My 2012 Boys' State C All-Tourney Team Ballot

Well, I just finished announcing nine of the twelve games in the 2012 State Class C Boys' Basketball Tournament from MetraPark in Billings.  Overall, it was a fun tourney to watch as well as to call.  It was enjoyable to see basketball return to Montana's largest venue, this being the first state tournament, and only the second tourney overall, since the 2010 Father's Day tornado wreaked havoc on the arena roof.   

The overall crowds were down this year from those of Class C tournaments past.  Our "guesstimate" in the radio press box was 5500-6000 tonight, as opposed to the 8000-9000 that have packed the Metra on Saturday nights of yore.  Speaking of press box, I do have a few suggestions for the press box redux: more electrical outlets, new chairs, let radio down on the floor...please. :)  While it would have been very cool to see a new hardwood surface, rather than the repainted original, the subtle differences in the acoustics and the added amenities on the concourse were appreciated. 

I was surprised by how physical the play was this year, and how much the officials allowed play of such nature to continue.  That, by the way, is not a slam.  I thought the officials did a fine job throughout the tournament; I hold high respect for anyone who is willing to do their job while getting yelled at by spectators, coaches and players alike.

The best game played was the semifinal on Friday night between Fairview and Twin Bridges.  It was a “rematch” of the State C 8-man Football title game, which the gents from Southwestern Montana won 44-28.  The battle on the hardwood went to overtime, with the Warriors avenging their gridiron loss, outlasting the Falcons, 63-55.  It would have been great to see that as the matchup for the championship, but the bracket prevented such.  Twin Bridges proved in the consolation game tonight--they beat formerly top-ranked St. Labre 84-61-- that they were the second best team in the tournament. 

As a member of the media covering the tournament, I was asked to submit a ballot for the "All-Tourney" team. After taking a bit of time to review, I've narrowed/ winnowed/pared it down, but I had to add an "honorable mention" section.  That said, I still had a hard time not expanding my ballot to 12, as is normally found on a tournament roster.  

Here's my ballot for the State C Boys' all-tourney team.

MVP: Tim Hurley, Fairview

2. Brock Schriver, Fairview

3. Nick Willis, Highwood

4. Cole Miotke, Twin Bridges

5. Tyler Lott, Twin Bridges

6. Jeff Robinson, St. Labre

7. Justin Stevens, Big Sandy

8. Kyle Wilson, Melstone

9. Cole Robinson, Saco-Whitewater

10. Travis Tammaro, Noxon

Honorable mention: Cody Vitt and Justin Bieber, Fairview; Cody Pierson

(really, really close to the top ten in my book) and Jory Chrest, Twin

Bridges; Grant Christopherson and Jace Anderson, Saco-Whitewater; Ty

Emerson and Chauncey Foote, St. Labre; Nick Nelson, Melstone; Banks

Stocking, Noxon; Sam Davison, Austin Malek and Darren Malek (for his

moxie), Highwood.

Postscript: My thanks to John and Jo Ann at KBEV in Dillon; Stan at KLTZ in Glasgow, and Mark at KTHC in Sidney for allowing me to cover the games for their stations.  A big shout out to my engineers (board operators) for keeping us on the air: Dave and Linda at KBEV, Mary and Matthew at KLTZ and Mark and Cody at KTHC.  And, special thanks to Joey Taylor for helping with color commentary, Bob Rittierodt for the use of his extra gear, Rocky Erickson for letting me sit in with him a few quarters, and my dad Dave for his color on Friday night and a great job on the sidelines on Saturday night.