When a high school sports story goes national, it usually means one of two themes has happened.
An incredible record. A fantastic achievement. Or a remarkable play captured on video.
Or something stupid. Something controversial. Something negative.
A girls basketball team in Utah beat an opponent 108-3 the other day.
Is that incredible, fantastic or remarkable? Or stupid?
Every year there is a lopsided score or two in every sport that captures the attention of more than the local newspaper. The scores get published online and in print and within 12 to 24 hours, those blowouts become bigger news.
That’s followed by the school that did all the scoring apologizing and/or trying to justify itself. Or the school that got schooled either upset or trying to take the high road.
In this case in Utah, the players from the team with three points — West Ridge Academy — has accepted an apology from the team with 108. Good for them.
The coach from the Christian Heritage, the winning school, said he regretted the score. But he also sounds like a guy not so sure that he wouldn’t do it again.
“I’d rather have a team play me straight up, and that’s why I played them straight up,” Rob McGill told Salt Lake City’s ABC-4. “Because I didn’t want to taunt them, I didn’t want to embarrass them, I didn’t want them to think we could do whatever we want.”
So, naturally, his team scored 108 points.
McGill said too many people are trying to hold back youth from being their best. He said he is giving his players the opportunity to be the best that they can be and if he is being criticized for that, he can live with it.
Doesn’t sound real apologetic now, does he? Wonder if his team had to do extra running for giving up those three points?
Still, his points should not just be dismissed. Some coaches agree that players on the court should never “take it easy,” should always give their best. Those are good lessons to learn.
But there are several things a coach can do that still demands that players work on being their best, but do not necessarily mean scoring in bunches.
When the margin reached 40 or 50, the coach could have instructed his players to run a play and take 30 seconds before attempting a shot. That’s still working to be their best.
Treat the situation like a practice within the game itself. Challenge your players to work on their discipline.
The coach could have asked his team to play a relaxed zone defense. Yes, steal passes if they come your way, but allow for shots and work on the rebounding drills. When turnovers happen, there is no rule that says a team must go on a fast break.
Closer to home, there are a lot of lopsided basketball scores this season in Clark County. Happens every season, in fact.
This year, Washington high schools have a mercy rule in basketball.
When a team has a 40-point lead midway through the third quarter, the rest of the game goes under a “running clock” format.
Travis Drake, Prairie’s athletic director, said he appreciates the new rule. At the same time, he is not worried that his girls basketball team would torch a team by 100 points.
“Al is a perfectionist, which is why he is a successful coach,” Drake said, referring to Prairie coach Al Aldridge. “He also is very aware of playing the game the correct way. He worries more about what the score will end up and what the perception will be.”
Prairie, for years the dominant team in Clark County, has one of its most talented teams in years. And one could argue that many of the other programs in the region are down this season. That leads to a lot of lopsided contests.
“He knew some of the games were going to get ugly,” Drake said of Aldridge. “I trust him 100 percent.”
There is no doubt Prairie could have scored 100 or 110 points in some of its games this season, possibly even won games by 100 points.
That does not mean Prairie, or any team, should accomplish such a feat.
After all, doing so will garner national attention, but for all the wrong reasons.
Paul Valencia covers high school sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4557 or e-mail at paul.valencia@columbian.com.
