Mark Morrow's My View/Your View: Time to give Class Basketball a chance

We've come a long way since Class Basketball became our new way of live in Indiana 11 years ago. That goes for me, too. I once vowed never to attend a Class Basketball game - girls or boys - involving small schools. Looking back, that statement was not one of my more mature moments. Guess I was thinking with my heart, not with my head. After the Martinsville girls and Bloomington North boys cut down the nets in the final one-class tournament in the 1996-97 season, it was like we just lost a good friend after Class Basketball emerged. In the realm of hard-to-believe things, it was like the duck turned on the hunter or the worm strangled the bird. I mean, how'd that happen? For many of us, life just wasn't the same when it came to high school basketball. Well, I can honestly say I still think the old way, the way we had crowned state champions since 1911, was the best way. Now that I've come aboard with the Vype High School Sports Magazine Web site, it's time to finally break that vow. Class Basketball is our new way of life, for better or for worse. Thanks to coverage by Channel 40 television in Noblesville, I was able to watch Class 2A Tipton, which lost to 4A Franklin Central in overtime, in the boys championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle. And I must admit that Tipton was impressive. I had an opportunity to attend the 2A game between Covenant Christian and Guerin Catholic Saturday night, after watching Class 4A No. 2 North Central beat No. 3 Lawrence North in a Marion County Tournament semifinal game Friday night at Southport. And I must admit, I was impressed with the effort and style of play by both teams. And it was a near sellout - right at 2,000 in the Guerin Gym that seats 2,200. In the coming weeks, I plan to attend more games involving small schools, not to mention some big-school games. And one of the bigger games this week is Friday night's rematch - unbeaten and second-ranked North Central, the Marion County Tournament champion, visiting Lawrence North. Since I've made no secret about how I've felt about Class Basketball, should anyone recognize me at one of those small-school games, I just hope they remember this one thing: that bag of popcorn in your grasp is for eating, not throwing. Try and remember that I'm someone that you younger players and coaches would refer to as one of the old guard. Yeah, I've been part of that group for many years. Like I said, I've turned over a new leaf. I'm going to attend more small-school games, and I'll continue to share with you my observations and opinions in this space. Hopefully, some of you will, in return, share your comments with me. Your thoughts on the subject of Class Basketball are welcome. Good or bad. If any of you regulars to the Vype Web site have a game you'd like to see me attend and discuss. Post a comment or e-mail me at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net. Let's talk about how "The Game" is played nowadays. Maybe we'll all learn something. WHAT'S UPCOMING The Indianapolis City Basketball Tournament - The City Tournament begins Tuesday and Wednesday at seven sites. The quarterfinals (Thursday and Friday), the semifinals (Saturday) and the championship final (Jan. 26) will be played at Indianapolis Tech. Eighth-ranked Cathedral (8-1), seeking its fourth straight championship, opens Wednesday at Bishop Chatard.