Now, All Can Play for Title...

Thank you, Chris Burton, for restoring my faith in high school basketball coaches. For a moment, it appeared that playoff-mania had destroyed the credibility of your profession.

Burton, the baby-faced coach at Fullerton, has taken a very adult approach to the Southern Section’s come-one, come-all postseason tournament, which begins next Tuesday with something called the qualifying round.

Burton has made it clear that if his team doesn’t beat league-leading Buena Park tonight or second-place Sunny Hills on Friday, the Indians won’t play in the qualifying round. The choice for his players is simple: Either finish third in the six-team league or turn in their uniforms Monday.

Burton can’t take all the credit for making the right choice. Fullerton’s players voted unanimously to decline the invitation if the team didn’t finish third or higher in the Freeway League. And that’s the way it should be.

Remember when teams had to finish third or better in their leagues to qualify? Remember the excitement generated by two schools battling for third place in the final game of the regular season? Remember the excitement of a student body chanting, “CIF, CIF, CIF” when a school won the game and qualified? Sadly, those days are over.

When section officials adopted the state system by bracketing playoff teams based on enrollment rather than by leagues three years ago, it signaled the end of an era and marked the beginning of a radical change in the criteria for qualifying teams for postseason play.

Gone forever are playoff draws where a division includes 14 teams with 19 or more victories among its 32 teams, such as the 4-A division featured in the 1988 playoffs. Gone are first-round matchups such as Ventura (20-5) versus Beverly Hills (22-3) that season.

Instead, the section is offering its third different format for postseason play in the past three years. And quantity has replaced quality in the new, open-door format.

“I’m a little confused,” Burton said. “What type of message are we sending to our kids by putting 1-19 teams into the playoffs? When do we stop holding our kids accountable? Personally, I feel you earn your way into the playoffs. It’s not something that’s given.

“Where’s the motivation? I hear coaches saying, ‘We’re a young team, and the playoff experience will be good for us in the future.’ But those coaches are only using the system. It becomes a tournament, not a playoff.”

Mayfair, a member of the Suburban League, took advantage of the liberal playoff system last year when it elected to participate in the 3-A playoffs despite an 0-22 record. The division had openings for 32 schools, and only 29 members of the Southern Section met the enrollment requirements.

“Mayfair became the first school in the 77-year history of the CIF Southern Section to participate in an athletic playoff game without winning a game,” said Scott Cathcart, Southern Section publicist.

Worse yet, Mayfair had lost 48 consecutive games when it met St. Bernard in the first round. Predictably, the Monsoons swooned, 90-45. Some reward for a great season.

Now, imagine Mayfair Athletic Director Merlin Driggs trying to explain to members of the school’s football team how the basketball team qualified.

“Our football team was 5-4-1 and missed going to the playoffs because we had an extra-point (kick) blocked,” Driggs said. “We took a lot of flak from people for going to the (basketball) playoffs. Some looked upon it as a farce.”

It is a farce.

Dean Crowley, the section’s associate commissioner, even admits there are some weaknesses in the system.

“We’re going to have some non-quality teams in the qualifying round,” Crowley said. “We won’t jeopardize the stronger teams. We’re going to have strong teams playing weak teams wherever it’s geographically possible.”

Crowley, who is also a member of the Long Beach Basketball Officials Assn., expects some problems for officials working one-sided qualifying round games.

“Some of the qualifying round games will be tougher to officiate that the championship games, and you can quote me on that,” he said.

But Crowley believes the end justifies the means under the new format. Four years ago, the Southern Section produced three state champions under its traditional five-division playoff format. Last year, the section had teams playing in nine of 10 championship games in Oakland.

The new open-door format also means more money for the section. Three years ago, the section netted $132,030 for its share of the playoffs. Two years ago, it netted $183,892 by doubling its number of divisions.

Last year, the net figure grew to $200,746 when the playoffs were opened to nearly anyone who wanted to play. The amount figures to grow again this year with everyone invited. The qualifying round will add another 20 or 30 games, and at $5 for a general admission ticket, the section’s profit should increase between $12,000 and $15,000.

That’s fine. The section can use more money from the playoffs in a period of escalating salaries and budget cuts. But at what cost is the section increasing its revenue? Has a meaningful playoff system been sold out for profits?