Here Lies Single Class Basketball

First appeared on March 11th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

Here lies Single Class Basketball. From 1910 to 1997, hers was a truly glorious life indeed. For 87 years she thrilled Hoosiers of all ages. During her reign myths were born, champions crowned and legends created. Regrettably she has been gone for 12 years now but taking time to remember her life brings back a flood of memories.
In attending a very small (graduating class of 69 kids) rural Indiana high school, class basketball was a mountain we as young players dreamed of climbing. Our sectional was held every year in Logansport’s famed Berry Bowl. After playing an entire season in cracker box gyms being watched by friends and family only, sectionals were our one chance to shine on the big stage. More than the starting point of the state tournament, sectionals were a social event. Parents, students, teachers, former players and former students all gathered to not only catch up with events from the year that had passed, but with eager interest in seeing their teams compete as well.
As Pioneer Panthers we entered sectionals every year with only one goal. Ours weren’t dreams of regional play, we simply wanted a chance to play Logansport. Over time that 1A versus 4A match up had morphed into the epitome of David versus Goliath (imagine Hickory and Muncie Central, only for real). Rare indeed was the Pioneer victory and the accounts of those Panther teams that had the mettle to stick with Logansport during sectional play were embedded in us as we grew up. And for us, as young Panthers, those teams and those players became heroes whose stories were nothing short of legendary.
The energy in the Berry Bowl during one of those games was completely indescribable. Fans from schools that had been eliminated would often stay in large numbers just to cheer the Panthers on and anytime Pioneer had Logansport on the ropes there was a palpable tension that swept over everyone in the stands. For one night only Caston Comets, Peru Tigers and Lewis Cass Kings stood in unison sharing the common vision of seeing Logansport fall. This was the original March Madness.
You lived and died with every bounce of the ball, every shot at the rim and every blow of the whistle. Most people regard children as carefree but I can remember having shortness of breath and sweaty palms as a kid watching my brothers battling the dreaded Berries; and yes when it was clear we would come up short again I remember crying as the Panthers left the floor. This is what single class basketball was and now it’s gone.
The teams and players who won state during single class basketball were simply the best and larger than life as a result. It’s no exaggeration to say they were Rock Stars to younger players. Damon Bailey, Glenn Robinson, the Marion Giants and Muncie Central- everyone from West Lebanon to Richmond and Valparaiso to Rising Sun knew who these guys were. Today that is all gone. When you crown 4 State Champions every year it’s just too easy to get lost in the mix.
Take it from someone who has seen both single class and class tournaments, there is absolutely no comparison. So as we lay a carefully arranged wreath of roses and sweat-stained gym socks upon the grave of single class basketball, it is with a heavy heart that we accept the fact that class basketball is all we have to look forward to from now on. As BB King once so nostalgicaly crooned, for Indiana high school basketball the “thrill” most definitely is gone.