Monroe on Offensive in Wake of Playoff Snub

Even though the City Section has rejected a plea by Monroe High to grant the boys’ basketball team a berth in the playoffs, school administrators, players and parents are not giving up the fight.

The Vikings, whose 16-6 overall record is the best in the Valley Pac-8 Conference, were left out of last Saturday’s City 4-A Division seedings because the selection committee decided three Southeastern Conference teams were better.

Monroe Principal Joan Elam wonders if the selection committee took into consideration the fact that the Vikings had to play all of their games on the road because of damage to their gymnasium from last year’s Jan. 17 earthquake. She is heading an 11th-hour effort to get the team in the playoffs.

Barbara Fiege, section commissioner, has said there is no chance.

“Hope springs eternal,” said Elam, who has contacted three district officials, including Fiege.

“Everything was done fairly,” Fiege said. “It was a good seed.”

Elam said she is not satisfied with the seven-member selection committee’s decision and will appeal to other principals.

“I’m not finished, but I’m looking for another direction,” Elam said.

The committee, which included Monroe Athletic Director Linda Gayton, took five teams from the Southeastern Conference and five from the Valley Pac-8: Grant, North Hollywood, Poly, Van Nuys and Canoga Park.

Monroe had better overall and league records than Van Nuys (9-13), Poly (12-9) and Canoga Park (11-10) and a better overall mark than North Hollywood (14-9).

But Monroe and North Hollywood play in the 4-A Division and are restricted to the 4-A Division for the playoffs. Van Nuys and Canoga Park, compete in the 3-A Division, and can play only in the 3-A playoffs.

The Southeastern Conference, was given approval by the City not to designate divisions for its teams during the regular season, Fiege said. Therefore, the Southeastern’s teams weren’t restricted to the 4-A or 3-A brackets in the playoffs and the committee had more freedom in seeding them.

These circumstances were unknown to Monroe Coach Paul Graber and at least one playoff committee member until the seeding meeting.

Southeastern Conference members Fremont (25-3), Locke (17-6) and Jordan (19-5) were placed in the 4-A playoffs. Garfield (11-12) and Huntington Park (10-12) were placed in the 3-A playoffs.

The final berth in the 16-team 4-A bracket came down to Jordan, a third-place team, and Monroe, which tied North Hollywood for second in the conference at 6-3. But because North Hollywood was 4-2 and Monroe 3-3 in East Valley League play, Monroe was considered the third-best team from the Valley Pac-8.

The seeding committee chose Jordan and snubbed the Vikings, who haven’t played a home game since the Northridge earthquake.

Graber said the seeding committee’s decision is unacceptable.

“I don’t want to rip anybody, but I’m terribly disappointed in the method of selecting the teams,” he said. “I’m not satisfied. We should be in.”

Elam said she will argue for uniform rules for all City conferences in the future.

Fiege said she has spoken to nearly 15 Monroe callers since the pairings were made Saturday, including a police officer “who cares about the students in the area.”

Monroe senior guard Quincy Brooks said the players and parents will continue their protest until Friday, when the playoffs begin.

“We’ve been cheated out,” he said. “We’re trying to get something done.”

Forward Bobby Reed said he spoke to Fiege over the weekend but was told what’s done is done.

“She said there was no way we would get to the playoffs--no way,” Reed said. “I said I don’t understand.”

Initially, Graber believed Monroe was snubbed because of his decision to start five reserves last Friday because the starters missed practice the day before. But Gayton told the Vikings’ fourth-year coach the incident was not discussed by the playoff committee.

Reed said the players were tired and decided not to attend Thursday’s light workout. Now he has regrets.

“This is Coach Graber’s last year, probably,” said Reed, a senior playing his first year on the varsity. “We worked hard all season long, we were on the road 22 games. Every day we practiced at Holmes Junior High. And 16-6? Tell me what team in the Valley would do the same thing we did. I don’t see any team.

“All I’m asking for is one chance--just one chance. I never played a playoff game.”