Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
Growing up on all things ESPN, I remember watching features about players like Kenny Anderson and Kevin Garnett, who dominated inner-city basketball en route to long and successful NBA careers.
Based on Saturday’s state championship matchups, I’m not sure things have changed much, leaving me wondering how much big basketball is played far from city lights?
In Illinois, Hales-Franciscan of Chicago, a four-loss team, dispatched one undefeated, 30-plus win team from outside the Chicago area and is favored over a second in the championship game.
Chicago area high schools are heavily favored in other classes as well.
Georgia’s state championships were swept by Atlant- area schools last season, and many were surprised when a semifinal upset eliminated the Class A favorite, a metro Atlanta private school.
Atlanta-area schools are expected to sweep the rest of the tournament.
Dallas-area schools dominate the Texas championship field and should bring multiple titles back to “The Big D."
Having grown up a fan of the movie “Hoosiers”, I expected to see more Cinderella stories unfolding around the country. Unfortunately for small town schools, this is not a movie, and Gene Hackman isn’t manning the sidelines.
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