Chitwood, low seeds, lasting memories
By my count, 117 schools sent at least one team to this year’s state basketball tournament, to contest a total of 180 playoff games over an eight-day period.
My annual yearbook album is going to be as full as it’s ever been, so let’s not waste any time.
Today’s column, incidentally, is dedicated to a person that doesn’t even exist. His name is Jimmy Chitwood. Read on for an explanation (the clever among you will already have worked it out).
THREE’S COMPANY: Last year in this space, I compared the unlikely big-school boys champions from Valley in 1996 to Rio Rancho in 2016. And 12 months later, we have another candidate that merits a spot at the table — No. 12 boys seed Volcano Vista — as we ponder the list of most unlikely bigschool champs ever.
The Hawks’ run was startling in every way — and make no mistake, it was also deserving in every way. The best team during the season did not win state, but the best team in the postseason did.
The only thing that somewhat mutes the overall impact is that Rio Rancho — like Volcano a team from District 1-6A — sorta beat the Hawks to the punch last season as an 11 seed. But Volcano Vista does now assume the mantle of lowest-seeded boys team to earn a championship. From my keyboard, I’d rank them this way: 1996 Valley (no seeds then, but if there were, they’d have been 10th of 10 teams), 2016 Rio Rancho, 2017 Volcano Vista. NEWCOMERS: From 12 brackets, shockingly, a third of them produced a firsttime champion. In addition to Volcano Vista, there was Maxwell’s boys, Tohatchi’s third-seeded girls and Goddard, a 5 seed in 5A girls. Welcome to the club.
Pecos’ boys (1966) and the boys from Lordsburg (1974) ended decades-long droughts.
It felt like their first time, too.
TALKING SEEDS:
Actually, aside from Volcano Vista, the other five boys brackets were won by three No. 1s — Roswell, Hope Christian and Pecos — and a pair of No. 2s in Lordsburg and Maxwell.
More upheaval could be found on the girls side. After favorites won 85.4 percent of first-round games (41-7), the higher seed won at just a 64.2 percent clip in Week 2 (2715).
No bracket was more capsized than 6A girls. There were seven games in the second week, and the higher seed went 1-6, including No. 7 Sandia’s upset victory over No. 5 La Cueva in the final.
Matadors coach Lee Kettig said it was during a Tuesday quarterfinal against Carlsbad that he first believed his team could go the distance.
“It clicked in my head,” he said. “It dawned on me at that point that they have the matured to the point that we have the toughness to win this.”
Elida’s girls and Tatum’s girls also won state, making it five No. 1 seeds out of 12 that earned blue trophies. Elida (seven in a row) and Hope’s boys (five) continue to own their classifications, and they were the only two repeat champions from 2016.
While the top two seeds met in half of the 12 title games last year, that occurred four times this year: 5A and 4A boys, 4A girls and 1A girls.
It was also especially nice that all four quadrants of New Mexico produced at least one state champion. So many to choose from, but I shall narrow it to one. It occurred very late in the week.
It was the sight of Lordsburg coach D.J. Saucedo, hunched over, head bowed toward the floor at the end of the south bench as the Mavericks raced out onto the court to celebrate their 2A triumph. It was obvious he was in tears, though no one could see his face.
I had never met Saucedo, and I didn’t know a thing about his background at that moment, but it wasn’t hard to deduce this much: This man was a Lordsburg alum. Good for him, and his hometown.
Movie/ basketball fans already know who I was talking about in the open.
For those of you who don’t, Chitwood was a fictional character in the movie “Hoosiers.” As the movie began, we were introduced to him as the best player in the town, but he had chosen not to play basketball. Midway through the film, he has a change of heart, joins the team, and tiny Hickory High wins the all-comers Indiana state championship.
Enter Mr. David Cormier of Volcano Vista.
Cormier didn’t wait until midseason to join the Hawks, but has the addition of one player to a team ever had such an impact on a single season? (I’ll gladly take nominees.)
Oh, and Jimmy Chitwood ain’t ever dunked like that. Anniversaries allowed us to say hello to coaching legends like Don Flanagan, and Mike Brown, and even Jimmy Joe Robinson from Melrose.
One coach this year — Greg Brown of Volcano Vista, Mike’s son, who left Manzano to start Volcano Vista’s program from scratch — won a state title at his second big-school program, an extraordinary feat. And another, veteran Eloy Brazil of Maxwell, now has championships with three schools, joining Cimarron and Springer. His first title and most recent title occurred 38 years apart.
Jim Murphy won his 15th title with Hope, which remains one of the most prolific in this country.
Britt Cooper’s fourth at Roswell High, all since 2009, ties him for ninth all-time in New Mexico history. His Coyotes were involved in what I thought was the most entertaining game of the week, an overtime battle in the quarterfinals against Kirtland Central.
QUIETER THAN USUAL:
Crowds were significantly down this season for games at the Pit.
New Mexico Activities Association executive director Sally Marquez said total attendance at the Pit was down 20 percent from last season, which she described as a “banner year.”
Moreover, Marquez added, attendance at the Pit this week was lower than at any point in at least the last 12 years.
The irony of reduced attendance at the Pit was this: the building had a high volume of exciting and memorable games, including the Tohatchi and Shiprock girls winning state in front of a full house on Friday.
Final attendance numbers likely won’t be available for another week or two.
On the plus side, Marquez said attendance at the Santa Ana Star Center, Bernalillo, and Cleveland and Rio Rancho high schools were up roughly 30 percent from last year.
CAUTIONARY TALE:
It was natural to look at Atrisco Heritage’s boys and describe the Jaguars as one of the early frontrunners for 2017-18. After all, the Jaguars didn’t start a single senior this season and got all the way into the state semifinals.
But, Jags coach Adrian Ortega was quick to pump the brakes on that. “Look at Rio Rancho,” he said.
HE SAID IT WELL:
Las Cruces coach William Benjamin was gracious in defeat Saturday night, but I think these three words from him encapsulate this particular state tournament:
“March,” he said, “is funny.” Funny. Sad. Beautiful. And, perhaps best of all, mysterious.