Prep hoop debate isn't worth the Twitterstorm

Does Idaho have more high school classifications than it needs?

We’re talking now about sports, and specifically basketball.

The subject has come up — and created something of a serious Twitter debate — because an organization called Idaho Prep Hoops tweeted this proposal...

“Idaho has too many high school divisions for basketball. (Classes) 5A and 4A, 3A and 2A, should each combine and there should only be one 1A division.”

Before we dig into the subject matter here, it’s probably good to identify Idaho Prep Hoops.

There are several outlets, some of them local versions of national websites, that feature information on prep basketball in the state.

IdahoSports.com is one of the best known specifically for our state, but you can Google Idaho Prep Hoops (the exact name of these folks recommending a change on Twitter), and easily find a half-dozen links to high school basketball in the state.

MaxPreps, for instance, is a national outlet — requiring a paid membership for its most detailed information — while there is also a PrepHoops.com/Idaho that focuses on recruiting.

HERE’S THE mission statement by which Idaho Prep Hoops identifies itself...

“Lover of HS basketball. Boise area based. Observations, opinions, compliments & criticisms of all things HS, Club & Youth hoops in Idaho. DM photos & hi-lights.”

The group apparently has no website and communicates only on Twitter (welcome to the new world), but has enough followers to start a pretty hot argument.

Once that message about combining classes was posted, all sorts of replies – and suggestions that the idea was nonsense – began popping up.

The very first response took issue with the entire idea.

This tweet came from Alex Maxwell: “You are missing the point that hundreds of student athletes get to experience a state tournament they normally wouldn’t get to be a part of. That’s a pretty cool thing the state has set up for these kids and families, as well as for the coaches.”

That was one obvious objection, and another was repeated in various ways.

Several posts pointed out that Idaho doesn’t have enough schools to combine classes, because it would create games, for instance, between teams from large 5A schools and the smallest 4A entrants.

In the combined classes, there almost certainly would be some unpleasant routs.

Idaho Prep Hoops responded to the objections by suggesting that the combined classes – like 2A and 3A – would stage a 16-team tournament instead of having eight in each. It also would require an extra day.

To that notion, Andrew Jones tweeted: “If you combine two classifications as you suggested and increase the number of teams to 16, that’s the same as two classifications with 8 teams each.”

Eventually, Idaho Prep Hoops got down to its ultimate goal here: They want just three state champions instead of six — the theory being that six winners dilutes the notion of actually winning a state title.

FROM THE very start of this long, long exchange of tweets, I seemed to sense a single theory.

Cutting the number of classifications and keeping the state tournament to three days (adding another day is absurd), you’re going to have fewer kids involved because there will still be just three classes with eight teams each.

Thus, only 48 teams would participate – 24 each in boys and girls – and the largest schools in each of the three classes would win almost everything.

Just to feel comfortable that I was reading the idea correctly, I ran it past Mark Nelke, who has been sports editor of The Press since Knute Rockne caught the first forward pass.

“Yeah, it’s an old argument about whether you want just elite teams playing at state, or you want a lot of kids to participate,” he said.

“Idaho is an unusual state because there is such a difference in enrollment in some areas. Most of the larger schools are all in the Boise metro area.”

Mark suggested that if you started combining classes, lots of smaller schools in each class would be in hopeless situations.

I agree, and what’s wrong with six champions, anyhow?

This isn’t California or Texas.

For better or worse, Idaho administrators have to handle the classifications as best they can for THIS state.

Sure, there are some hiccups and mismatches, but I suspect the current format is the best we can do.

When we add a couple million more people, come back and talk to me then.

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the off season.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com