Violence Should Have No Place in Playoffs

Let’s hope that the high school basketball playoffs, which begin today, are without any of the ugly incidents that have occurred this season. There have been too many cases of unnecessary shoving, punches thrown and benches cleared.

Coaches have become too abusive to officials, and in some cases, to each other.

High school basketball in the Southland is looking more like the game on the collegiate and professional levels, and we are not talking about the caliber of play.

There are numerous examples:

--Last month, assistant boys’ coaches at Santa Ana Mater Dei and Dana Hills got into a fight before a game and had to be separated by campus police at UC Irvine.

--A week later, Dean Bradshaw, boys’ coach at Simi Valley, was suspended for grabbing one of his players and shoving him to the floor during a game against Westlake. Bradshaw is suspended for the season.

--Three weeks ago, players, coaches and fans came onto the court of a boys’ game between Gardena Serra and Santa Monica St. Monica. One parent was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.

--A similar incident took place last Tuesday in a boys’ game between Riverside Poly and Riverside Rubidoux. A fight involving players, coaches and fans broke out in the third quarter, and officials called the game.

--The Long Beach St. Anthony boys’ team had violent incidents at two of its games last week, and Southern Section officials are investigating.

Punishments have been left to the individual schools and leagues and have ranged from suspensions to reprimands. In most cases, however, they have not been tough enough. Sitting out one game for fighting is too easy. How about five games?

Fans who get involved in tussles should be barred from the gymnasium for the rest of the season. Coaches who fight or are thrown out of the games should sit out at least a week.

“You hope high school sports can be different than the rest of our society,” said Mike Vanta, boys’ basketball coach at Riverside Poly. “But I think that may be a little wishful thinking.”

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Three days after his son set a national prep record for most three-point shots in a game, Stan Bickley was not offering any apologies.

“The team wanted Chad to get the state record for three-pointers,” said Bickley, boys’ basketball coach at Santa Maria Valley Christian. “We didn’t really think or imagine anything beyond that.”

Chad Bickley, a 6-foot junior point guard, made 20 of 35 three-point attempts and finished with 89 points in a 130-48 victory over Cuyama Valley at Valley Christian. The 20 three-pointers is a national record, the 89 points a state record. Chad’s previous high was 39 points.

“We only have eight players and they all played,” Stan Bickley said. “We didn’t press on defense and we didn’t try to run up the score. We would have scored that many points whether Chad played the whole game or not. It was never our intention to rub their nose in it.”

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The Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team, which has won three consecutive state titles, enters the Southern Section playoffs this week on a roll. The Ladycats (25-0) have won their last five games by an average margin of 75 points. It started with a 112-23 victory over Anaheim on Feb. 1 and ended with a 110-16 victory over Anaheim Savanna last Thursday.

Coach John Hattrup, who replaced Mark Trakh last summer, said he is not embarrassed by the big margins.

“The sad thing is that most people look at those scores and assume we’re just running up the score,” Hattrup said. “And that’s not at all true.”

Hattrup said all 12 of his players get into most games and the reserves often score more points than the starters. In lopsided games, starters are normally pulled in the second quarter.

Hattrup said his reserves are better than most starters on other teams, a sentiment echoed by opposing coaches.

“I think Brea’s junior varsity team would be a strong contender in our league,” said Lori Giroux, Anaheim’s coach. “Their program is just that good.”

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College recruiters are finally knocking on the door of Sarah Hagman, a senior basketball player at Crescenta Valley.

They are coming to watch the 5-foot-9 guard, who has been setting various three-point shooting records this season. The latest occurred Wednesday, when Hagman made four three-point baskets in a victory over Pasadena. That gave her 115 for the season, breaking the Southern Section record of 112 set by Amee Pina of Chino last year. The state record is 169, set by Danielle Vigilone of Fair Oaks Del Campo in 1992.

Hagman also holds the Southern Section record for most three-point shots in a game with 13 against Arcadia last month.

Prep Notes

The Lakewood boys’ basketball team finished second in the powerful Moore League, but won’t be in the playoffs because it used an ineligible player all season. The Lancers had to forfeit all of their victories. . . . More than 1,000 high school athletes will compete in the Sunkist Invitational track meet Saturday at the Sports Arena, starting at noon. . . .Eleanor Dykstra, girls’ basketball coach at Cerritos Valley Christian, improved to 400-86 last Thursday with a victory over Orange Lutheran. In 23 seasons with the Crusaders, Dykstra has won five Southern Section titles. . . .Kelly Adamson, a forward on the Simi Valley Royal girls’ soccer team, has been selected as an All-American by Parade magazine. . . . A National High School Football Hall of Fame is in the planning stages and is expected to open before the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The hall will be built in Valdosta, Ga., near the Florida border.

Times’ Top 20 Basketball Polls

The Times’ top 20 high school basketball polls, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

BOYS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Mater Dei SS I-A 26-0 1 2. Crenshaw City 4-A 19-2 2 3. Westchester City 4-A 21-3 3 4. Dominguez SS II-A 23-2 4 5. Fontana SS I-AA 24-1 5 6. Inglewood SS II-AA 23-3 6 7. JW North SS II-AA 24-0 7 8. St. John Bosco SS II-A 23-2 9 9. Santa Barbara SS II-AA 25-2 10 10. LB Poly SS I-AA 20-6 13 11. Hart SS I-A 21-1 11 12. Manual Arts City 4-A 18-4 12 13. Los Alamitos SS I-AA 21-4 8 14. Loyola SS I-A 19-5 16 15. Verbum Dei SS IV-A 20-2 14 16. Fairfax City 4-A 18-5 15 17. Glendora SS II-AA 24-2 17 18. S. Ana Valley SS I-AA 23-3 18 19. Lynwood SS I-AA 17-8 20 20. Carson City 4-A 16-5 NR

GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Brea-Olinda SS III-AA 25-0 1 2. Lynwood SS I-AA 25-1 2 3. Alemany SS II-A 23-0 3 4. Buena SS I-A 20-2 4 5. Woodbridge SS II-AA 25-0 5 6. Peninsula SS I-AA 21-3 6 7. Gahr SS II-AA 10-15* 7 8. St. Bernard SS IV-AA 20-5 10 9. Mater Dei SS I-A 20-3 11 10. Ch. Islands SS I-A 22-3 8 11. Bishop Amat SS II-A 22-1 12 12. Cypress SS II-A 23-3 13 13. Carson City 4-A 19-3 9 14. LB Poly SS I-A 20-4 14 15. Valley Chr. SS IV-A 22-2 15 16. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 19-7 16 17. San Bernardino SS II-A 21-4 17 18. Morningside SS III-AA 17-5 18 19. Fontana SS I-AA 20-4 19 20. Newbury Park SS III-AA 21-4 NR

* Indicates 10 losses by forfeit.