The Georgia high School basketball state championships have appeared to finally have run its course in the city of Macon, GA. Georgia high school basketball has a protracted history with Macon when it comes to postseason play. The Macon Coliseum was established in 1968 and have been a host of Georgia high school postseason basketball every year since 1969. Tournament basketball in Macon, GA is traced even further, dating back to 1942 when games were initially played in its City Auditorium.
The state championships that took place March 3-5 at the Macon Coliseum was the center of controversy due to the goals not being positioned correctly on the court. The goals were set up a foot further back from regulation standards. For example, free throws during the championship were shot from 16 foot back instead of the regulated 15 foot free throws. Throughout the tournament, the boy basketball teams shot a total of 39 percent from beyond the arc and 62 percent from the free throw. The girls shot 33 percent on three-pointers and 57 percent from the free throw in the tournament. Wilkinson Co. and Hancock Central also had struggled shooting the ball, the game comprised that both teams missed all fifteen of their three-point field goals.
The recent goal mishap was not the first time the Macon Coliseum has faced criticism, there was also some squabble concerning the upkeep of the restrooms and locker rooms in the building. Parking has been a major reason as well, forcing some team buses to pay $20 for parking at the teams own playoffs.
“There were other problems with the Coliseum,” Tucker Girls Coach Robin Potter told AJC. “The locker rooms, the public restrooms. The whole place was in bad shape. You’ve got football playing in the Georgia Dome, the finest facility in Georgia, and basketball’s been playing at a second-rate facility.”
Georgia high school basketball is now looking to make the transition to a couple of Georgia’s most prestigious college campuses for their upcoming postseason play. Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia are both likely to be upcoming sites for postseason play in Georgia high school basketball. The games for the tournament would be split between the McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech and Stegeman Coliseum at UGA. The tournament has not been at UGA since 1941 when games were at old Woodruff Hall.
As of now, the Georgia High School Association is still in the works of putting a deal in place and it could be soon or take months for a deal to be finalized.
In the Game/June 2016/Web only
GHSA
GHSA basketball tourney moving
Written by Aldean Starr
Photo by: Contact Industries
