Greetings HS hoops junkies from across the cold again Piedmont! The Sadster is here to recap the 2026 Ring Round and congratulate the champions. This year’s title tilts were typically exciting and delivered a surprise or two. The Great One finished a lackluster campaign with a 6-2 mark in the title games, ending his 2026 record to 266-86, or just under 76%. His upset picks went 8-13 and his best region was the 5A West as he went 22-1 and the 5A was his best class as he posted a 42-5 mark. This was the year of the upsets and The Sad One was under his usual 80+% marks. Championship week started off with West Charlotte taking their first lead against Hoggard with less than a second left giving the Lions the 8A title, and the Furious 5 title as well since Mooresville dropped a close one to Southern Durham in the 7A finale. Northern Nash needed OT to end Kings Mountain’s Cinderella dreams in the 6A Ring Round. Hats off to the Mountaineers for their magical playoff run, falling one point short of the banner. In the 5A final, Hunter Huss rolled to a win, flipping the scoreboard on Fike. Salisbury ended Reidsville’s run with a 14 point decision in the 4A final. The slipper didn’t fit for Walkertown either as Kinston rolled to a 28 point win in 3A. The 2A saw Queens Grant obtain redemption for last year’s title game debacle, rolling past Warren County. Finally, the 1A title went to Vance Charter as the clock also struck midnight on Thomas Jefferson. The 25-26 campaign has come to an end and brought us many memories including three Cinderellas in the finals although none of them took banners home. We now move on to travel ball and good times at the many Phenom Hoop events in the region. It’s now time for The Sadster to bid everyone farewell for another season. He will be “on the streets” at many events in the region this spring and summer and looks forward to mingling with coaches and players. Make sure to check out his Meck Power 6 All-conference teams and yearly superlatives article. He will now give his customary parting statement which gives an official end to the season. “May all of your long putts fall in the leather”. See everyone this summer.