Coaches fortunate enough to have a team playing in this week’s state championship basketball games have a multitude of things that will keep them busy.
From securing hotel rooms and their players’ credentials, travel logistics, locating a gymnasium for practice, making sure their rosters are up to date, selecting their all-tournament players and various other minor but important details, the week leading up to the event can be as taxing as the game itself.
And thanks to last week’s icy blast that delayed the tournaments’ semifinals for as many as four days, coaches are having a week’s worth of preparation crammed into as few as two days.
“It has its pros and cons,” Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton said. “We had games both Monday and Tuesday. They were both physical. We expended a lot of energy. That’s tough to deal with, but the good thing is that we’re in tournament mode. Forty-eight hours later, we’re playing. And playing against Jacksonville, we know what type of game it’s going to be.”
The Class 5A boys title game between Forrest City and Jacksonville (3:30 p.m. Friday) will have the quickest turnaround of any of the 14 championship games at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs. Time, however, is not a luxury for any of the 28 teams competing for a state title this weekend.
“It’s a quick turnaround, yes, but all of the teams are on the same level,” said Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner, whose team won the state championship a year ago. “One team hasn’t gotten to rest too much more than any of the others. It’s going to be tough for everybody.
“We don’t get two days of rest like we have in the past. We were going to rest [Wednesday], but because we’re playing Friday, we’ll practice for an hour. We’ll have a shoot-around [today] then we’ll play on Friday.
It’s tough on both us and Forrest City.”
The first of the 14 state championship games will be played at 3:30 p.m. today when Malvern and Central Arkansas Christian face each other for the Class 4A girls title.
Because the Class 4A and 7A semifinals were completed Monday, those two classifications will hold their title games today. The five other classifications did not complete their semifinals until Tuesday.
Greenwood girls Coach Clay Reeves said he likes the quick turnaround, even though his team has had to travel across the state to Jonesboro for the state tournament, back home and then get back on the bus for Saturday’s game in Hot Springs against Little Rock Parkview.
“Having the whole week sometimes causes you to lose your rhythm,” Reeves said. “You don’t want to overdo it. In this case, you practice normal for one day and then you get ready to play. There’s not a week in between where you have to worry about everything.
“We’re playing a great team in Parkview, but we’re very familiar with one another so there’s not an extra amount of film watching and preparation that you have to do.”
Lofton last took Forrest City to the championship game in 2007. He said this year’s weather-related delays have made this year’s state finals experience “totally different.”
“You’re scheduling is all off,” Lofton said. “We won Tuesday night in Alma, we barely get back home and now we’re having to reload. We’ll practice hard [today], get ready to roll into Hot Springs later that day and play on Friday.
“At this time of year, the only thing that matters is what you’re doing. It’s about if you’re ready to play.”
Finals schedule WHERE Summit Arena, Hot Springs ADMISSION $8 at the gate
TODAY’S GAMES CLASS 4A GIRLS Malvern (29-2) vs. Central Ark. Christian (25-6), 3:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A BOYS Lonoke (26-6) vs. Brookland (27-6), 5:15 p.m.
CLASS 7A GIRLS Fort Smith Northside (25-3) vs. Conway (27-5), 7 p.m.
CLASS 7A BOYS North Little Rock (25-2) vs. Springdale (22-5), 8:45 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAMES CLASS 5A BOYS Forrest City (23-4) vs. Jacksonville (26-4), 3:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A GIRLS Harding Academy (25-8) vs. eStem (28-6), 5:15 p.m.
CLASS 1A BOYS Concord (39-2) vs. Wonderview (30-8), 7 p.m.
CLASS 1A GIRLS Nemo Vista (31-6) vs. Wonderview (33-7), 8:45 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAMES CLASS 2A GIRLS Spring Hill (34-0) vs. Mountainburg (32-2), 11 a.m.
CLASS 3A BOYS Episcopal Collegiate (28-3) vs. Charleston (31-5), 12:45 p.m.
CLASS 6A GIRLS Little Rock Parkview (15-12) vs. Greenwood (22-6), 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 6A BOYS Jonesboro (28-3) vs. Little Rock Parkview (27-1), 4:15 p.m.
CLASS 5A GIRLS Paragould (22-5) vs. Huntsville (21-7), 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A BOYS Cedar Ridge (34-3) vs. Clarendon (30-1), 7:45 p.m.
Sports, Pages 19 on 03/13/2014