FIELDER’S CHOICES: Big games, big numbers, big letters … oh my

Just to recap, basketball season has given us one of the best games in state history, a new career boys scoring leader and a 50-point letter controversy.

And we haven’t even reached the playoffs.

If you weren’t able to make it to Cox Pavilion for the Findlay Prep-Bishop Gorman game, here are some of the highlights.

Unlikely hero Kevin Kaspar hit a game-winning 3-pointer just before time expired in double overtime to give the Pilots an 89-86 win in front of an overflow crowd at that place that usually hosts UNLV women’s hoops and NBA Summer League.

Forget asking how many future college players were on the floor; how about how many potential NBA players?

Don’t know what the price of admission was — I snuck in behind the 7-footer from the early Army/Navy game — but whatever it cost, it was worth it.

Then there is the Jimmer Fredette of Nevada high school basketball ... Lincoln County guard Dantley Walker.

This kid can shoot the lights out, so much that he’s been known to cause power outages. Just kidding. Maybe.

Walker is closing in on 3,000 career points, and might reach 4,000 if he continues to score 60 per game down the stretch.

They’ve been playing basketball in Nevada for a long time. Like the “Witness” T-shirts handed out to the crowd suggest, we’re fortunate to have glimpsed history with Walker breaking every record in sight.

Want a juicy story that has a million angles to dissect? Check out the 50-point letter controversy.

If you haven’t heard, the NIAA sent a letter to coaches saying the coach of any team that won by 50 or more has to submit an “explanation of safeguards that were implemented in that game which should have prevented the point differential.” Yeah; I had to re-read that one, too.

Look, I understand seeing scores like 81-8 or 75-8 (actual scores this year) isn’t ideal for anybody.

But we don’t live in an ideal world. This is sports, and sometimes games get out of hand.

What if a team got up 30 in the first half, called off the dogs and let the other team rally to win? Sure, it’s unlikely, but as a coach, you shouldn’t even be put in that position.

And if a team wins by 49, is that so much better than if it had won by 50?

I could go on forever, but I don’t want to list 50 reasons this rule shouldn’t exist, because then I might have to write a letter to somebody.

I’m curious for your thoughts. Let me know in my comments mailbag, which has been empty for a while.

You’ll hear from me again as the playoffs near. A look into my Spalding crystal ball shows me a lot of fun at the Orleans.