Hoop Fest's future ...

Over the next year or two, we're going to find out the answer to a question I've been asking — and fearing to ask — for nearly a decade:

What happens to Marshall County's Hoop Fest when Steve Woodward is no longer around to run it?

The news that Woodward is no longer associated with the event calls into question whether or not the event can sustain its status as one of the nation's top high school basketball events.

Will nationally prominent programs like Oak Hill Academy, Findlay Prep and St. Benedict's keep coming if Woodward isn't running the show? Can Marshall maintain the contacts and goodwill that Woodward has established in high school basketball circles and keep the talent coming to Draffenville?

Already, indications are that some schools committed to the Hoop Fest won't be inclined to visit with Woodward out of the picture. We'll have a better idea when Marshall unveils the final product sometime this spring or summer.

State champs galore: This year's event featured five state champions, two state runners-up and one state final four squad.

The state champs were Marietta Wheeler (Georgia Class 5A), Columbus Northland (Ohio Division I), Memphis White Station (Tennessee Class 3A), Chicago Whitney Young (Illinois Class 4A) and Jackson Callaway (Mississippi Class 4A).

Massac County (Illinois Class 2A) and Jackson Provine (Mississippi Class 5A) were runners-up and Memphis Briarcrest (Tennessee Class 2A private schools) was beaten state semifinals. Duncanville (Texas Class 5A) was beaten by one point by nationally-ranked Cedar Hill in the state quarterfinals.

USA Today hasn't released their final rankings with the national high school tournament scheduled for this weekend, but at the moment there are four teams that played at Hoop Fest in the top 25, including No. 1 Findlay Prep and No. 2 Oak Hill Academy. St. Benedict's is at No. 8 and Northland checks in at No. 16.