Thoughts On The Tournament

My first full season of following WVIAC basketball culminated with my first visit to the conference tournament at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. So, while I’ve accrued some knowledge of the conference, I’m still new enough to it to retain a bit of an outsider’s perspective. It’s with that perspective in mind that I offer some unsolicited thoughts on this year’s tournament at the CCCC.

Gotta love the energy level.

Clichéd as it sounds, nothing that quite matches the intensity of post-season college basketball. Teams know their seasons are literally at stake, and it shows. The players perform with an added fervor. All the little things mean more – defending, rebounding, running fast breaks at a dead sprint, deflecting a pass, setting a screen, blocking a shot, drawing a charge, making a perfect outlet pass, establishing post position and so on and so on.

The players know they’re on the state’s biggest stage and their level of effort rises to meet it.

This was a tournament in which the champions – Charleston’s women and Pitt-Johnstown’s men – proved once again that tenacity is always the first part of a winning formula.

It’s a great place to watch a game.

The Charleston Civic Center Coliseum is a wonderful venue for basketball. Large enough to hold a big crowd, but not so huge that the game becomes distant. It’s expansive and intimate at the same time.

(I digress here, but … if I hadn’t gotten a comical series of bad directions trying to find the CCCC, this Charleston newbie wouldn’t have had to walk all over what seemed to be the length and breadth of the entire city to get from my hotel to the Civic Center. I’d be quiet about it, but my feet are still sore.)

Hey Cinderella!

Everything went pretty much according to form on the women’s side, but the men were visited by the upset bug.

Ninth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit had to win on the road in the first round just to get to Charleston; once they got there the Cardinals pulled another stunner in knocking off top seed West Virginia State. WJU almost made it three in a row before getting worn down in the semi-finals by Pitt-Johnstown.

Speaking of the Mountain Cats – some old conference hands have gritted their teeth over a Pennsylvania school winning the West Virginia Conference title, but UPJ earned it all the way with their back-to-the-future game plan. They defended and rebounded maniacally and set their tempo on offense.

The same could be said for the UC women.

It may not have been 21st-Century basketball, but it was certainly timeless.

Where is everybody?

We’re living in a tough economy, but the attendance seemed much too low for an event like this. Of course, the same could be said for virtually every other conference tournament around the country. Still, the fans that turned out got their money’s worth. Leading to the question….

How can it get better?

When in comes to basketball, the WVIAC is like a smaller-scale Big East. It’s a 16-team league with a high level of play, a tough schedule and a long tradition. So to improve the conference tournament, perhaps the WVIAC should take a page from it larger cousin and bring every team to one city. In this case, Charleston.

Of course, having 32 teams in one city presents a set of potential headaches and logistical demands. It would also require some very long days for tournament organizers and conference officials.

But it would also give every team and every player the opportunity to play on the state’s biggest stage.

It would also make it easier for teams in terms of travel planning and accommodations. Instead of not knowing its first-round location until 48 hours before tip-off, each team would know where it’ll be playing and where it’ll be staying well in advance. The same goes for fans.

Best of all, it would also create a week-long celebration of West Virginia college basketball. Charleston is the state’s largest city, and the local media does a wonderful job covering the tournament. Having every team in Charleston means added exposure for the conference, while doubling the possible story ideas and angles for the media. There would be a solid week’s worth of radio, TV, internet and newspaper stories about the WVIAC. Everybody wins.

Later on Inside The Headset: 32 Teams, Six Days, One Arena – How Can It Be Done?