State Farm Holiday Classic Coed Basketball Tournament

Wow, the holiday tournaments are here and as I write - almost over! There are several good tournaments in central Illinois. Pontiac, Pekin, Monticello and the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington Normal to name a few. I've never covered any of them except the Classic, so let me talk about it.

The Classic is billed as the largest holiday basketball tournament in the country and the best basketball this side of March. It schedules 4 days of games for 32 boys and 32 girls team divided into 2 divisions. The divisions are split 1a/2a and 3a/4a along the lines the Illinois State High School Association draws for those schools. The Classic also follows the rules of basketball as stipulated by the IHSA. More on that later.

Last night, I did indeed seem some of the best basketball this side of March. The Richwoods ladies were playing the Normal West ladies. What a game. they went toe to toe, shot for shot in a see-sawing battle for the first 32 minutes. A 3 point buzzer shot evened the score at the end of the fourth quarter starting OT. One went by the score still even. On to double OT. This time the Richwoods team got the better of the Wildcats as the steam was running out for both teams. It was a really great game to watch.

I've been to some others at the tournament too. Photos from all are available and look for coverage in the Normalite and online at the Normalite.com as well. A sample gallery is below, but be sure to go to my site for complete coverage of the games I was able to cover.

Now for the rules.

2 rules need to be changed in the IHSA rule book.

1. A couple of years ago, there was a mercy clock. a 30 point lead in the 4th quarter sent the clock ticking till the end of the game. It was a good thing. If there is a 30 point difference in a game that normally only gets 60-70 points no one will be enjoying that game. Right now that rule only exists in tournament situations. It needs to be reapplied to seasonal play as well.

2. I don't know when they implemented the jersey lettering rule, but someone must have owned stock shares in a uniform company to come up with this one. The rule requires a minimum distance between any lettering on the jersey and the number. Also, the arc of the letters can't have the bottom of the letter lower than the top of the numbers. Ok, we probably don't want circular text on the jersey, but assessing a technical foul on the bench for this is just ridiculous. IHSA - get a better rule. Our schools have more important things to spend money on than replacing every sporting jersey they own.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday.


2009 State Farm Holiday Classic - Images by Alan Look