I’ve been tracking this tournament for ages, so I grabbed my worn-out notebook and started digging into the teams everyone’s buzzing about. First up, I binged all the local news clips to see who made the brackets, scribbling down stats like points per game and rebounds. Couldn’t trust my memory alone – spilled coffee stains covered half the pages already.
The Heavy Hitters
South Charleston High stood out hard. Watched three of their playoff tapes back-to-back. These guys play like a pack of wolves hunting together – fast breaks, crazy steals, and their center? Dude’s built like a fridge. Wrote in all caps: DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. But then I remembered Huntington High’s undefeated streak. Their coach runs this wild rotation system where nobody plays more than four minutes straight. Talked to a parent in their booster club who said, “Yeah, the kids hate conditioning drills but it’s paying off now.”
Wildcards & Gut Feelings
Then there’s George Washington High. Stats look average until I checked their injury reports from December. Two starters were out then. Now they’re back? That changed everything. My buddy Tony – a burger joint cashier who never misses a game – said, “They’re sneaky-good when pressured.” Added that to my messy bullet points:
- South Charleston: lockdown D but free throws shaky
- Huntington: deep bench but young guards
- George Washington: peaking late, revenge tour energy?
The real headache came with Martinsburg High. Crushed everyone all season, then barely won their regional final. I rewatched that game twice. Saw something the box score missed: their star point guard kept grabbing his knee during timeouts. My old coaching instincts kicked in – played through torn meniscus once and looked just like that. Wouldn’t show in stats, but if he’s limping? Game changer.
Why I’m Obsessed
Honestly? This all started when my nephew got cut from JV five years back. Kid cried for a week. I told him, “Let’s break down why they picked others over you.” We studied film together until 2 AM most nights. Now? He’s starting varsity at Fairmont Senior – and they nearly made the tournament this year. That’s when I got hooked on finding the hidden stories behind the brackets. Numbers lie. Sweat don’t.
Final prediction after all this? Huntington vs. South Charleston finals with George Washington pulling an upset. Unless that Martinsburg kid’s knee holds up. Gonna camp out at the Charleston Coliseum Thursday with extra batteries for my camera. Might even buy Tony a chili dog if I’m right.