PREP NOTES

The Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs will begin Tuesday without at least one entrant--Anaheim High School.

Anaheim Coach Conrad Byars said he plans to keep the Colonists (4-19, 1-8 in league play) out of the Division I-A playoffs because he thinks they couldn’t compete.

Last season, the Southern Section tournament adopted an open format, with all teams allowed to compete. In the past, teams had to finish in the top three in their league to qualify for the playoffs.

“The players and I decided before the season started that we had to be in the top three in our league or have a winning league record to go to the playoffs,” Byars said. “We’re trying to take this program to a new level, and I don’t think we should be rewarded for a 4-18 record.

“I have a hard time with teams with four or five wins going to the playoffs, and the players agree with me.”

Byars said the Colonists, who play in the Orange League, aren’t on the same level as Division I-A teams such as Mater Dei, Irvine and Edison.

Although most of the Orange League schools compete in divisions II-A and III-AA, Anaheim’s enrollment (2,041) elevates it to I-A, the second-largest enrollment division.

The Southern Section allows coaches to decide whether their teams enter the playoffs, which Byars said is unfair.

“The Southern Section puts all the pressure on the coaches, and that’s wrong,” he said. “Either they need to create more criteria to qualify for the tournament, or they should require everyone to go.”