by Wildcat » Wed Mar 20, 2019 11:01 am
The lack of diversity? Isn't this the same group of voters that put Lilly Keplin and Lauren Ware on the Class A all-state first team? I think it seems a little short-sighted to assume that played any role in it whatsoever. Jason Feather, Melvin Langstaff, Christine Miller...all won Mr./Miss Basketball.
Every year, there are kids left off that are deserving to that town's fans. This year is no exception.
A long time ago, I was a member of the media. I can tell you that when coaches vote all-state for football, the region coaches vote on the best at each position by tabulating votes. I think it would shock many of you to learn that most of the media does it the exact same way. I know I always did. Rarely ever did I override a coaches vote. I tabulated it like a poll with votes and sent that poll back to all the coaches to let them know how they voted as a group (can't vote for your own), and I went off that. It's amazing what you can accomplish with email. I know a good chunk of the media does it similar in some form or another.
A problem that can arise here is the idea that production doesn't matter. A player from a good team averages 10 points, 8 rebounds, and their coach says, "If he played for that bad team, he'd score 22 points a game." OK, but if you're going to downgrade someone who actually did score 22 points a game in another region in the state without knowing much about them or the competition they played, it's not going to play as well with me. Production does matter in individual awards. It absolutely does. "Well he WOULD have done this" is not the same as actually doing it.
I would say that every year Region 8 has 3-4 girls or boys that average 20 points a game. Yet, Region 8 doesn't often get as many all-state selections. There is a long list of kids in the state averaging 18+ ppg a night that don't get all-state. I once had a kid average 29 ppg that wasn't even a top six player in the region, by my standards, and by the coaches' standards. He mostly did it against bad competition (playing some of them twice).
I'm not saying the media doesn't make mistakes. I can't speak for all media members, but I always went to the coaches first. It's a more thorough process than you might think.