Angelus, Garden Grove League Coaches to Propose New Looks

Basketball times may be changing next season if coaches in the Angelus and Garden Grove leagues have their way.

Angelus League coaches, meeting last week at Mater Dei High School, voted to propose to their principals the addition of a three-point line in league games.

“From what I hear, you’ll be seeing more of it (three-point line) next season,” said Mike Dinneen, St. Paul coach. “It would add a lot of excitement. Everyone was pretty enthusiastic about it. Larry Walker (Servite coach) proposed it. I told him that was funny because I was just about to do the same thing.”

Jim McClune, St. Bernard coach, was the lone dissenting vote.

“I really didn’t see a reason for it,” he said. “I think this is change for change’s sake.”

The Freeway and Sunset leagues used the three-point line this season.

The coaches also voted to propose a one-day league opener for all six teams at Loyola Marymount University. They also proposed that after one rotation of league competition, the second rotation start with all six teams meeting in a one-day competition at UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

Garden Grove League coaches voted against asking for a three-point line but will propose a postseason tournament to their principals.

Jim Perry, La Quinta coach, said the proposals were told to principals last Wednesday and that a formal presentation will be submitted by the end of the month.

The tournament would include all eight league teams--Kennedy and Pacifica join the Garden Grove League at the beginning of the 1987-88 school year--and the final two rounds of the tournament would be in the home gymnasium of the regular-season champion.

“We thought the tournament allowed the best team to make the playoffs,” Perry said. “Sometimes the teams who finish ahead at the end of the year aren’t the best teams. Financially, of course, it would help a lot. I think there would be a lot of interest in something like this.”

If approved, the Garden Grove would become the second Orange County league to have a postseason tournament. The Freeway League had one this season.

Perry said the principals asked what the tournament would do to scheduling, wondering if it would push the start of regular-season league competition to December.

“Everything is very tentative now,” Perry said. “We’ll have the formal proposal to them by the end of February. We expect they’ll decide on it by the end of March.”