Wilson girls' co-coach Jamie Weil has never been to state, as a player or coach. None of the players on this year's team have been to state.

Co-coach Rod Seehafer helps calm her nerves, Weil said, but she admits she's "a little jittery" about this week's Class 1A State Championships in Hays.

Weil said she has already had the "Hoosiers" talk with her players. You know the one. In the movie, Hickory coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) has his players in the big arena. He pulls out a tape measure and has a player check the rim. Yep, 10 feet from the floor, just like back home. The players relax, and laugh.

Starting today and on Wednesday, 16 teams will be in cavernous Gross Memorial Coliseum, which seats almost 7,000 fans. Some teams have been here before; old hands at state and GMC. Then there are others, like this year's Wilson girls, who the only way they have gotten to state in the past would have been to buy a ticket.

That's the beauty and charm of the state tournament. Class 1A will always be the best for me. Small towns from all across the state close up shop and head en masse for Hays, America. Last one leaving town turn out the lights.

I am lucky enough to be covering my 25th Class 1A state tournament this week.

For me, there have been highlights galore at the 1A state tournament. Here are a few, in no certain order:

* The Jackie Stiles years.

Stiles, Claflin's scoring machine, thrilled basketball fans at the season finale from 1994-97. I remember hearing about her during her freshman season, and was anxious to see her in action at state. In the first game, she scored around 30 points, but nothing dazzling. Then came the semifinal against Logan. Stiles was like no other player I had ever seen. She scored 25 points in the third quarter and finished with 53, still the state record.

Claflin didn't win state that year, and didn't in Stiles' other three years. Little River dominated 1A back then. In Stiles' senior year, little girls surrounded her after the opener, clambering for autographs. The Claflin coach begged off, saying Jackie would sign as long as you wanted after Saturday's final game.

Claflin lost in the third-place game to Weskan that year, in front of about 5,000 fans. Wow, 5,000 fans for a 1A girls' third-place game. That's how special a player Jackie Stiles was.

After the game, there sat Jackie at a table, signing autographs while dabbing tears out of her eyes.

The line stretched at last halfway around GMC. But she kept signing.

Jackie Stiles, the best high school player these eyes have ever seen.

* Brewster's triple-overtime win in 2000.

The Bulldogs won state that year, but needed to beat Tribune-Greeley Co. in a thriller in the semifinals. I sat at halfcourt with fellow HDN sportswriter Nick McQueen, watching an epic game. One team would make a miraculous shot, then the other. The wow factor was definitely there. After Brewster finally outlasted the Jackrabbits, I remember the Bulldog coach going to halfcourt and just falling to the floor, kicking his feet in the air in celebration.

* Lonnie Hiebert of Goessel.

There I was sitting at the table watching Hiebert's team play in the late 1980s, wearing my brand-new Kansas City Royals jacket. Sitting next to me was fellow HDN staffer Duane DaPron, who was drinking a big Pepsi.

Well, you can guess what happened. Hiebert went flying over the table for a loose ball, spilling Duane's drink all over my new jacket. The Royals haven't been good since. Call it the Curse of Lonnie Hiebert.

* Tipton's cheerleader.

In 2004, the Tipton Catholic girls made state. The tiny school had just one cheerleader. But there she was, giving her all at state, just like the players on the floor. I remember talking to her for a story. She wasn't nervous, just happy to be there, like everyone else at Tipton.

* My first 1A tourney.

My alma mater, Almena-Northern Valley, won 1A titles on the boys' side in 1990 and 1991 and on the girls' side in 1994.

But in 1986, my first time covering the 1A season finale, there was sixth-seeded Northern Valley in the field.

The Huskies claimed an upset win in the first round, then surprised another team in the semifinals. They did it again in the championship game to win the school's first state title.

I remember writing the glass slipper fit for Cinderella Northern Valley.

Three days from now, two teams will be crowned champions. Could be a favorite, or could be another team finding a glass slipper.

All I know is, the rims are 10 foot high, just like in Hickory, Indiana, and in Wilson, too.

There will be memories of a lifetime this week for players, coaches and fans.

And for me, too.