Rating the county gyms

Two days ago, I wrote a blog about how impressed I was with Spiro’s new gym.

I have been to all the county gyms, aside from Talihina and Whitesboro. I decided to rate the gyms and get input about where I was right or wrong. I have heard good things about Talihina’s gym, don’t know anything about Whitesboro’s gym and since I haven’t actually seen them, they will be left out of the ratings.

This will only cover high-school gyms so CASC will not be listed.

1. Spiro—a great gym, no doubt. Spiro has set a standard all other schools should strive to meet. All chairback seats, great lighting, scoreboard in the center of the court and much more. Also can hold more fans than any other gym in the county.

2. Howe—the second-newest gym in the county. Good lighting, plenty of seating.

3. Heavener—this gym is one of my favorites, even though it is now almost 30 years old. Lots of seating, good floor, decent lighting.

4. Poteau—I don’t have fond memories of this gym since we got our tush kicked the only time I played there, but still a good gym. This gym opened the same year as Heavener, the fall of 1980.
5. Wister—another pretty new gym. Wister should be proud of this facility.

6. LeFlore—It has been about 10 years since I last visited LeFlore’s gym, but it was nice back then.

7. Panama—an old gym that has stood the test of time.

8. Pocola—another old one still in decent shape.

9. Arkoma—a good gym for a small school. Will host part of the county tournament this year.

10. Bokoshe—It has been a while since I was there but it is another good gym for a small school.

11. Cameron—The last of the old-time gyms. Wooden bleachers, little room around the court, not a whole lot of parking. But hey, it was built in the 1930s, I imagine. The only school to not build a new gym in the last half century. Banners galore on the walls, looks like it could have been used for the movie "Hoosiers".