PREP REVIEW : Section Chief Cries Foul Over Changes at Free Throw Line

More news from the never-ending world of high school basketball:

Last week, the Basketball Rules Committee of the National Federation of State High School Assns. approved several new rules at its annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo.

The new rules would:

* Combine personal and technical fouls for disqualification.

* Eliminate the one-and-one free throw bonus. Each foul after the bonus would be two shots instead of a one-and-one.

* Change the bonus to begin with the seventh team foul of the half, instead of the fifth.

* Combine personal and technical fouls to reach the bonus.

* Change the intentional foul rules to three-to-make-two free throws and eliminate a possible four-point play with an ensuing throw-in.

The Southern Section, like all state federations, has the option of employing the new rules. They are not mandatory.

Reaction from Stan Thomas, the Southern Section Commissioner, was swift. “What, are we going pro now?” Thomas said. “It sounds a little dramatic.”

The section has not met to discuss the rule changes, Thomas said. “It is something that our schools will have to take under consideration.”

The last major rule change nationally was the adoption of the three-point basket three years ago.

Cable viewing tip: ESPN will show the Indiana state boys’ basketball championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on a tape-delayed basis.

Playing before 41,046 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis last week, Damon Bailey, bound for Indiana in the fall, led Bedford North Lawrence High past Elkhart Concord, 63-60.

Quote of the week: “If we do wind up ranked No. 1, you won’t find me reading about it. What does it mean? One day you’re up and the next day you’re a dog,” said Brian Rofer, coach of Edison’s third-ranked volleyball team after the Chargers upset top-ranked Huntington Beach Wednesday.

Add quotes: The early leader in the annual Mal-O-Preps quote of the year award courtesy of Richard Smith, Servite basketball coach.

“You have to be careful on defense,” Smith told the Friars before the Southern Section 3-AA championship game against Estancia, “because these guys run a Heckle-and-Hyde offense.”

All in the family: The boys’ tennis team at La Quinta won two more Garden Grove League matches last week. Nothing new about that.

The Aztecs are 8-4 overall, 5-0 in league this season, continuing a 21-year dominance that spans two generations of the Smith family.

Bruce Smith coached La Quinta from 1969 until his death in 1984, leading the Aztecs to an amazing 399-match winning streak in league play during one stretch.

Dave Smith took over after his father’s death and has kept the tradition going.

At week’s end, La Quinta’s 21-year record in Garden Grove League play was 734-9.

Swimming to watch: The Southern Section girls’ relays will be held this week at the Belmont Plaza pool in Long Beach.

Preliminaries will be held on Tuesday and Thursday at 3 p.m., and the finals will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. The meet is composed of relay events; there are no individual races.

Capistrano Valley, Foothill, Los Alamitos and Mission Viejo are among the favorites contending for the title.

Add swimming: The El Toro and Mission Viejo boys’ teams meet in a battle of South Coast League powers at 3 p.m. Thursday at El Toro.

El Toro won the recent Southern Section relays meet. Mission Viejo is a heavy favorite to win its 15th boys’ 4-A title in the last 16 years.

However, Mission Viejo Coach Mike Pelton has said that winning the league championship may prove to be as difficult as winning the section title.

Pelton knows what he’s talking about. In Thursday’s meet against Capistrano Valley, the Diablos were beaten, 79-77.

Add showdowns: Garden Grove’s softball team, third-ranked in Orange County, plays host to fifth-ranked Kennedy in a Garden Grove League game at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Garden Grove is 13-2 overall, 4-0 in league; Kennedy is 9-1, 4-0.

The game will also feature two of the county’s top pitchers.

Stephanie Smith (13-2) has thrown four no-hitters, including a 3-0 victory over Bolsa Grande Tuesday. She took a perfect game into the seventh inning, but two fielding errors ruined it.

Smith has made an oral commitment to attend New Mexico in the fall.

Cheryl Longeway is 7-1, losing only to top-ranked Mater Dei.

Last year, Kennedy edged Garden Grove for the league championship. Garden Grove went to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs, and Kennedy advanced to the 4-A semifinals.

The Orange County Boys’ Volleyball Top 10 is beginning to look like the weekly Sunset League standings. Four Sunset League teams are ranked: Huntington Beach (No. 1), Edison (No. 3), Marina (No. 6) and Ocean View (No. 8).

The rankings are expected to change this week, after Edison upset Huntington Beach, 16-14, 15-8, 12-15, 15-9, Wednesday.

The South Coast League has three teams in the top 10: El Toro (No. 4), Capistrano Valley (No. 7) and Dana Hills (No. 10).

Add volleyball: Sunset League teams aren’t the only ones off to strong starts. La Quinta is 6-1 overall, 5-0 in the Garden Grove League and Esperanza is 9-0 overall, 1-0 in the Empire League.

Prep Notes

Forward Charlie Andres and guard David Boyle of Mater Dei, guard Travis Boyd of Marina, forward Jim Gwaltney of Ocean View and guard Greg Gottlieb of El Modena have been invited to play in the Pump Discovery all-star basketball game on Saturday at Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys. The game features 72 of the top high school seniors who have not been signed to college scholarships. . . . Steve Thobe and Teri Maruyama, basketball players at Edison, were named the winners of the Harry W. Montague Basketball Memorial Award and Scholarship. Thobe and Maruyama, both seniors, each won $400 scholarships.