by dlsiouxfan » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:41 am
Just thought I'd throw this out there. I feel North Dakota is a small enough state where we don't need two classes for basketball. I say we put the Class A teams in with their appropriate regions and districts, possibly redraw some of the lines to even out the teams and then have the teams play it out just like Class B does now. In conjuction with this I say the NDHSAA sanctions a few more weekend tournaments to allow more cross regional play during the regular season.
Advantages: Bigger gate for all schools and for regional tournaments, shorter drives during the season for kids, New rivalries (i.e. Dickinson Trinity- Dickinson High, Minot Ryan- Minot, Four Winds- Devils Lake), More exposure for Class B players in the larger Fargo and Bismarck media markets, additionally the kids already play each other in tournaments all summer and spring so why not during the regular season.
Disadvantages: A few blowouts in games involving overmatched small town programs versus large Class A schools, finding large enough gyms for some of the regional tourneys, no more message board fodder as to whether the Class B champ is better than the Class A champ.