My View/Your View: The Times Sure Have Changed

It used to be that watching Indianapolis-area boys basketball teams in the State Finals was a given. Year after year, like a rite of passage. Those were the days. Eight of the past 11 state champions in Class 4A hailed from the Indianapolis area. Yes, those were really good days. Now for the first time since Indiana's Game went from the single-class system to Class Basketball in the 1997-98 season, an Indianapolis-area school will not compete in the 4A championship game. Bloomington South saw to that Saturday by eliminating Franklin Central 58-55 in the Southport Semistate. In fact, for the first time in that span, no Indianapolis-area team will play for a state championship when the 99th Indiana high school finals tip-off Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse. Who'd ever thought that would or could even possibly happen? Indianapolis schools, in particular, have been so dominant the past 11 years, led by Lawrence North, the winner of three straight 4A titles (2004-06). So if you are keeping score, put a big goose egg on the scorecard. In fact, only once (2007) did an Indianapolis-area school fail to win at least one of the four classes. North Central was runner-up to East Chicago Central in 4A that year. The 2002-03 season was the best individual showing for Indianapolis-area teams in the State Finals with three finalists, led by champions Pike (4A) and Bishop Chatard (3A), and Class A runner-up Southwestern (Shelby). Now Bloomington South and 3A Princeton have an opportunity to become the fifth and sixth boys teams to produce unbeaten seasons since we went to Class Basketball in the 1997-98 season. Ranked No. 3 in USA Today, the 25-0 Panthers seek their first championship against Fort Wayne Snider (25-1), also a first-time finalist. Bloomington High School won it all in the single-class system in 1919. When the schools split, forming South and North, Bloomington North cut down the nets in the 1996-97 season, the last year our tournament was one class. Even if the script holds true and Bloomington South wins, it cannot match the best 4A record in Class Basketball. Lawrence North (29-0) was the last team to reach perfection. That was in 2006, when the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 nationally and had the high school basketball Player of the Year in 7-foot Greg Oden, and coach Jack Keefer's 'Cats won a state-record 50 straight games during their three-year state championship reign. Pike, the first 4A class champion in 1998, was also 29-0 in 2003. Lewis Cass went 26-0 in 2A that same year, and Class A Waldron was 27-0 in 2004. Of course, Indianapolis schools remain the all-time leader in boys single-season victories - Crispus Attucks (1956) and Washington (1969) were 31-0 in the days when we only honored one champion dating to 1911. Boys State Finals Schedule Date: Saturday, March 28, 2009. Site: Conseco Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis. Session I Class A State Championship - 10:30 a.m. Triton (24-2) vs. Jac-Cen-Del (24-2). Class 2A State Championship - follows Class A game. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (22-4) vs. Brownstown Central (20-6). Session II Class 3A State Championship - 6 p.m. Rochester (23-3) vs. Princeton (28-0). Class 4A State Championship - follows Class 3A game. Fort Wayne Snider (25-1) vs.Bloomington South (25-0).