Not a fairy tale

Gather around children and teenagers because I’m about to tell you a little story. You’re going to think it’s make-believe but it’s very, very real. This story isn’t about the Fouke monster or Bigfoot. This story is much more frightening than those tall tales.
A long, long time ago back in the early nineties, there was something called the state tournament.
Now hold on. I know you think you know what the state tournament is all about but the event I’m talking about is much different than the one that’s played today.
You see, back in the olden days, getting to the state tournament was sort of hard to do. Actually, for most teams it was an incredible dream, hopelessly out of reach. Basketball coaches used to highlight state tournament appearances on their resumés with golden thread.
Thinking back, any team that extended its season beyond the district tournament had reason to smile. Regional tournaments, many of them, were like mini-Final Fours, played in sweaty, jam-packed, often far-away gymnasiums. For most of the best teams, their seasons ended in the regional tournament. The list of teams with 35 or more victories that didn’t qualify for the state tournament is almost endless.
Yeah, I know. Scary, isn’t it?
I can remember a district girls championship game played in either Poyen or Donaldson between Union and Parkers Chapel. Both teams had more than 30 victories. In fact, almost all of their losses were against each other.
PC and Union were playing for probably the fifth or sixth time that season. Although they’d qualified for regionals, there was still a lot to be decided on that Saturday night - a top seed in the regional. The loser would have to beat Delta, ranked No. 1 in the state, in the regional at Monticello. The winner only had to get through Arkansas City, which was ranked No. 4, to earn a berth in the state tournament.
The Lady Trojans and Lady Cyclones fought for four quarters. At the end of the night, Union’s players cut down the nets in celebration, although the players knew there was still a mountain between them and the state tournament.
The Lady Cyclones won twice in the regional, including a thrilling upset over Arkansas City, which qualified them for the state tournament. I rode the bus with that team to Harrison. I documented their frustrating first-round loss to Mount Pleasant.
Despite a quiet, somber bus ride home from Harrison, I watched a team have an incredible journey.
That’s the difference. It was a long, hard, arduous journey with each step more tumultuous than the last. Every victory represented another step. Each step was a celebration.
It seems far-fetched that a team could win close to 40 games and not make it to state. But, it’s true. And, yes, there used to be schools named Union and Delta and Arkansas City and Mount Pleasant with mascots called River Rats and Bluebirds.
Those schools don’t exist anymore. Everything is different, now.
I’m not saying the state tournaments today aren’t as good. I’m not saying it was better in the olden days. The fact that I liked it better back then is simply my opinion and isn’t any more valid than anyone else’s.
It’s just different.
You don’t have to be great to make it to state these days. You don’t even have to be real good. In the large classifications, you can be actually be winless because every team automatically goes to the state tournament in Class 6A and 7A.
Sort of makes it less of an accomplishment doesn’t it?
It’s different and different isn’t necessarily better or worse.
Area basketball players who participated in the state tournament last week should be proud of their accomplishments. I’m not going to lie and say getting to state isn’t easy because it actually is. But, players have to travel the road to get there that’s put in front of them. Youngsters in 2012 didn’t choose their path anymore than those teams did back in the olden days.
All I’m saying is, even though it’s different, now, appreciate the journey.

Union County All-LFL Team

I had an interesting Twitter discussion yesterday with Junction City softballer Courtney Lowe, who revealed a fondness for football. Not watching, by the way, but actually getting on the field and knocking heads.
For girls, playing football isn't a fantasy anymore, thanks to several leagues, including the Lingerie Football League, which airs on MTV2. The LFL's uniform is almost as revealing as beach volleyball but, other than that, the women, a lot of whom are former college athletes, play real football.
Courtney, or Big Red, will be playing college softball at Louisiana Tech next year. A pitcher and infielder, she has a strong arm. She has also won trophies in bench press competitions. So, when she says she'd like to play quarterback or linebacker, anywhere she can get to hit somebody, I have no doubts she'd be a good player on the gridiron.
It got me to thinking. C-Lowe isn't the only girl in Union County who could do some damage on the football field. With that in mind, here's my Union County All-LFL Team for this season.
At quarterback, obviously would be Lowe. The three offensive linegirls would be El Dorado's Traliese Ford, Smackover's Kayla Nelson and Junction City's Breanna Lee. These three girls are all strong and were apparently too physical for basketball as they were all constantly in foul trouble this season. Now, they can push and shove all they want without fear of fouling out.
The running back would be El Dorado track star Rickitha Hicks. She's short, at just around 5-feet, but her speed in undeniable as the defending 6A state 100-meter champion. The two receivers are El Dorado soccer standout Meredith Rice and Parkers Chapel basketball forward Caleh Wall.
Rice, as the goalkeeper, probably has the best hands in the area. Wall is an aggressive rebounder and, since she's rumored to be kicking for the Trojans' football team next year, is a natural selection.
Defensively, the two down linegirls are El Dorado's Charlotte Bradley and Junction City's Ebony Holyfield. Bradley is an obvious choice with her bull-in-a-china shop mentality. Holyfield often picked up two fouls during the lay-up line so she should feel right at home putting a headlock on opponents legally.
The linebackers are Strong's Bre Newton and, since Big Red wants to hit so bad, Courtney Lowe. These girls are hard-nosed and athletic and, probably mean enough to strike fear in opposing players.
The defensive backs are Norphlet point guard Samantha Marshall, El Dorado point guard Sequoia Snowden and, although she's currently injured, EHS basketball and soccer player Hannah Burroff at safety.
Marshall is quick and changes directions smoothly. Snowden is quick, aggressive and unrelenting. She's the shut-down corner. Burroff is athletic enough and competitive enough to get the job done. Plus, she got a yellow card in last year's state tournament. She's not gonna back down and that's what football is all about.
So, there you have it. The first, and probably only, Union County All-LFL Team.
Keep in mind, my team's uniform will have longer shorts and full t-shirts. This is about athletics, after all, and nothing else.

Chambers develops hair-trigger release

Prevailing logic says all you have to do to stop a 3-point shooter is get a hand in their face.
When the shooter is Kansas State’s Brittany Chambers, that’s much easier said than done.
Chambers, on Monday, became the fifth player in school history to earn multiple All-Big 12 first team honors. The 5-8 junior was one of two players in the Big 12 to register 400 or more points, 180 or more rebounds and 60 or more assists this season. She ranks eighth in the league with 14.3 points per game and leads the Big 12 with 2.5 made 3-point field goals per game.
“What you have to do when you are guarding Chambers, is you have to quit looking at what is happening on the floor and focus on Chambers,” said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair.
“She has a great step back move and her range is from here to wherever she is from.”
From her hometown of Jordan, Minn., to Manhattan, Kansas is a seriously long shot. But, Blair isn’t exaggerating by that much.
Chambers is the focal point of opposing defenses and has to extend her range to well beyond the 3-point arc just to get off a shot.
“This year, I’m not getting the wide-open looks I got last year. Teams are guarding me and they’re switching screens so the easy three isn’t there. I’ve had to bring back more of the off-dribble game, shooting floaters and stuff,” said Chambers, who was asked about her shooting range.
“It depends. There are nights when I’m feeling it and I’ll shoot it from pretty much anywhere. It’s one of those things where I just feel if the game comes to me. If I feel like I’m on and I have a good look, I’ll usually take it seven feet back. Obviously, if it’s not that kind of night I’m not going to just chuck it up there.”
One of the most prolific long-range bombers in women’s college basketball, Chambers is far from a chucker. She admits it’s taken a lot of hard work since arriving at Kansas State to get to this point.
“When I was in high school, my shot wasn’t very good. It was okay but when I got to Kansas State, my coaches kind of changed my shot,” said Chambers. “They changed my footwork and they changed my shot. My release is a lot quicker. It’s something I really had to work on in college, something I had to adapt to the game because I wasn’t getting my shots off with the kind of pressure people were showing.
“I used to pull it down. They changed it so I kept it right at my shoulder the whole time. They eliminated extra movement in my shot, just little things that take even a millimeter of a second off. But, the big thing was not dipping it when I caught it. Most players like to catch it and then bend their knees and then go up. They changed it so I immediately catch and then shoot. In high school, I really didn’t shoot it well at all. I was very streaky. The elimination of the extra movement helped my accuracy a ton.”
Tinkering with a player’s shot can be a risky proposition.
“I was scared. I didn’t think I could do it and it was frustrating at first because you don’t make shots at first and you’re not used to it,” she said. “I was not shooting very well right at away. But, it came along faster than I thought it would. It started making a difference in my shot pretty quickly which was nice. Usually, that doesn’t happen.”
Chambers’ shooting motion is hair-trigger quick. Whether it’s catch-and-shoot or off the dribble, her lightning release is remarkable, especially considering the distance of her shots. Coming off screens, she actually catches the ball and shoots it in the same motion.
“The big thing for me is my feet and getting set before the ball even comes,” she explains. “I’m already thinking before it comes to me. I think that’s a huge part. You can’t set your feet down once you catch it. You have to be prepared already before it comes. That was something I had to work on. To get your shot up, you have to already have your feet set and ready before the ball ever hits your hand.”
Having a green light to always think shot first must help.
“Yeah,” she said with a giggle, “very much so.”
Getting a hand in Chambers’ face is a difficult task. She runs around a mine field of screens and has an impressive array of off-the-dribble step back moves. Still, as the Big 12 season wore on, teams have persisted and found ways to limit her looks.
“It’s tough,” said Chambers. “Normal, typical looks like off the screens and stuff just haven’t been there because they’re either double teaming or switching every screen. Going into games, I know that’s coming now so it’s not as hard. At the beginning of the Big 12, it was a lot tougher. It is a little bit of pressure because I know I have to score and find ways to score for my teammates. But, I also feel like we’ve gotten to the point with my team that if I don’t score, it’s not the biggest thing in the world. We’ve had games where I only got four shots because that’s all they’re giving me.
“That’s the thing I’ve had to work on, actually. My mindset was always getting open or making cuts to get myself open. But, I try to think about when I’m not getting a shot, I’m pulling two defenders so I find ways to cut so I can pull a defender with me so someone else can get a wide-open shot. That’s something I had to change that I never really used to think about, making plays or making cuts just to get other people open.”
Kansas State plays Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament Thursday at 11 a.m.