By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches announced Thursday that a new basketball will be used in the playoffs starting next season.
Playoff teams will be using the Spalding TF-1000 Legacy ball, a change from the Spalding TF-1000 Platinum that has been the official ball of the University Interscholastic League since July 2017. It is unclear whether the Legacy will be used for the entire postseason or just for the state tournament, because the TABC announcement stated “the TF-1000 Legacy will be the official ball of the UIL playoffs effective for the 2020-21 season.”
East Valley coaches don’t think the change is a very big deal, but some coaches from other parts of the state expressed their unhappiness with the decision on social media.
San Perlita boys coach Nataniel Garza said this is the third time the UIL playoff basketball has changed through his time with the Trojans, from the Baden Elite to the Spalding Platinum and now to the Spalding Legacy, and each time his players have adjusted well. He doesn’t think the change will have much of an impact even though his team has no experience with the Legacy, but he said they’ll start to use it in preparation for a long playoff run.
“We have adapted well to any ball we have needed to use for either road games or playoff games,” Garza said. “The ball that we use the most is the Wilson Evolution ball, (but) we will start using the Spalding Legacy ball for our home games and practices. I know for my players, they really do not care what ball we play with. They just want to play basketball.
“It is not so much about adjusting for the differences but for the expectations that our program has. It is our goal every year to reach the state tournament, and if the state tournament is using the Legacy ball then we need to start implementing that into our program.”
Brownsville Veterans Memorial girls coach Arnold Torres Jr. shared similar sentiments. He said the UIL usually chooses the ball for the state tournament but he hasn’t dealt with anyone determining a specific ball to be used throughout the playoffs. The TABC could not be reached for comment to clarify on when the Legacy will be mandatory to use.
Torres said the Lady Chargers used a Wilson Evolution ball in the first round of the 2020 playoffs but played with a Baden ball in the second round. Brownsville Veterans and the rest of District 32-5A have been playing with the Evolution, so Torres knows adjustments will be needed.
“Since our program has used the Wilson Evolution consistently during the past few years, we will definitely have to order some Spalding for the upcoming year to give our kids an opportunity to become familiar with them,” Torres said. “I don’t think the change in ball will have much of an impact, although most girls really enjoy the feel of the Wilson Evolution. The biggest adjustments most girls need to make will be to get comfortable with the feel of the ball.”
The TABC did receive some critical comments to a tweet announcing the decision. Boys coach Casey Devers from Friendswood in the greater-Houston area and girls coach Michael Huxen from Santo High School west of Fort Worth called the Legacy “such a bad basketball” and said the decision was “absolutely terrible” via Twitter.
Girls coach Aaron Marks of Canadian High School in the Panhandle and boys coach Drew Flowers from Fruitvale High School in East Texas also expressed their dislike on the social media website, and Flowers cited poor grip as a reason he’s not a fan of the Spalding brand that the UIL uses as its official basketball.