Emotions Are Mixed on Changes to Playoffs : High school basketball: New format limits the number of teams that qualify for postseason play.

Faith Baptist High boys’ basketball coach Stuart Mason recalls the sheer madness that accompanied the open-format postseason tournament in which he participated in 1980.

Mason, then a high school senior, played for North Hardin High against Clay County in the Kentucky state final before a frothing capacity crowd at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Everything for miles came to a screeching halt in anticipation of the game, which lived up to its billing when Clay County eked out a one-point victory.

The tournament was open to all comers, and every team in the state, theoretically, had a shot at the title. As Mason waxes nostalgic, he wishes there still was an open playoff format here.

Alas, the Southern Section has moved in the opposite direction.

“I guess that’s why I liked it the old way, when it was wide open,” Mason said. “That (Kentucky final) was quite an experience.”

Last week, the Southern Section council voted overwhelmingly to scale back the all-inclusive playoff format in favor of a “50%” plan, under which half of the teams from a league automatically qualify.

The controversial open-playoff format was instituted four years ago. The format created some monumental first-round mismatches between top-seeded teams and, in at least one instance, a team with no victories at all. The open format was roundly criticized and short-lived.

More than 70% of the high school administrators who responded to a recent section survey were dissatisfied with the open format. The new format takes effect immediately, which left several coaches wondering what the hurry was about.

Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard said his inexperienced team had little chance of doing well in the Mission League, but the Wolverines’ goal was to improve enough to make a good showing in the playoffs. Under the 50% rule, Harvard’s postseason chances are slim.

“We were a little disappointed that they changed the rule in midstream on us,” said Hilliard, whose team is 5-14, 1-7. “It’s really tough to quell the disappointment of the kids. You could see it on their faces.”

Others teams felt the same way. Oxnard, for instance, entered the week 5-10 and last in the Channel League at 1-6.

“Now we’re grasping at straws,” Coach Henry Lobo said. “I’m just sad because we have some good kids who were looking forward to going.”

Nevertheless, Lobo likes the change--although he, too, wishes it could wait a year. “It makes you have to earn it,” Lobo said. “Now, we have to earn it.”

Under the new guidelines, four-team leagues will send two entries to the playoffs, five- and six-team leagues will send three and leagues with seven, eight and nine teams will send four. Teams that don’t qualify through league placement can petition the section for at-large inclusion. Teams must have 10 victories to merit consideration.

Like many, Royal Coach Ira Sollod favors the new format but says it should have been implemented for 1993-94. Royal is 7-11 and tied for fifth in the Marmonte League at 2-5.

Even worse, news of the format change came on the heels of hard-to-stomach losses to Channel Islands (67-66) last week and to Camarillo (57-56) two weeks ago.

Said Sollod: “I think the new (format) is fair. If you’re not in the top half, you probably don’t deserve to go. But I thought they’d wait until next year.”

Some questioned the wisdom of using the 50% format in leagues with divisional imbalances. The section conducts playoffs in 10 divisions based on enrollment, but many leagues contain teams from several divisions.

Last season, four teams from the Delphic League played in section finals. This year, league member Whitney is playing at the Division IV-AA level, Crossroads at IV-A, Buckley, Campbell Hall and Faith Baptist at V-AA, and Brentwood and Bel-Air Prep at V-A.

The scenario is worst for small schools such as Brentwood and Bel-Air Prep. Division V-A has more teams than any other, which means earning an at-large bid through the petition process will be more difficult.

Still, the new format has added zest to league races. Because fewer teams will be eligible for postseason play, the incentive to win has increased considerably for teams on the bubble.

“League play could be much more intense, and I like that,” said Campbell Hall Coach Jon Palarz, whose team reached the Division V-AA final the past two seasons. “Teams can’t sit back and pretend the real season doesn’t begin until the playoffs.”

For example, Campbell Hall this week plays three Delphic games against teams fighting for playoff berths under the revised format: Bel-Air Prep, Buckley and Whitney. Only four of the seven teams in the league get automatic berths, and this trio entered the week occupying the final three places in the standings.

Consequently, stakes are higher for the three than for Campbell Hall, which entered the week 8-8 and in second place at 4-1.

“(The rule change) could work against us in some respects,” Palarz said. “But the key is that the league schedule now matters for something.”

The rule change also means some schools might seek to pad their record by scheduling a few patsies.

“It’s counterproductive to good basketball,” Palarz said. “Obviously, in preseason, you want to win the games, but you also want to play teams that are better than you are. That’s how you improve.”

Staff writers Jeff Fletcher and Vince Kowalick contributed to this story.