A Week Off At A Bad Time Of Year

All eight of the Big East Basketball teams will be off until at least February 25 when the NCHSAA  basketball playoffs start.  Rocky Mount, Hunt, Nash Central and Northern Nash boys will have to wait until Saturday night to know who and where they are playing.  Northern Nash girls, Rocky Mount, Nash Central and Hunt have the same problem on the girls side.

Haven't been able to get a really good answer as to why the week off.  Without getting an official answer here is my speculation.  I have already expressed the view that some coaches don't like playing the tournament championship on Friday night and having to turn around and start the playoffs of Monday.  Makes sense that there is no practice time once the announcements come out at 6pm on Saturday before some teams play Monday.

Today is a school Holiday.  School systems don't like athletic teams playing when school is not in session.  As far as I am concern that can't be the answer as at Easter time just about every high school team will be in a tournament some where playing baseball.

What ever the reason the ACC Tournament is a week later this year and the Duke- Carolina game in Chapel Hill and the last regular season game of the year would be on what should have been State Championship weekend.  The Dean Dome is the biggest of the arenas and looking for another in the central part of the State is impossible.

Then there is always the possibility that some where in the scheduling somebody missed the memo telling everyone that the playoffs dates had move and the league didn't catch the mistake in time.  Please remember that no one has told me any thing about the week off this is just me talking out loud.

The worst possible scenario is all the teams get rusty and when they do play again it may take a quarter of the game to get adjusted.  Everyone but the number one seeds Rocky Mount boys and Northern Nash girls might all be on the road and in a evenly matched game when having a bad quarter could knock any of them out quickly.

Yes the best possible conclusion would be any team that has injuries that a week off will get them healthier.  Rocky Mount girls head that list with J'Kyra Brown trying to heal up.  The only way to know for sure how this week off is going to pan out is wait and see after everyone has a game under their belt whether it was  a  good thing or bad deal.