Prep Review / Tom Hamilton : Boys’ Basketball Playoffs Have 38 More Teams Than Last Year

A new expanded format for the Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs was unveiled Sunday that includes 38 more teams than last year’s field, first-round byes for many seeded teams and berths for 26 at-large teams.

The playoffs have expanded from six to nine divisions for the 1988-89 season with teams grouped into divisions based solely upon enrollment. Each division features a 32-team bracket with the exception of the 2-AA and 2-A divisions, which are 16-team brackets.

Playoff berths were guaranteed to the top three finishers in each league and then schools with overall records of .500 or better were considered for at-large entries in divisions in which there were openings.

Each division has at least one at-large entry, with the exception of the crowded 3-A, in which Pacifica (14-8), Harvard (13-9), Dos Pueblos (13-10) and Newport Harbor (13-12) did not qualify for the playoffs.

There are so many schools competing in the 3-A division that a wild-card game tonight pitting Yucaipa (9-14) against Norte Vista (13-10) was scheduled to trim the field.

The expanded format benefited members of several leagues. The big winners under the new format include the Moore, Bay and South Coast leagues. All six Moore League teams qualified, and the Bay and South Coast leagues will be represented by five teams each.

Seven at-large teams, including fourth-place Fountain Valley (18-6) of the Sunset League, qualified for the 5-AA division, schools with the largest enrollment in the Southern Section. Four more at-large teams qualified for the 5-A, including El Toro (13-12), Santa Ana Valley (12-11) and Dana Hills (15-13).

In the 4-AA division, Servite (12-10) and Tustin (13-12) qualified as at-large entries. Servite finished tied for third with Bishop Amat in the Angelus League but lost a coin flip and was designated the league’s No. 4 team.

Larry Walker, Servite coach, elected to move up from the 3-A to 4-AA division last month and the move paid off. Servite would not have earned a berth in the 3-A division.

First-round byes also created possible first-round road games for several top teams under the new format. Saddleback (24-1), the top-seeded team in the 5-AA division, drew a bye and will meet the winner of Wednesday’s Chaffey-Palm Springs game on Friday night.

Chaffey (17-6) has been designated the home team against Palm Springs, but if Palm Springs (14-9) should win the game, Saddleback would travel to Palm Springs on Friday night for a second-round game, though it would not be on Palm Springs’ home court.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the top-seeded team in the largest division could be on the road for its first playoff game,” said Pat Quinn, Saddleback coach. “Nobody asked me if I wanted a bye. I would have preferred to play a game if I’m going to be on the road for the second round.”

The same scenario holds true for second-seeded Mater Dei (23-2) in the 5-AA. Mater Dei has a bye and will meet the winner of Wednesday’s Upland-Keppel game. If Keppel (11-11) defeats host Upland (17-9), Mater Dei will be on the road Friday night.

“It beats going to Fresno,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach.

Playoff Problems: Dean Crowley, associate Southern Section commissioner in charge of basketball, admitted that more teams qualified for the 3-A division than anticipated and that he is already addressing the problem of so many byes in the first round.

“We’re looking at splitting the 3-A into two divisions and combining the 2-AA and 2-A into one division,” he said. “I’m sorry there were no openings for the qualifying teams in the 3-A. The upper divisions went pretty smoothly except for the byes.”

Many coaches were unhappy with first-round byes, meaning a full week of practice before opening the playoffs on Friday night.

“At this time of the year, it’s tough to get the kids motivated for a week of practice before you play a game,” McKnight said.

Crowley said he might consider schools with a record under .500 next season in an effort to avoid first-round byes.

“Look at a school like Laguna Beach (2-A) that plays the majority of its games in the preseason against schools that are two or three divisions higher,” he said. “Shouldn’t they be considered?” Laguna Beach finished 10-12.

Crowley pointed out that there will be 89 opening-round games on Wednesday night as opposed to 97 first-round games last year. There will be 64 second-round games compared to 40 second-round games last year.

There were 177 teams in the playoffs last year, and there are 215 teams this year with only two competing in a wild-card game.

Principals from all 57 Orange County public high schools will meet on Wednesday at Foothill High School to present plans for the realignment of the nine county leagues.

The Southern Section allows for league realignment every two years. Any changes adopted will go into effect, beginning the 1990-91 school year.

In the past, Orange County principals have selected a four-member committee, plus a non-voting member appointed by the Southern Section. However, this year they increased the number to nine, plus a non-voting chairman.

Each league will choose one representative for the committee. Foothill Principal Jim Ryan has already been named the chairman of the committee. The rest of the committee will be selected on Wednesday, with each league having one representative.

“All the proposals will be presented then,” Ryan said. “We’ll receive input from principals at the meeting and possibly change some of the proposals. Some proposals that have drastic changes could be reworked then.”

The committee will then meet and select one proposal--either one submitted at the meeting or one of its own. Committee members will then present the plan to the county principals in either late February or early March for discussion and a vote.

Star Quality: It never comes up in casual conversation, so not many people know that Doug Bivens, a member of the Laguna Hills High School soccer team, has famous grandparents.

His grandmother is the late actress Betty Grable, and his grandfather the late Big Band trumpeter Harry James.

“I didn’t really get a chance to meet my grandmother,” said Bivens, 16. “I knew my grandfather. I saw him up until I was 9 or 10.”

Bivens, who moved to Laguna Hills from Severna Park, Md., over the summer, is headed for stardom himself. He has distinguished himself on the soccer field at right halfback with six goals and six assists.

The Hawks (9-3-9 overall, 6-2-7 in league play) started slowly but finished strong in the Pacific Coast League. They went undefeated in their last nine games to finish third.

In Maryland, he played on an all-star team that toured England, Sweden and Scotland.

At Laguna Hills, Bivens was the leading scorer on his junior varsity team, and moved up to the varsity in midseason.

“I was really glad Doug moved out here,” Coach Scott Johnson said. “He is a junior and he is going to help us a lot next year. He plays both sides of the ball, can push it up pretty wisely on offense but will also cover back and help us defensively. I think he does both of those equally well and we have gotten good production out of him.”

Prep Notes

Former Servite football Coach Leo Hand has been named varsity football coach at Serra High in Gardena. . . . Dana Coleman, Savanna football coach, has resigned and the school is accepting applications for a replacement.