JimThorpe

I hope they're successful enough to never come back down.

I did really think that pressure would work against FF. But it kind of did. Makes me wonder if the Tigers had started a little earlier.

The Silsbee Tigers! Your provisional AAAA 2022 and 2024 State Champions! I grant FF their 3peat and being good sports I’m sure they’ll cheerfully grant us our provisional championships. In light of circumstances it’s only fair. (and the same applies to BTW for 2023 if they so choose) The current anomaly has been apparent for some time. And now we’re rid of it.

They can do it. I’m a believer!

Win lose or draw (and of course there won’t be a draw) this group of seniors has been a joy to watch. And they finally made it as far as you can go. Tremendous accomplishment already. But if they win this game, with the unusual circumstances that surround it, it’s the biggest win ever for Silsbee basketball.

Wait. That’s what I was going to say! Okay then, Tigers by 2.

It’s hard to believe that the Carter Cowboys are okay with it. At any rate we’re done with it. And wouldn’t it be sweet to send them off with a loss!

If we’re going by The Price Is Right rules then my pick wins! I called a one point victory and chose last! Early in the week I thought it would be 14 or even more but after watching a few Randall games on demand my thinking changed Containing Thomas was a key and a quick glance at the stats shows how well the did that. Very well done.

My prediction….. Silsbee by 1 point. It’s a price is right thing.

Ah yes! The Buc-ee’s State Tournament reunion. Life is good.

Looking for silsbee state tournament tee shirts. Any leads appreciated.

I think they can do it, I really do. It's a tall hill, no weak sisters in these four teams. But I'm a believer.

I thought the UIL had the right to send them up despite their attendance, which is well south of 800, because of charter school rules. And finally, under pressure, they decided to do it with this latest alignment. So they asked to be sent up? That's interesting. I suppose they were becoming a little self conscious about the whole thing. 4A was becoming embarrassingly easy .

And in the quarter final. I would say that Elam's very important.

It's an upset to be sure but I don't think it would be a miracle. If Silsbee can stay out of foul trouble and stay close in the first half then a momentum thing could propel them to victory. The same is true for Randall except they have perhaps even more motivation to make it happen this year because of the health issues with their coach. And lord in heaven wouldn't it be sweet for one of us to deny FF in it's last shot at a 4A championship. The UIL got off its duff and finally did something about this aberration and it's going away. But it's happening one year to late for the seniors at Silsbee and Randall and Stafford and Carter. In light of the UIL's acknowledgement of it's blunder I would commission a trophy to be made and placed in the case and a flag to be made and hung in the gym at Silsbee HIgh that reads. "2022 AAAA Provisional State Champions." And Randall should do the same for 2023. And the winner of Friday's game along with Stafford should do the same this year. By moving FF up to 5A when the high school is really a modest 4A in student population the UIL is tacitly confessing that it SCREWED UP. How does Notre Dame with a student population of less than 9000 compete with giant schools with over 50,000? The answer is obvious. When it comes to recruiting the size of the school doesn't matter. All that matter is it's prestige in the particular sport. The link has probably been posted before but it still makes for interesting reading, especially in light of the realignment. [Hidden Content] I grant that Yates would have won state 2020 with that phenomenal team. But Argyle 2021 is not an argument. They were already a 5A school in 2021 and it was formalized in the 2022 realignment. And you know what's really galling? What's galling is listening to those announcers on NFHS calling an OCFF game pretending that everything is kosher when they KNOW it's not. They should voice a disclaimer several times during the game. Something like, "You know Bill, the UIL has made the unprecedented action of moving Faith Family, a 4A team up, to 5A despite the fact that it's student population is in the middle of the 4A pack." And I question whether or not it's going to work. The same thing might happen in 5A. In fact it should happen. They already schedule a preseason that's as tough as any 6A school in Texas. This year's was particularly brutal, hence the low winning percentage. And it's already been proven that the size of Oak Cliff Faith Family's student population has little or nothing to do with it's basketball prowess. Anyway, it's not Silsbee's problem any more. It's United's problem now.

Interesting thing to consider. I believe this group of seniors is 7 and 1 against District 21-4A in playoff games during their 4 years. What's that like? They're like the villagers who have to go down to the stream to for water. "What's that over there? I thought I saw something move in the tall grass at the edge of the forest. OH NO! IT'S A TIGER!"

There's quality as well as quantity.

Those championship games in 17 and 18 were outstanding. Offensive powerhouses going at each other. But of all 6 of the San Antonio games the Bush, Adams, McCain era team played the one that stands out the most to me is still the 2017 semi against Argyle. It figured that the Tigers would be taken completely out of their own game and forced to play at Argyles tempo. Argyle's 5 playoff wins leading up to that game they scored 50, 55, 59, 47, and 53. By contrast the Tigers had scored 105, 98, 124, 93 and 94. Only three minutes or so into the first quarter it was apparent that Argyle and not Silsbee would be setting the tempo. Methodical doesn't even start to describe it. If there's an art to getting back on defense then the Eagles were the masters. There were were simply no open lanes to the basket. Yet somehow the Tigers rose to the occasion. That one point win, scoring only 46, coming within a razors edge of losing, was perhaps the moment most indicative of the character of that team.

Some but I hope not too much. That kid was amazing in that game. He was practically unstoppable. I think he scored around 40 points. Everything he threw up went in. Another reason that team was so good was Hunter Quick, their 6-8 post. He and his brother Tanner transferred to Brazosport from Brazoswood when he saw that Bport was putting together a good 4A team. Brazosport led for much of that game I believe. Getting Quick in foul trouble was probably the difference. That Tiger team was very good at getting key big men in foul trouble. Did the same thing to Yates.

The common opponent doesn't mean much either. I can't imagine that Hamshire Fannett was as motivated in a tournament game in December as they were against a rival and facing elimination. Also had the Tigers played the Horns with the same intensity they displayed this weekend they'd have scorched HF by 30.

Having watched Randall's games against Krum and Canyon I would rate them about the same as Washington. The Eagles, who we beat by 9, don't have anybody quite like Randall's scorer K.J. Thomas and the Raiders don't have anybody at all like McDermott. Thomas is a great scorer and good defender. McDermott was all over the place basically affecting most possessions on both ends. I think they equal out with the supporting casts about equivalent. So all things being equal it should be about a 9 or 10 point Tiger win. And I'm not counting on the Tigers shooting better from the line. I expect it will be about the same.

They announced and all tournament team consisting of three players from the winning and second place teams. For Silsbee it was Harris, Miller and Bottley. For Washington it was McDermott, Carter and one whose name I didn't catch, probably Johnson.

Kind of missed in the elation is a hint of something else, maybe not sadness but poignancy. I have a lot of respect for this Eagles team. And this epic three year rivalry has now come to an end. Okay. I'm over it now. ON TO SAN ANTONIO!!!!

All top ranked, all strong. Should be a great show. Some double header, Silsbee then United!

To me the final score was actually 79-68. That tech was completely unnecessary and ridiculously picky.