Peatross (NEO Spotlight) - Long before NEO Spotlight was even a thought, I remember traveling down to Columbus for the 2006 tournament. My hometown Canton McKinley Bulldogs were looking to repeat as Division 1 champs and the Division 3 tournament happened to have this guy named O.J. Mayo who had completely taken over the search history on my family's computer. Fun fact, this was also the weekend where I tried Chipotle for the first time.
Albertson (Triple Double Prospects) - This is a tough one for me but I'd probably go with my first State Tournament which I covered from press row, the 2011 event. Cincinnati LaSalle upset Columbus Northland in the Division I finals, with the Lancers having a group that embodied the definitions of both "grit" and "team". Cincinnati Taft also captured a title, winning the Division III title convincingly, with a squad that might be the best team I've ever seen come out of the city of Cincinnati (most certainly the best CIncinnati Public School team). It wasn't always that easy for my Queen City boys, but seeing our city win two of the four divisions my first year certainly got me hooked on the final four experience.
Stubbs (Around the State Podcast) - Wow, this is a tough question. There are so many that come to mind, but watching my alma mater (St. Clairsville) in 2012 was surreal. Growing up in Belmont County it was a mere dream to make it to Columbus, and the Red Devils turned that dream into a reality in 2012 behind Dan Monteroso.
Goul (cleveland.com) - The night of the 2018 Division I state semifinals is one of my favorite memories covering high school athletics. Early in the evening, Lorain brought the house for its state semifinal against Moeller and played the eventual state champs as close as any team that season. I haven’t seen a community support a team quite like that one. At some point during the day, I found myself debating the merits of Sincere Carry vs. Dane Goodwin for Mr. Basketball with a couple of Columbus-based writers who disagreed with my assertion that Carry should have won the award. After Carry scored 29 points with 11 assists to beat Pickerington Central, Tigers coach Eric Krueger called him the best player he saw all year. I turned back to those reporters with a cold stare.
Roth (Prep Hoops Ohio) - I haven’t been to many state tournament games, but I’d say the Trotwood and Columbus South state title game comes to mind as a favorite memory for me. Both teams played super fast and exciting basketball, lot more enjoyable to watch than a 42-40 game that seems to have become the norm far too often this time of year.
Spegal (270 Hoops) - My favorite final four memory is Jordan Humphrey's game winner for Westerville South against Lima Senior in the state championship. While I was just a kid watching on TV, it was so cool to see the environment and to watch a moment like that.
Fleer (270 Hoops) - Ed Calo and Westerville South getting over the hump and defeating Lima Senior in the 2016 state final. That is still the best game I've covered at the state tournament. Both teams battled hard and left everything on the floor. It was great to see future Big Ten guys Zavier Simpson, Andre Wesson and Kaleb Wesson go at it in a game of that magnitude. However, it was Jordan Humphrey who shined brightest. That's my favorite thing of team sports when a team like that South team has someone new step up every single game. Shows that it's far deeper than just one or two top guys.