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Something was missing. It took 3 quarters, but I think I figured it out. Sounds obvious, but it’s more detailed than you’d think.

Some takeaways from Philomath hosting Central (5A) (Boys):

• Philomath has the defense to win a state title. Central is by no means a 5A powerhouse, but that was impressive. 19 points allowed in the first half, only 3 in the 3rd quarter, 4 in the 4th. They spent most of the game in a 2-3 zone, but even in the few times they went man it was ridiculously effective. 

• Philomath seemingly has one problem: it lacks a stud. The offense stalls repeatedly, and in the moments where they need to just turn to someone and say ‘get us a bucket’, I don’t know who they’ll turn to. There are a lot of really good pieces on that roster, and they’re a state tournament team, it’s just really hard to win it all without a stud.

• Philomath will improve, you can tell it’s really early in the season. They have the coach to win it all, the defense to win it all, the culture to win it all. The missing link is an offensive identity.

• It took awhile to decipher whether Central was playing great defense or if Philomath was just struggling offensively. Turns out it was a combination of both. 

• The state needs the Central v Philomath rivalry back. The two teams haven’t been in the same league in 6 years, but the animosity was still there. Central is not likely to come back down to 4A, but they need to play each other more often.