in the Mid-State 3A.

Yes, the argument can be made that these teams play each other multiple times during the season and possibility again in the state playoffs, but the players, fans, schools and local communities envy the thought of these rivalry games.

Another factor is some teams take longer to jell as a team, whether it’s youth, injuries, or players that play multiple sports like football. In the Charlotte area, lower seeds clinched a state playoff spot by winning their respective conference tournament championship.

Case in point is the Greater Metro 4A, where Lake Norman finished with regular season with a 14-10 overall record, 5-7 in conference play, and was seeded fourth in the conference. Coach Grant Hodges had one simple message for his team. They had to win three straight games and win the conference tournament championship in order to get into the NCHSAA state playoffs, which they were able to do by beating Hickory Ridge, No. 1 seed Cox Mill and No. 3 seed West Cabarrus.

Coach Hodges has a relatively young team starting two freshmen. Naturally, they will get better as the season goes on and this enabled Lake Norman the opportunity to play three conference tournament games with 1200 plus fans for each game. If we’re about the student athlete, then this is a win-win for teams in the NCHSAA.

Another team that secured its place in the state playoffs was Harding University, coached by LJ Johnson. Harding finished the regular season with a 14-9 overall record, 6-4 in conference play. Playing in the highly competitive South Meck 4A Conference, Harding finished as the No. 3 seed behind Ardrey Kell and Myers Park, not to mention South Mecklenburg is right behind Harding in the conference standing. Harding was able to beat Olympic, Myers Park and Ardrey Kell. While Harding was probably secure of a state playoff berth, winning the South Meck 4A conference championship allowed them to punch their ticket for the state playoffs.

Over in the Southwestern 4A, Butler and Rocky River finished with a 9-3 conference record, while East Mecklenburg and Charlotte Catholic both finished with an 8-4 record, with Independence right behind with a 6-6 record. The Southwestern 4A was completely wide open and any five teams had a legitimate chance at winning the conference tournament. This time it was Charlotte Catholic that secured wins over Independence, Butler and East Mecklenburg.

Another conference that had tremendous balance was the CAP 6 4A. Athens Drive finished atop the conference with a 7-3 record, while Enloe, Leesville Road, and Cardinal Gibbons all had identical records of 6-4, while Broughton checked in with a 4-6 record. Again, this conference was wide open and Cardinal Gibbons won the tournament championship by defeating Sanderson, Enloe and Leesville Road to secure their spot in the state playoffs.

Regular season/conference champions

Northern Athletic 4A

Regular Season Champion: Millbrook

Conference Tournament Champion: Millbrook

CAP 6 4A

Regular Season Champion: Athens Drive

Conference Tournament Champion: Cardinal Gibbons

Greater Neuse River 4A

Regular Season Champion: Cleveland

Conference Tournament Champion: Cleveland

Southwest Wake 4A

Regular Season Champion: Apex Friendship

Conference Tournament Champion: Holly Springs

DAV-VII 4A

Regular Season Champion: C.E. Jordan

Conference Tournament Champion: C.E. Jordan

Queen City 4A

Regular Season Champion: Chambers

Conference Tournament Champion: North Mecklenburg

Southwestern 4A

Regular Season Champion: Rocky River

Conference Tournament Champion: Charlotte Catholic

South Meck 4A

Regular Season Champion: Ardrey Kell

Conference Tournament Champion: Harding University

NCISAA State Playoffs

In the NCISAA 3A quarterfinals, Cary Christian (20-8) traveled to the Asheville School (15-5) and stunned the home team with a 63-62 victory. Cary Christian avenged an early season loss to Asheville School (79-47), a 32-point road loss. Trailing 62-60, 6-6 senior Seth Cullen was fouled on the 3-point attempt with 2.9 seconds remaining. Cullen made all three free throws and enabled Cary Christian to take a 63-62 lead. One last shot attempt by the Asheville School was off mark and Cary Christian got the upset win on the road. Cullen finished with a game high 28 points and nine rebounds, while 6-3 senior teammate Logan Dukes tallied 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. For the Asheville School, they were led by 6-9 junior Gus Yalden with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots. Yalden was complimented by 6-0 junior Derin Saran who finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Cannon upsets Providence Day in OT

It’s been a season of adversity for back-to-back NCISAA 4A state champions Cannon. Entering the quarterfinal matchup with a 15-14 record against Providence Day, Coach Che Roth knew his team was the underdog against the higher seed Providence Day (22-5). The two teams had split during the regular season, which winning on the road, therefore Coach Roth liked his chances, especially with a team that was getting close to 100% healthy. Cannon won 72-66 in overtime and while Cannon probably encountered double digit loses this season, one has to look at the extremely difficult schedule. Coach Roth is no stranger to playing tough competition and as a matter of fact, embraces the challenge. Looking back, those losses to teams like South Mecklenburg, Ardrey Kell, Greensboro Day, Carmel Christian, United Faith, Chambers, Word of God, and Lake Norman Christian, Weddington were outside of conference play. Those games prepared Cannon and once again are in the title hunt for the NCISAA 4A championship.

NCHSAA Predictions

1A East: Chatham County (27-1), Wilson Prep (17-5)

Darkhorse: North Edgecombe (18-6), Henderson Collegiate (17-12)

1A West: Winston-Salem Prep (21-2), Hayesville (22-0)

Darkhorse: Bishop McGuinness (19-8), Mt. Airy (18-5)

2A East: Farmville Central (22-3), Kinston (18-5)

Darkhorse: Cummings (19-0)

2A West: R-S Central (24-2), Hendersonville (24-3)

Darkhorse: Lincoln Charter (21-4), Robinson (22-3)

3A East: South Central (22-4), Northwood (21-3)

Darkhorse: Seventy-First 22-4, West Carteret (22-4)

3A West: Central Cabarrus (26-0), West Charlotte (16-9)

Darkhorse: Hickory (25-1), Crest (22-2)

4A East: New Hanover (23-0), Richmond (23-1)

Darkhorse: Cleveland (26-1), Jordan (21-3), Holly Springs (23-4)

4A West: Weddington (25-0), North Mecklenburg (19-6)

Darkhorse: Chambers (19-6), Grimsley (23-3)