Frank Giardina: Unique State basketball memory and a loss at Marshall

Photo courtesy Frank Giardina Burch coach Mike Smith was forced to wear a pair of warm-up pants after splitting his dress pants at the 1996 state tournament.Soon it will be tournament time at the Charleston Civic Center. For years, the yearly run of the WVIAC/MEC tournament, the girls state high school tournament and the boys state high school tournament have produced many memorable memories in our city.

One of the most overlooked memories happened in the boys state tournament in 1996 and involved the Class A Burch Bulldogs.

Under coach Mike Smith, Burch was on a good run in the 90’s. The Bulldogs won state championships in 1989, 1991 and 1993 and were runner-ups in 1994. In the 1995-96…