Growing pains for tourney

By By Todd Thompson, Sports Editor
It quickly became apparent Monday afternoon that the Morgan County Basketball Tournament has outgrown the gyms of the five schools included in the annual hardcourt event.
With strong crowds for the first two days of the 2010 tournament at Falkville High School, popular talk centered on taking the county tournament to a neutral site with larger facilities - expressly Calhoun Community College in Decatur.
Falkville school officials have done a wonderful job handling the tournament through the first two days, especially with the large crowds.
The gym, however, is expected to be packed for the semifinals Thursday and Friday. And seats will certainly be at a premium for the finals Saturday.
Calhoun’s gym would offer more seating capacity and a facility that could handle five championship games in a span of seven hours Saturday.
Such a move would probably necessitate the inclusion of three schools in the county - Decatur, Austin and Decatur Heritage - that don’t currently participate in the local sporting event.
A move to expand from five to eight schools would be a boon to the interest in the tournament, especially if a plan to split the field into two divisions - a large school division and one for smaller schools - would be included.
While some would be against allowing two 6A schools and a private institution into the tournament, the competition level would be balanced.
An upper bracket of Brewer, Hartselle, Austin and Decatur would feature teams in the state’s top two classifications.
And that would prevent matchups between Falkville - the smallest school in the current tounament alignment - and schools with three times as many students.
Pitting teams against schools of equal size only makes sense when viewed from a competitive standpoint. But it does provide a major boost to the overall interest level of the tournament.
The thought of playing four varsity championships in one day - or on two successive days if neccesary - would make the tournament one of the top draws in north Alabama. And that makes it an idea worth looking at more closely.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com