You can trust the numbers or you can trust your eyes, but either way there is one undeniable fact – the talent level of local girls basketball isn’t what it has been in the past.
Mikayla Williams, notwithstanding.
She was an extraordinary talent during her career at Parkway and has continued that at LSU as a freshman. And to be sure, the Panthers, the defending state champs in Division I, continue to be one of best teams again this year.
But they beat Captain Shreve last week by 48 points. And Shreve has won two of the last five state championships as a Division I school.
A local Class 5A team has lost 54-5 and 62-7 already this season. There was a District 1-4A game last week in which the final score was 85-6.
Everywhere you look, there are mismatches.
And even in places where there aren’t mismatches, you still aren’t seeing the quality of basketball you were once did.
In District 1-2A, where there are four Caddo Parish schools, some team is more than likely going to win the district with a losing overall record. One team in that district hasn’t won a game all year. None of six teams are currently anywhere close to .500 right now with a week to go in the regular season before the district tournament begins.
Three years ago, three of the quarterfinalists in Class 5A were from Caddo/Bossier Parishes and two more made the Class 4A quarters.
“The quality isn’t what it was,” said a former state championship coach. “There’s no doubt about it.”
This is more than a things-were-better-in-my day statement. Take a look at the scores in general. Without going all in-depth analytical data on you, points at are a premium these days in girls basketball.
There have always been haves and have-nots, but the margins of victory keep getting greater and greater. Non-competitive games are far more common than they once were.
Depth, or lack thereof, is a huge problem. Coaches are having trouble simply filling out rosters. The available talent pool just keeps shrinking.
OK, enough of the sordid details. How did this happen?
Ask around and you’ll hear a couple of reasons why (and, get prepared to discover that one of them is something no one will be happy to find out).
First is the presence of volleyball. The sport, which barely existed in northwest Louisiana two decades ago, has undergone such a growth that you’d swear that it’s pickleball’s cousin.
Some local high schools have varsity, JV and freshman volleyball teams and that season (which is played in the fall) does overlap into basketball season. It’s not impossible to play both, but it is fairly uncommon.
Meanwhile, there are girls basketball programs that don’t even have freshmen or JV teams or if they do, it’s likely to be almost the same roster for both.
The other reason that’s been tossed around is – wait for it – social media. There is the thought that it’s much more fun to make a TikTok than to run line drills once basketball practice is over. Draining a 3-pointer might be nice, but receiving a juicy Snapchat? Now that’s a day-maker!
Is this a problem as well for boys basketball, which does not have volleyball to compete for prospective players? “Not as much right now,” said one athletic director. “But you never know.”
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com