Ok, I want to first get this out of the way…
There was a lot of pushback on the awards we posted yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t without justifiable cause. Paul Bruns is an outstanding player and one of the best in the state. He is going to have a great career at North Dakota, and I think we need to all realize something: this wasn’t an easy decision.
When we choose the awards, we talked about it when we were creating the post, then after creating the post as we were editing and preparing to release the awards, AND AGAIN the morning before we posted the awards. This was debated for a long time. It was a staff decision, and I can’t say one member was specifically leaning towards anyone. Now let’s get into the reason why we choose Jakob Dobney as our winner.
What Dobney and the Tanagers did this season was incredible. They went from being virtually unheard of as a favorite for the title, to gaining the #1 spot in the Class A State Tournament and an undefeated record. And we are sure that probably doesn’t happen without Dobney.
The senior guard was a top scorer and was one of the best in the state in passing and steals. A top-level player, we could make the argument that Paul is a more talented player. No doubt. But who was the most valuable to their team this season? Dobney. Without Dobney we might not have seen Vermillion in the tournament, or an undefeated record. That’s not a disrespect to the Tanagers, but Dobney was the guy who meshed the team together.
Even Dell Rapids doesn’t make a SportsCenter Top 10 shot without Dobney. He was simply the most valuable player to his team in Class A this season.
Where Should The Class B State Tournament Be Held?
Here is my thoughts on where the Class B state tournament should be: Wherever Class B wants it to be.
There is this saying that you shouldn’t fix what ain’t broken, and the Class B Tournament ain’t broken. It’s an exciting event that small towns from across the state look forward to each season. It doesn’t need to be moved because it is successful where it is at.
The Class B schools want to keep their tournament and not become just another game while everyone waits for the Class A and AA State Championships. Trust me, when I first read the arguments, no doubt, I thought it should be like the Iowa and Nebraska tournaments where the games are in one place. But honestly, the Class B Tournament is so unique and so loved that I don’t see a reason to change.
So don’t change it. Maybe combine the Class A and AA games into one site, and possibly eliminate the consolidation games. Or combine both the boy’s and girl’s tournament into one week, but don’t change the Class B Tournament.
Finally Thank You
Finally, I want to thank you all for supporting Digital Z Sports. I really enjoy speaking to members of the community, and helping to share what’s great about the state. As we hopefully expand to surrounding states and other sports, we are going to try and provide even greater coverage.
Our goal is simple: To provide you with the sports content you want to see, without the politics.
We are working hard to do just that, and provide even more content. We love supporting communities from around the state, and we want to continue to provide coverage in the spring and next fall.
This article was written by TK. To contact TK, please email digitalzsports@gmail.com
Couldn’t agree more