FOR LOVE OF THE GAME: NOBODY WINS WITH U-HIGH ABUSE; SCHOOLS SHOULD CONSIDER DROPPING OUT

It seems fairly obvious to me and a lot of people I talk to.

It's about time for Chaffee and Meadow Heights -- and maybe even a couple more schools -- to graciously remove themselves from the University High Christmas Tournament.

For many years now, the Red Devils and Panthers have been perennial punching bags for the top seeds in the annual event held at the Show-Me Center.

Seventy- and 80-point losses serve absolutely no purpose. The winning team gets nothing from it. The losing school gets embarrassed and it takes away from the tournament which would be much better suited to add some larger and more competitive schools in the region such as Sikeston, Perryville, New Madrid and others.

After all, there are eight Class 1A teams in this tournament and five 2A teams, but the three large schools have won 18 of the last 19 tournaments. It seems Charleston, Jackson and Cape Central could use a bit more competition.

And what fan would want to watch an 80-point blowout? People who pay good money to see this tournament deserve better than this. The tournament should be responsible for putting out a quality field.

But forget about the tournament for a moment.

Does anyone think about the athletes from these losing schools?

Take it from somebody who has been there. I was a member of Meadow Heights' basketball team in the 1993 tournament. That year, we were the No. 15 seed and had to play Cape Central, seeded second.

Let me recreate the situation.

Our starters range from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-1.

Our school has hired a different coach for the past several years because every coach left our program to take on a higher-paying job at a school like the one we're getting ready to play. Our school hasn't won a game in more than a year. Half our team has been under the weather. And we're going against a school whose student body is some 10 times larger than ours. To give an indication of how small Meadow Heights is, I think there were 12 guys in my senior class. And that was before one or two dropped out before the end of the year.

So we go into this tournament just hoping just to keep the score respectable.

So much for hoping.

I didn't start that game (although I played a little bit and scored four points) because I had been sick for a week or so and missed a couple of practices.

But the game was painful just to watch from the bench.

Cape Central came out with five high-flying, sharp-shooting, quicker-than-greased-lighting, long-armed trees and its bench was just as strong.

We were fairly quick that year (for a Meadow Heights team), but Central was a step quicker. We couldn't get off shots or see over the press because they were so much taller. We couldn't contest their shots or get rebounds because we were so much shorter.

It was about halfway through the first quarter when I realized exactly how the Washington Generals felt when they played the Harlem Globetrotters.

Only we didn't get paid. But our school did.

And that brings up an important question.

How can you put a price on putting someone through that?

Each school receives a compensation based on the amount of ticket sales and the amount of games it plays.

As a former player, let me say this to school board members everywhere: I would've rather watched the tournament from the stands than to have been plastered by about 100 points and then reminded of it on the 10 o'clock news and in the newspaper the next day.

I know it was embarrassing for the school. But to be one of the players responsible for that loss made it worse.

I think we only scored 18 points that game. Eighteen points.

They ended up with well more than 100. They had guys coming off the bench who could dunk. And I didn't blame them. I didn't expect them to stop playing hard just because they were 100 times better than we were.

I just wondered why we were there.

And I still do.

Meadow Heights was defeated 118-22 last year, 91-26 the year before that and 92-20 three years ago in first-round games of this tournament.

Chaffee, meanwhile, has lost 75-40, 116-26 and 101-55 the last three years.

Thirty-point losses can be expected in the first round of a 16-team tournament. But 70-90 point losses are another matter.

As I understand it, only the schools can remove themselves from the tournament.

I realize school board members have a lot to consider. If the school drops out of this tournament, it will probably will never get back into it. They'll lose that money every year. And some other small schools have been successful in the consolation bracket. That type of success doesn't look to be in the immediate future for Meadow Heights and Chaffee.

Until these schools get their programs back on track, board members will have to consider the costs and the benefits of the school.

And hopefully of the athletes as well.

Bob Miller is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.