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South boys head class academically in Class 4A Not only has the Southern Oregon Conference champion South Medford High boys basketball team been successful on the court this season, the Panthers also excel in the classroom. The second-ranked Panthers have the best Class 4A record in the state, 23-1, going into the state tournament March 5-9 at Portland's Memorial Coliseum. In addition, South Medford has been designated the Dairy Farmers of Oregon Academic All-State top-ranked Class 4A boys team with 3.76 overall grade-point average. "Again, it just tells you the kind of basketball team we have," South Medford coach Dennis Murphy said. "They are smart kids and also good basketball players. With smarter kids, you are able to do more things with them offensively and defensively. They pick things up very quickly." This is the first time the South boys basketball team has received a No. 1 academic ranking. This season's team has the second-best record in school history entering the state tournament. The 1993-94 Panther team was ranked No. 1 in the state with a 22-0 record going into the tournament, then lost to Clackamas in the semifinals and Beaverton in the third-place game to complete the season with a 24-2 record. South's 1990-91 and 1995-96 teams were both 21-1 entering the tournament. The 1995-96 team beat South Eugene for third place at state and finished 24-2. "It's frosting on the cake," said Murphy about this year's squad. "They're a great group of kids. In my 30 years of coaching, I haven't had many like them. They're fun to be around, they're good students and obviously they're good basketball players." There are other local teams on the 2002 winter sports top-10 academic list. In Class 3A boys basketball, Rogue River is ranked third (3.61 GPA), Phoenix is sixth (3.47) and Hidden Valley is tied for seventh (3.46). In Class 4A girls swimming, Ashland and Roseburg tied for fifth at 3.77. In Class 3A boys swimming, Phoenix is tied for third (3.52) and North Valley is tied for ninth (3.31). Phoenix is third (3.68) in 3A girls swimming. North Medford is fifth (3.33) in 4A wrestling and North Valley is sixth (3.28) in Class 3A wrestling. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.