It's time ... District Semi's at Neutral Sites-> Basketball :30 at the Convo - District Finals...

[pfloyd]

It's time ... the games that matter, the games that allow teams to punch their tickets to "Basketball :30" , district finals at the Convo in Athens ... nothing better than making the trip, earning the opportunity to play on the OU campus ... each year the powers that be think they have better "ideas" ie. limiting the games at OU to District Finals only, Regionals will be only a couple of the divisions instead of all divisions - yeah, I get it ... 7 divisions instead of 4 ... I'm going to tell you - playing at ODU or The Barn "ain't what dreams are made of" ... I posted this in a year when WE COULDN'T go see games due to Covid ... might have been the worst winter I have ever spent in the last 25 years of doing basketball Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line - mainly due to the limited games that the basketball public could go see ... we all hope that we never go there again ... but sadly, the spreading around the divisional play for the district semi's, the regionals being played at venues of the "who knows who" ... divisional semi's played on the same dates - hard to be a hoops junky and "have to pick" where you want to go because if you're like me you want to see them all! ... clearing gyms, paying for 2 games vs the one ticket for all - those days are gone ... BUT for now ! we STILL have Lou "the voice of high school basketball in Southern Ohio" Horvath doing the games at the Convo ... great seats for all who attend ... best of luck to all teams as they play this Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday for the chance to make THE trip to the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio ...

"... haven't been to a single "in-person" game in the 2020-21 season - been offered tickets to some, offered by others to get me tickets to games ... I thank all who have reached out - I WON'T forget your kind gestures ... with bball30's thread and post about Convo Tourney Time - the reality is sinking in that there IS NO "Basketball :30" this year ... as others posted afterward I too hope that the powers that BE don't "take away" the Convo as THE destination for boys high school hoops district/regional games ... as so many have done over the years, I too have made the trek to A'town, the Campus of Ohio University, to the Round House on Richland for many many many years ... going to Basketball :30 is on my Hoops Calendar, on my calendar every year ! - blocked out , 3 weeks EVERY YEAR from the beginning of March for district action/ to the end of March the regional finals - just like I would do for a summer vacation whatever is going on during this 3 week period gets put on hold ... life for 3 weeks revolves around driving down Rte 33 to the Convo... venturing up to what has become my usual Cheap Seat location - one that offers great perspective on the game with it's vantage point but more importantly it gives me an opportunity to see virtually every person coming into the Convo - the fans, the coaches headed for their seats to scout games, the radio guys heading for their assigned broadcast spots, the newspaper guys looking for their names on media row ... the Cheap Seats over the years have been a location where coaches have congregated - those still playing , those who have not survived and advanced ... I think they all feel comfortable "up in the Cheap Seats" - they chat among themselves, share their wisdom, ask for opinions ...also in the Cheap Seats are "the regulars" - 93bulldog, daniC, Dan Bise, Mr. McPhearson (Mary), Rod Padgett, the Warren coaching staff ... teams who are waiting to play, sit up in the Cheap Seat area, coaches from all over SEOhio make their way to the Cheap Seats at least once during the 3 weeks to say "hello" ... it's amazing the numbers of current and past players who come up to the Cheap Seats along with past and present parents of players who just want to touch bases again ... WE ALL come to the Mecca of High School Hoops - the Convo because we KNOW there will be great high school basketball - we can watch 2,3, 4 games without leaving our seats ... BUT we also come to the Round House to hear "the Voice" of high school basketball Lou Horvath , we come to the Convo for the many many many conversations with the "PEOPLE" - those that are "like us" - lovers of the game, keepers of the napkin stats - the people ... I have put faces with seops names, I have made hoops friendships that have lasted over decades ... we ALL have the same goal in March of every season - going to the Convo ... in times as we are living in now "taking a year off" from the trek to the Convo is like a lifetime ... memories lost , good conversations lost , the chance to do a game wrap-up or rundown that will not happen now ... I've battled cancer, I KNOW about "time lost" -time that can never be gotten back ... this year, without the Convo - once again time has been stolen - never to be retrieved ... I feel for the teams, the players, the families, the school communities who will not have the opportunity to hear their teams announced by Lou ... to play on the OU Convocation Center floor ... going to miss it ALL ... I was at the Convo last March for the final games played in Regional play - felt so bad for Fairland, Logan Elm to not get a chance to advance to the Show in Columbus ... I feel even worse now for ALL of the teams who will not get the opportunity to play at the Convo in district/regional play this season ... look forward to next year - March of 2022 when hopefully we can ALL return to the Round House to hear Lou tell us what time it is again "it's Basketball:30 !" ... "

... to the teams - put it all on the line this week on M,T,W ... the trip to the Convo is one that is for some - expected, for others it's a generational opportunity for the school & community to share ... when you can't "go to Basketball :30" it's definitely memories lost ... even us Cheap Seat guys "lost the opportunity to go the Convo" as noted above ... nothing is ever a given ...

[danicalifornia]

All I want is the 3 point line and scoreboard to be correct for opening night at the Convo, as it has been rough since Covid

[pfloyd]

All I want is the 3 point line and scoreboard to be correct for opening night at the Convo, as it has been rough since Covid

… we did have the angular 3 point lines last year for a night …

[Piketucky]

Just curious… on clearing gym for district semifinals… is this an OHSAA or district board decision?

[smurray]

Just curious… on clearing gym for district semifinals… is this an OHSAA or district board decision?

Don't know if it's OHSAA or Southeast District Board but if you think about having two District Semi-final games at H.S. venues the same night you just about have to have split sessions. If everyone attending game 1 stays, people there for game 2 will have nowhere to sit. If everyone for both games shows up for game 1 what do you do?????
Before the expansion to 7 divisions, and still having Sectionals, the Sectional Championship games at these same HS venues were split sessions.

[danicalifornia]

Just curious… on clearing gym for district semifinals… is this an OHSAA or district board decision?

Don't know if it's OHSAA or Southeast District Board but if you think about having two District Semi-final games at H.S. venues the same night you just about have to have split sessions. If everyone attending game 1 stays, people there for game 2 will have nowhere to sit. If everyone for both games shows up for game 1 what do you do?????
Before the expansion to 7 divisions, and still having Sectionals, the Sectional Championship games at these same HS venues were split sessions.

You’re correct and I think spot on with what the OHSAA is thinking…but I’ve never seen smaller crowds for the girls tournament games or last year’s boys tournament games, so I’ll be surprised if the gyms are filled up this week.

[Whs95fan]

Looking forward to the best time of the year, the plan is to spend Friday, Sunday, and possibly Thursday at the Convo.

[smurray]

Just curious… on clearing gym for district semifinals… is this an OHSAA or district board decision?

Don't know if it's OHSAA or Southeast District Board but if you think about having two District Semi-final games at H.S. venues the same night you just about have to have split sessions. If everyone attending game 1 stays, people there for game 2 will have nowhere to sit. If everyone for both games shows up for game 1 what do you do?????
Before the expansion to 7 divisions, and still having Sectionals, the Sectional Championship games at these same HS venues were split sessions.

You’re correct and I think spot on with what the OHSAA is thinking…but I’ve never seen smaller crowds for the girls tournament games or last year’s boys tournament games, so I’ll be surprised if the gyms are filled up this week.

Waverly Downtown Arena was packed for the night cap tonight. Nice crowd for the Minford/South Point game but Ironton/Zane Trace was rockin'