For me this is the quiet time of the year. College football is over and it is dark, fogy and gloomy outside here in Southern Oregon. We have had a lot of rain this year. The one bright spot is South Medford High School Basketball. South Medford usually has a good basketball team but this year they are exceptional. They are rated # 1 in the state of Oregon. They are a very tall team and are led by junior Kyle Singer Who is being recruited by a large number of high profile colleges. Lute Olsen of Arizona showed up for a South home game, two weeks ago, and the head coach of Kansas showed up last week. Duke very much wants Singer and coach K has already made one trip to Medford and I would not be surprised if he returns for a game. However this is not a one man team and the other starting players all will play at the college level. My wife and I have season tickets and attend all of South Medford’s home games. Last Friday we traveled to Ashland for South’s game there. Ashland High has an old gym that reminds me of Mac Court at the University of Oregon. A place I love. One of the problems South Medford has is the level of competition here in the Southern Oregon Conference. South has the ability to run over most of the teams in Southern Oregon. Then when South gets to the State Tournament they are not ready for the increased level of competition. As a result coach Murphy took the team to Portland (5 hr trip each way) this last weekend (after the Ashland game) to play Jefferson High the #3 team in the state on Saturday night. South won by 11 points against a good inter city team. My son who is attending college in Salem Oregon went to the game with a friend and enjoyed himself. My wife and I sat at home and listened to the game on the South Medford radio broadcast. Tuesday South goes to Roseburg one of the better teams in the Southern Oregon Conference. Hope they don’t get over confident because Roseburg could beat them they did last year.
One of the things I like about small town high school basketball is the atmosphere. Lots of people show up for the 7:PM games. There is a band, cheerleaders and the student section. I even love the snack bar where I can get a coke for $1.00 and popcorn for $1.00. Admission is only $5.00 for adults. Where else can you get so much for your entertainment dollar? If I lived in a big city like Portland, Sacramento or LA I could end up spending $100.00 for a pro basketball game for my wife and I, and the players wouldn’t play half as hard as these high school kids. As it is, I spend maybe 12 to 15 dollars for a night out of fun. May even stop by Dairy Queen after the game for some ice cream.. I sometime wonder why there aren't more people at the games! My children have long since graduated from high school but I still love the games.
