It’s Not All Fun, Games This Season

Are high school administrators suddenly making their athletic coaches more accountable for their actions?

Have coaches become more diligent in enforcing team rules when it comes to athletes?

Or is this simply a basketball season in which sportswriters are going to spend as much time investigating coaching firings and player dismissals as we are covering games?

Whatever the reasons, three coaches from the region have either been fired, suspended or stepped down from their jobs in the last month.

In addition, five players were kicked off a team last month for violating school rules, and a player for a high-profile program has missed one-third of his team’s games because of disciplinary reasons.

If administrators are holding coaches to higher, but reasonable, standards of conduct, and coaches are doing the same with athletes, it’s a good thing.

But it’s not conclusive that is what occurred in all, or any, of the above-mentioned cases.

Gary Grayson, boys’ basketball coach at Westlake High for 10 years, was suspended last week until the end of the season.

Grayson and Athletic Director Joseph Pawlick of Westlake have declined comment on the reasons for the suspension, but sources close to the athletic department say it was related to an incident that took place last month in Honolulu.

Westlake player Adam Mazarei missed the team’s return flight to Los Angeles a day after the Warriors won the Kona tournament title.

Mahdi Mazarei, Adam’s father, said his son returned on a later flight after he was late checking in with the team. Adam Mazarei declined comment on the details of the incident, but said Grayson did everything possible to get him on the team’s scheduled flight.

Grayson is appealing his suspension, but Jody Dunlap, assistant superintendent of personnel services for the Conejo Valley Unified School District, said Westlake’s decision will not be reversed.

While Grayson can apply for his former job after the season--along with other candidates--James Morris’ coaching tenure appears to be over at Cleveland.

Morris was fired last month after problems within the team resulted in a 7-4 start for the highly-regarded Cavaliers.

Morris and Adam Levitt guided Cleveland to a 21-5 record and a 10-0 West Valley League mark last season, but Levitt quit as co-coach in November because, “I wasn’t happy with the impact I was having on the program.”

However, Levitt was hired to replace Morris, and said he has no intention of leaving the program any time soon.

Like Levitt at Cleveland, Kevin Wiser is in his second stint as girls’ basketball coach at Louisville.

Wiser replaced first-year Coach Clay Schwartz during the holiday break after Schwartz resigned for personal reasons, according to Athletic Director Marilyn Hyman.

Wiser, whose daughter Megan is one of Louisville’s top players, coached the Royals last season, but resigned to devote more time to his business.

Hyman said he has assured her that he’ll coach the team through at least the end of next season, when his daughter will be a senior.

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Newbury Park and Simi Valley, the top two boys’ basketball programs in the Marmonte League the previous three years, have had players make news off the court this season.

Coach Steve Johnson of Newbury Park dismissed five players from the team for violating school rules during a tournament in Las Vegas last month. A source close to the team said juniors Aaron Bobik and Adam Carlson, and seniors Shane Hosac, David Kent and Ryan Wire were kicked off for drinking alcohol.

Simi Valley, ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, was 13-2 entering a game Wednesday night at Agoura, and junior point guard Shaun Michel had missed five games for disciplinary reasons.

Michel didn’t play in the season-opening Simi Valley tournament and he sat out an 81-50 victory over Moorpark on Monday.

First-year Coach Christian Aurand of Simi Valley has declined comment on the reasons for Michel’s benchings. But you have to wonder how many games Michel will miss before Aurand or someone like senior guard Branduinn Fullove says enough is enough.

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

I’d much rather cover games.