Burgeoning ‘Free Agency’ Gets a Mixed Review

It’s often referred to as high school free agency, athletes moving between schools that best suit their extracurricular agenda.

A growing number of student-athletes in the Southland are taking their show on the road, stopping at the school that offers the best opportunities for playing time, exposure and winning a title.

No sport has been affected more than basketball, a game in which the addition of one or two players can have an immediate impact.

At the state basketball tournament finals last weekend in Sacramento, free agency abounded.

The Cerritos Valley Christian girls were making their second consecutive appearance in the Division IV title game, but this year’s team featured two newcomers in junior guard Monique Toney and senior forward Kiyoko Miller. Toney transferred from Anaheim Esperanza and Miller from Brea Olinda.

Miller, who has accepted a scholarship to USC, led Valley Christian in scoring this season, averaging 21 points.Toney was the third-leading scorer, averaging 13 points. The Crusaders were 31-0 before losing to Moraga Campolindo in the final on Friday.

In three years at Brea Olinda, Miller was a prominent member of three Southern Section and two state championship teams. She transferred to Valley Christian through open enrollment over the summer. The Crusaders have won seven consecutive league titles and six Southern Section championships in the last seven years.

Miller, 5 feet 9, played most of every game, seldom leaving the court in the postseason. Her presence helped the school to its finest season, but it also denied playing time to girls who had been on the team for a couple of years.

When asked about the switch in allegiance, Miller refused to give an explanation.

“I don’t want to answer that,” she told a group of reporters after the state championship game. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

Open enrollment, which was implemented in the fall of 1994 and allows students easier movement between schools without relocating, has increased athletic transfers.

Valley Christian Coach Eleanor Dykstra, who just completed her 23rd season, said initially she opposed open enrollment.

“But I understand another side of education now,” she said. “Kiyoko and Monique didn’t come here to play basketball, they came for academic reasons. I accepted them on the team because they are special kids who blended in well with everybody else.”

Dykstra acknowledged that interest in her team was at an all-time high this season, with record-sized crowds.

Valley Christian is not alone in accepting transfer student-athletes.

At Compton Dominguez, seniors Frank Cressey and Rickie Sanders helped the boys’ basketball team defeat Walnut Creek Northgate for its first state Division II title Friday. Last season, Cressey played at Inglewood Morningside and Sanders at Long Beach Millikan.

The Crenshaw boys’ basketball team won its record seventh state Division I title Saturday, and one its top players, senior Derrick Anderson, transferred from Venice.

Venice Coach Thermon Moore said Anderson was his top player for two years before he left last spring.

“You want kids to be loyal, but you also want what’s best for them,” he said. “I hated to see Derrick go, but now he has a state title.”

Whatever the reasons, transferring has become almost commonplace, often by seniors. And rules on illegal transfers often aren’t enforced.

And although many coaches criticize this high school version of free agency, it will continue to be a problem as long as there are coaches who continue to accept and play such student-athletes.

“A lot of kids don’t get a chance to develop integrity and loyalty because they’re too busy moving around,” Moore said.