One of my all-time favorite singers/musicians was Roger Miller who was a constant on the pop charts in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He had a hit song titled “I’VE BEEN A LONG TIME LEAVIN’” that included the line, “I’ll be a long time gone.” All of that leads us to the Larned Indians boys’ basketball team who makes their first appearance Thursday in a State Tournament since 1994 . Little did we know at the time that they would be “A long time gone.”
Larned’s first-round opponent is Perry-LeCompton. Twenty five years ago it was Louisburg in the 4A Finals at Salina. Larned actually was making their second consecutive State Tournament appearance as they had also made the final eight in 1993, both years under coach Kevin Abbott.
Over the past 25 years there have been numerous Sub-State final game appearances that could have propelled the Indians into the “Big Dance” but somehow, some way, it never happened. This year a hair-raising comeback against Hugoton has Larned in the final eight for the first time in a quarter of a century.
In the history of Kansas High School basketball championships the Larned boys have now made 12 appearances. Coming into this 2018 tournament the Indians have compiled an 8-11 record with one state championship in 1950. They made two other appearances in the trophy game but came up short and settled for the second-place plaque. That was in 1965 when they lost the title game to Chapman 55-52 and 1968 when Wamego edged by them, 60-55.
Other State Championship appearances for Larned were in 1976 and 1955 and way back there in 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1920. Those four early appearances do not show in some record books.
The 2019 edition of Larned boys basketball has been involved in a lot of close finishes. Their 17-6 record includes 11 games in which the final margin was 6 points or less. That could make a difference in tournament play when close games are the norm. Either way it is good to see Coach Jerrod Smith’s Larned team back to the State Tournament once again.
They were “A LONG TIME GONE.”
As State Tournament play dribbled into action this week we would be remiss if we didn’t take time to recognize the Central Prairie League as one of the premier basketball conferences in the state of Kansas. In girls action Central Plains dominates and is a favorite to win another title in 1A action.
How ‘bout those boys? The CPL is represented by four of their member teams involved in state tournament action. Ness City, at 19-4, took on Lawrence Seabury while in 1A action at Dodge City the CPL has cast a huge shadow. Macksville, St.John and undefeated Central Plains make up a significant portion of the field.
It is too bad that the seedings placed Macksville against Central Plains in first-round action. The feeling is that all three of the CPL teams were capable of running deep into the bracket. As it stands, two league rivals, Central Plains and St.John could meet, once again this year, for all of the marbles. It has happened before. In 2015, St.John edged by Central Plains 49-44 to win the championship.
The Central Plains League. Outstanding basketball!
Buddy Tabler is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.
