A look at the all-state process

I noticed some comments posted by readers on our all-state teams that were published this week, and I realized it’s time to explain how players are selected for those teams.

Here’s how it works:

The all-state teams are based on votes by the state’s coaches. We send out ballots to every coach in the state. Most of them return the ballots, but some of them do not. Players are awarded points based on those votes, and the ones with the most receive the highest honors (top six are first team, next six are second team, etc.).

We pick the recipients of the Mr. Basketball and Ms. Basketball awards, as well as the MVPs. I thought our choices for those prestigious awards were the correct ones.

So, with that explained, I’m wondering if our readers think there are improvements that can be made to the process. I realize that sometimes the all-state teams resemble all-tournament teams, and that probably isn’t right. They should be based on how players perform the entire season.

A couple more questions for readers: Are there players out there who were slighted in the voting process this year? And what can we do to ensure that the awards are based on the entire season and not just a couple of weeks at the end of the year?