ORDER ON THE COURT : Southern Section Considering Plans to Restructure Basketball Playoffs

Though a single vote has yet to be cast, Thursday’s meeting of the Southern Section General Council guarantees far-reaching alterations in the structure and perhaps focus of Southern Section basketball.

The council, comprising one representative from each of the 62 Southern Section leagues, meets every two years to discuss new alignments of leagues and teams in various sports. This year’s meeting will vote on recommended playoff groupings in 20 of the Southern Section’s 24 sports for the 1988-1990 cycle. Among the proposals are minor changes, such as replacing the names of Southern Section football conferences with numbered divisions (Big Five becomes Division I).

There are proposed reorganizations in softball and boys’ soccer, but no sport has the potential to change more Thursday than boys’ and girls’ basketball.

There are two proposals dealing with the sport, called A and B, and each would change the playoff structure significantly. League representatives will be asked to vote for one or the other.

In boys’ basketball, Proposal A would reshuffle leagues into new divisions. Most affected would be the large-school 5-A, which would add five leagues (Bay, Channel, Marmonte, Pacific, South Coast).

The domino effect of the move would change the structure of other divisions. It also would even divisions 1-A through 5-A with 10 leagues apiece. In the past, the five-league 5-A has played only a 16-team tournament for its championship, contrasted with 32-team tournaments for all other divisions.

On the girls’ side, a 10-league 5-A, comprising leagues from the 4-A and 3-A, would be created. That would cause massive changes in other divisions--eight new leagues into the 4-A, seven into the 3-A and seven into the 2-A.

The suggested moves come from the seven-person Southern Section playoff grouping committee, headed by Trabuco Hills principal William Brand. In the past--as well as under this proposal--the Southern Section has restructured its playoff groupings by trying to gauge the strength of leagues, taking into account nonleague won-lost records and strength of schedules.

As Brand conceded, it is less than an exact science. There have been instances in which whole leagues have been moved up to accommodate one strong program.

The Orange League moved from the 2-A to the 3-A in girls’ basketball four years ago because of the success of the Brea-Olinda program, which made it to two straight 2-A title games. Since that move, only one other Orange League team, Valencia, has advanced past the first round of the 3-A playoffs.

“There just doesn’t seem to be any method to what they do,” Mark Trakh, Brea coach, said. “No thought. It drives you crazy.”

That is a sentiment shared by many coaches affected by Proposal A. Tim Travers, El Toro boys’ basketball coach, expressed displeasure at the thought of competing against Angelus and Moore league schools, which have open enrollments.

“Is this supposed to be our reward for doing a good job?” he said. “I don’t like it. I can’t imagine any of the leagues that are being moved will be in favor of it.”

Jake Marty, girls’ basketball coach at Orange Lutheran, is not pleased that the Olympic League, in which his team competes, would be moved up to the 2-A. The Olympic League average enrollment is a little fewer than 500. In the 2-A, Olympic League schools would be matched against the likes of the Desert Valley, with an average enrollment 1,601, and the Pacific Coast League (1,266).

“How could anyone think that was fair?” he said. “There’s got to be a better way.”

Many think there is in Proposal B. It has been called radical by some, including Dean Crowley, a Southern Section administrator. Proposal B would put the Southern Section playoffs in accordance with the state tournament. At present, the Southern Section, the California Interscholastic Federation’s largest section, is the only one that does not conduct its playoffs according to state guidelines.

Schools that qualified for the playoffs by placing in the top three in their leagues would be placed in the divisional playoffs that coincided with their enrollment. So it would be possible for a league’s three teams to go to three different divisional playoffs.

Division I, which would be divided into 5-AA and 5-A, would include schools with enrollments of 2,400 or more (5-AA) and 2,000 to 2,399 (5-A). Division II would be schools with enrollments of 1,750 to 1,999 (4-AA) and 1,500 to 1,749 (4-A).

Division III would include schools with enrollments of 1,000 to 1,499 (3-A); Division IV, 750 to 999 (2-AA) and 400 to 749 (2-A), and Division V, 150 to 399 (1-A) and up to 149 (Small Schools).

The Southern Section would base its enrollment figures on the attendance figures schools turn in to the state for funding allocations. All-boy and all-girl schools would automatically have their enrollments doubled.

The proposal comes on the heels of a poor showing by the Southern Section at the state tournament. The Southern Section, which has allowed only teams that reach divisional championship games to compete in the state tournament, placed just 23 teams in the state tournament last season.

Contrast that with 27 placed by the much smaller San Diego Section--72 schools to the Southern Section’s 479.

Under Proposal B, 36 teams from the Southern Section would qualify for the state tournament. And supporters of the proposal think those teams will better represent the section because they will be playing against schools of their own size.

Unlike the other sections, the Southern Section divisions have been based on the abstract notion of strength. For instance, Brea-Olinda’s girls’ team, which had been moved up to 3-A because it was successful in the 2-A, competed against teams sometimes nearly twice its size in the Southern Section playoffs.

Brea (estimated enrollment 1,350) lost to Los Altos (estimated enrollment 2,000) in last season’s semifinals and therefore was not eligible for the state tournament. Had it qualified, Brea would still have had to compete in Division II against larger schools.

Under Proposal B, Brea would be been placed in Division III from the start of the playoffs, so it would play against much smaller schools (1,000-1,499) from the beginning and thus have a better shot at making the state tournament.

“We had a lot of quality teams not make the state tournament last season because they were playing up against schools much bigger,” Crowley said. “We cheated ourselves.”

Said Kendall Webb, San Diego Section Commissioner: “The reason we had the opportunities last season was because a good number of Southern Section teams couldn’t qualify under their system. They left a lot of schools at home. That won’t happen again if they pass this (Proposal B).”

And its chance for passage seems good. A Times poll of league representatives had Proposal B winning by a 2-1 margin. But that doesn’t mean there are not concerns with B.

Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach, worries that the Southern Section “is catering to the state tournament too much.”

McKnight, who has won five Southern Section championships and one state championship at Mater Dei, believes that the Southern Section’s enormous size makes its championship the goal most schools shoot for.

“The state tournament is anticlimactic,” he said.

But Crowley and others see Proposal B as possibly changing the focus.

“I’d think people are going to start thinking of the state title first,” he said. “Why not? We’re part of a state organization. I think we should go for it.”

Others worry that by basing playoff participation on straight enrollment, private schools with small but strong programs would be at a big advantage. Schools such as Servite and Verbum Dei, each boys only, compete at the large-school level with success. Verbum Dei, with an enrollment of fewer than 500, won five large-school Southern Section championships in the 1970s.

But with their present enrollments, Servite and Verbum Dei could compete in lower divisions.

Brand said those schools will be offered the freedom to move up in competition in January.

“We would hope and we think that those schools will do the right thing and move up to where they belong,” Brand said.

Athletic officials at Servite and Verbum Dei said they would move up if Proposal B passed.

“What do we have to gain by staying down?” said John Walker, Servite co-coach last season. “We want to play the best, like we always have. I would think all other schools in our position would do the same. . . . I hope.”

Another concern deals with overload and underload. Enrollment playoff brackets mean that the number of teams in a bracket will not be known until all league races are decided. So there are bound to be cases of 32-team brackets with 40 teams, or 32-team brackets with 26 teams.

Crowley said that in the case of overload, wild-card games will be played between the third-place teams. If not enough teams qualify for the playoffs in a particular enrollment bracket, at-large teams will fill in. Fourth-place teams with overall records above .500 will be considered first, he said.

That has Bill Shannon, Woodbridge boys’ coach, concerned that teams will load up on wins in the preseason against weak talent.

“A person that goes out of his way to schedule tough opponents may not end up getting in the playoffs,” he said. “You’ll have people running around trying to play lower-level competition.”

That remains to be seen, along with which face the basketball playoffs will wear next season.

HOW THE LEAGUES ARE VOTING

There are two proposals for grouping Southern Section schools in the basketball playoffs beginning next season. Proposal A: Schools would be grouped in the traditional divisions ranging from the small schools to 5-A levels, although 10 leagues would move up a division. Proposal B: The top three finishers in each league would be placed in divisions based solely on enrollment, and each divisional champion would be guaranteed an entry into the state championships. A Times survey found that 30 leagues favored Proposal B and 15 favored Proposal A, and the remaining leagues either were undecided or did not intend to attend the meeting. A majority vote at a general council meeting on Thursday will carry the measure for the next two seasons.

League Vote Academy Proposal B Alpha Undecided Angelus Undecided Baseline Proposal A Bay Proposal B Camino Real Proposal B Century Undecided Channel Proposal B Christian Proposal B Citrus Belt Undecided Collegiate Proposal B Condor Proposal B De Anza Proposal B Delphic Proposal B Del Rey Undecided Desert Inyo Proposal B Desert Valleys Undecided Empire Proposal B Express Proposal B Foothill Proposal A Freeway Undecided Frontier Undecided Garden Grove Proposal A Golden Undecided Hacienda Proposal A Heritage Proposal B Hi-Lo Proposal A Horizon Undecided Ivy Proposal B Liberty Proposal B Los Padres Undecided Marmonte Proposal B Mission Valley Proposal A Montview Proposal B Moore Undecided Northern Proposal A Ocean Olympic Proposal B Orange Proposal A Pacific Proposal B Pacific Coast Proposal A Pioneer Proposal A Prep Proposal A Rio Hondo Proposal B San Andreas Undecided SF Valley Proposal B SG Valley Undecided Santa Fe Proposal B Sea View Proposal B Sierra Proposal A South Coast Proposal B Suburban Undecided Sunkist Proposal A Sunrise Sunset Proposal B Sunshine Proposal A Tri-County Proposal B Tri-Valley Proposal A Valle Vista Proposal B Victory Proposal B Westside Proposal B Whitmont Undecided

League Comment Academy Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 200 students. Alpha Angelus Baseline Fear 50 teams might be grouped in one division under Proposal B. Bay Want an option of playing in a higher division. Camino Real Want an option of playing in a higher division. Century Won’t meet until today. Channel Can’t compete in 5-A division under Proposal A. Christian Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 150 students. Citrus Belt Won’t meet until today. Collegiate Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 200 students. Condor Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 200 students. De Anza A better plan for smaller schools. Delphic Possibility of more schools qualifying for playoffs. Del Rey Desert Inyo Favor playoff grouping by enrollment. Schools range from 200 to 800 students Desert Valleys Won’t meet until today. Empire Need to comply with state playoff groupings. Express Favor grouping based on enrollment with an average of 100 students. Foothill Grouping should be based on competitiveness of league, not enrollment. Freeway Won’t meet until today. Frontier Won’t meet until today but leaning toward Proposal B. Garden Grove Feel remaining in the 3-A division is a fair level. Golden Hacienda Too many discrepancies involved in basing groupings solely on enrollment. Heritage Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 100 students Hi-Lo Favor status quo despite an enrollment average of 50 students. Horizon Ivy Elevated from the 3-A to 4-A division under Proposal A. Liberty Important to be in harmony with the state playoffs. Los Padres Marmonte Elevated from 4-A to 5-A division under Proposal A. Mission Valley Favor status quo of remaining in the 2-A division. Montview Need to get most qualified teams to the state tournament. Moore Won’t meet until today. Northern Favor status quo of remaining in the 2-A division. Ocean Did not respond. Olympic Girls elevated from 1-A to 2-A division under Proposal A. Orange Concerned with basing groupings solely on enrollment. Pacific Elevated from 4-A to 5-A division under Proposal A. Pacific Coast Favor status quo of remaining in the 2-A division. Pioneer League won’t exist after this season. Prep Favor status quo of remaining in the 1-A division. Rio Hondo Proposal B is more compatible for its league members. San Andreas SF Valley Favor grouping by size with dwindling enrollment among league members. SG Valley Won’t meet until today. Santa Fe Favor grouping by size with dwindling enrollment among league members. Sea View Will seek stipulations for all-boys and all-girls schools. Sierra Proposal B considers only school size. South Coast Elevated from 4-A to 5-A division under Proposal A. Suburban Sunkist Proposal B makes the Southern Section playoffs anticlimactic. Sunrise Does not plan to attend meeting. Sunset Fair for all league members in state competition. Sunshine Favor status quo of remaining in the 1-A division. Tri-County Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 250 students. Tri-Valley Favor status quo of remaining in the 1-A division. Valle Vista Discrepancy in size of league’s schools. Victory Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 70 students. Westside Favor grouping based on enrollment. League average is 75 students. Whitmont Won’t meet until today.