Have advocated for years for the MPA to have a 4 (when there were 4 classes) or 5 (now) team boys and team girls single elimination tournaments of the 5 state champions for both groups. The D and C champs play Thursday nite, On Friday the winners of the D-C game versus the AA teams and the B winners versus the A champs and on Saturday afternoon have the losers of Friday’s games play for 3rd and 4th place and in the evenings the winner’s of Friday’s games for the championship to determine the best team in the state in both groups and the 2nd best teams.
This year especially with the strength of the boys D winner Greenville, C winner GSA, the B winner Hermon, the A winner Greely and the AA winner Edward little would make for a very competitive field as both Greeley and Hermon are undefeated at 22-0 and certainly have proved that they can compete win Edward Little as has GSA.
On the Girls side the AA winner Edward Little would get excellent competition from the A winner Greely, the B winner Winslow, the C champs Monmouth and the D winners Southern Aroostook.
Here would be the match ups.
Thursday, March 8
6:00pm B1 North D Boys Greenville vs. North C Boys GSA
7:30pm G1 North D Girls So. Aroostook vs. South C Girls Monmouth
Friday, March 9
4:00pm B2 North B Boys Hermon vs. South A Boys Greely
5:30pm G2 North B Girls Winslow vs. South A Girls Greely
7:00pm B3 Winner of D-C Boys game vs. North AA Ed Little
8:30pm G3 Winner of D-C Girls game vs. North AA Ed Little
Saturday, March 10
Consolation Games for 3rd and 4th places
1:30pm B4 Loser of B2 and Loser of B3
3:30pm G4 Loser of G2 and Loser of B3
Championship Games first 1st and 2nd places
6:30pm B4 Winner of B2 and Winner of B3
8:30pm G4 Winner of G2 and Winner of G3
Hold this tournament at Augusta Civic Center, Bangor Cross Insurance Center and Portland Cross Insurance Arena on a 3 year rotation basis.
Every year the AA or the A state champion when A’s the top class enrollment wise many teams and their fans think or claim that they were the best team in the state because of then they were A or now AA the top class. Many who that thought that way believed their A or AA team(s) were the self proclaimed paper champions. As the title of this column today states these two 5 team tournies would decide the best team on another wooden product the wooden portable basketball courts instead of a paper product. Then you would have a true proven best team in the state regardless of class and there would be no debate as to who was the best team this season in Maine for both the boys and girls high school basketball teams.
Also, this would be a great way to end the high school basketball season and certainly would draw sold out crowds each session. Also, think how much money the MPA would or could make with this tournament of champions.
This tournament would actually finish before the old Class A state championship game when there were 4 classes and the A Tourney was held a week after the B C and D state games which made it ended om the 3rd weekend on March not the 2nd weekend and it would still give a week before spring sports start.
I think that this year is one of the strongest overall fields of 4 or 5 if not the strongest in the past 20 years of the MPA state Champions.
Tough to pick a winner for either the boys and girls teams as the field of the A, B, C and D would be very competitive against any of the 4 other teams that they might play including the AA Champions.
Look at those opening round games and tell me you as a Maine high school basketball fan wouldn’t be excited to see any of those first round games, as well as the potential for the 2nd and third
Have often wondered why the MPA, that is usually in need of additional finances doesn’t do this as great as it would be for Maine boys and girls high school basketball and even greater for the MPA coffers.
Who do you think would win those great competitive matchups in the opening round and then onto the semi’s the consolation and championship round?
Basketball and Ice Hockey are the only two MPA sponsored team sports that enrollment is not as big a factor in the strength of teams as they only have 5 or 6 players are on the playing surface compared to football, soccer and field hockey needs 11 and baseball and softball uses 10.
Oh well. we can all dream anyway. I dream both undefeated Hermon and Greely meeting in the boys final and Winslow and Greely in the girls final.