Just days after celebrating his 14th birthday in March of 1972, Scott Black attended his first Minnesota boys’ state high school basketball tournament with his dad. As Scott watched the players on teams who “made it to state” playing at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, he dreamed that someday he could play for his high school team—the Columbia Heights Hylanders—in the state tournament. While Scott would go on to play for the Hylanders and serve as co-captain of a team that won the North Suburban Conference in 1976 (Scott also received honorable mention on the all-conference squad that year), the second-seeded Hylanders were upset in the regional semifinal round. But that disappointing loss didn’t stop Scott from attending the boys’ state basketball tournament. In fact, that first tournament in 1972 started a tradition: Scott has attended all but one boys’ state basketball tournament since then, and he’s brought his own son and daughter to the state tourney. Much has changed about this tournament since the early 1970s. The field has expanded from 16 teams to 32. It’s gone from two classes to four. Dunking was not allowed until the mid-1970s. There was no three-point shooting line until the late 1980s. Uniform and shoe styles have changed dramatically over the decades. Venues other than Williams Arena have been used to host tournament games. But what hasn’t changed is Scott’s love for this annual tournament. No matter where the games are played, no matter which teams are playing, no matter what the players’ uniforms or shoes look like, Scott continues to attend the state tourney year after year. In this episode with podcast host Bob Edholm, Scott talks about his decades of dedication to the Minnesota boys’ state high school basketball tourney. You will be impressed by Scott’s wealth of knowledge about the high school teams, coaches, and players he’s watched and followed over the past fifty-plus years.
