City Basketball Changes Evoke Mixed Reaction

Taft High boys’ basketball Coach Jim Woodard has a philosophy born of many years of frustration and hand-wringing over changes in the City Section.

It is, in short: Go with the flow.

“I’m not going to worry about what they do because it never makes sense to me, anyway,” Woodard said. “You can only bang your head against the wall for so long.”

Others don’t accept change so readily.

Several area coaches have mixed feelings about a series of changes brought forth Monday that will affect basketball for at least the next two seasons. The biggest modification, which has generated the most discussion, centers on a more equitable distribution of schools in the 3-A and 4-A divisions to bring about better numerical balance in the playoffs.

In the past, only 16 of 50 boys’ teams played in the 4-A Division and all automatically qualified for the playoffs. Under a plan approved by the Interscholastic Athletics Committee on Monday, most conferences will contain one 4-A and one 3-A league and teams will be placed according to their conference records of the previous season. The top two finishers in each league will qualify for the playoffs.

The plan mirrors the formula used for football, under which teams annually are moved back and forth between the 3-A and 4-A based on league records. In basketball, however, the alignment will be held in place for two seasons because of scheduling considerations.

In boys’ play, four of the six City conferences will contain one 4-A and one 3-A league. The teams in the Northern Conference will remain in the 3-A; Coastal Conference teams will remain in the 4-A. All six conferences will be split into 3-A and 4-A leagues in girls’ basketball.

Some area boys’ coaches are not pleased with the plan, particularly those whose teams could move into another division. The City has drawn up non-binding recommendations for each school’s league affiliation, but it will be left to conference coaches and administrators to iron out the final league configurations.

Reseda Coach Jeff Halpern, a member of IAC, said coaches will be responsible for their fate. Tentative scheduling templates were scheduled to be sent to schools this week.

“The City is saying, ‘Here’s the concept, fill in the blanks,’ ” Halpern said.

In the Valley Pac-8 Conference, formerly an all-3-A alignment, North Hollywood and Grant seem certain to be moved into the 4-A. The similarities between the programs end there, Grant Coach Howard Levine said, and therein lies a major problem.

“I’m sure Manual Arts and Crenshaw are licking their chops since they threw Grant in,” Levine said sarcastically. “I have mixed emotions. I’d like everybody to be in the same division, but we don’t all play on an even field.

“We have magnet schools, schools that don’t police their attendance area. . . . Some of us are operating at a distinct disadvantage.”

Levine said the plan might sound good in theory but that it could mean a long season for some schools facing promotion to the 4-A. North Hollywood is the only regional 3-A school that Levine believes can compete at the 4-A level.

“If they promote Sherman Oaks, Grant, North Hollywood and Van Nuys, there are three teams in there that don’t belong,” Levine said. “We’re not even close. Last year, (Grant) didn’t beat any 4-A teams. We’re sacrificial lambs.”

North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller said he not only expected to be placed in the 4-A but welcomes the challenge of playing at that level. Fremont, a longtime power in the 3-A, also is expected to move up.

“No problem, we’re looking forward to it,” Miller said. “We’ve had our success at this level and it’s time to move up.

“For the good of the playoffs, it’s the best move.”

In the Northwest Valley Conference, Chatsworth faces a move from the 3-A to the 4-A. Granada Hills, which finished 3-19, 0-10 in the 4-A North Valley League, could drop to the 3-A West Valley.

“It’s a hard question,” Chatsworth Coach Sandy Greentree said. “The conference is the same, so we play the same teams, basically. Only the playoffs would be different. I really haven’t come to a conclusion on what’s better.”

Woodard, who said he is willing to roll with the punches, said he believes the plan could make an instant 3-A title contender of a bad 4-A team.

“Philosophically, I’m opposed to it because it rewards mediocrity,” Woodard said. “A team that has a bad year gets moved into the easier division. I think, if anything, they should go back to the old way and have one big division.”

Conferences also have been given autonomy with respect to scheduling games. Halpern said he took an informal poll of Northwest Valley Conference coaches and asked whether there was interest in playing more conference games in December. Last season, a majority of games were played in January during intersession break, when students were not on campus.

Halpern, who said he generally received positive feedback from coaches, pointed out that there could be several benefits to starting the conference schedule in early December. For instance, it would eliminate some of the hardship for athletes forced to ride the bus into the Valley for games and practices and save the Los Angeles Unified School District money by paring transportation costs. Players and coaches also would be given a vacation in January before resuming the schedule when school reopened.

Miller was steadfastly opposed to moving the conference schedule because it likely would preclude the possibility of City teams participating in holiday tournaments. North Hollywood plays host to a tournament in late December that features several teams from the Northwest Valley and Valley Pac-8 conferences. North Hollywood also will play in the Simi Valley tournament and the Las Vegas Holiday tournament.

Said Levine, in agreement: “I’m not in favor of anything that cuts total games.”