Early End of Summer Predictions...

[HoopGuy03]

As AAU comes to an end, and a few transfers are now enrolled at their new schools.
What are some Early Top 20 (NORCAL) Predictions for this upcoming year. I'll take a crack at it just for FUN.


1. Mitty
2. Pinewood
3. Salesian

the rest in no Order

SJND
McClatchy
BOD
C'Let
Sacred Heart CP
Sac Hi
Cardinal Newman
Antelope
Heritage
Bradshaw Christian ( BIG SLEEPER)
SMS
Miramonte
Christian Brothers
Presentation
Valley Christian
Whitney
St. Francis (M. View)

 

[northbaybbguru]

I'll take a crack....

TOP 10

1. PW (loaded..love their players and their coaches)
2. Mitty (best player on court in every game)
3. McClatchy (loaded...but always HUGE underachievers)
4. CLET ( sanctions? or will they get a shot for postseason?)
5. BOD (always good even when they down...mentally tough)
6.Salesian (lack of outside shooting Achilles heel)
7. SJND (lots of talent...do they take the next step?)
8. SMS (massive graduation hit.. BIG GAME experience puts them above Antelope)
9. Antelope (lots and lots of talent...will their coach prepare them with a tough preseason schedule or soft it up with a 28-0 preseason only to lose their 1st tough playoff game?) Sean likes the gaudy records....Im curious what he does. His team is legit.
10. Heritage (they got the pieces...will it show up on the court? Can they get over the hump with CLET?)

11-15

I haven't seen Sac Hi (11) or Bradshaw Christian (12)....Im throwing them in here based on rumblings and chatter in the Nor Cal community...they both could be really good....both start just out of the top 10.
CN (13)(arguably best 2 guard combo in NorCal but will they get help from the rest of the team)
MM (14)(young but can shoot the lights out...who steps up to fill the go to leadership void of Claire graduating)
ESP (15) (Graduated their best player and lost good frosh to transfer...still return a lot though)

16-20

St. Francis (Mtn View) (16)....return quite a few players off a pretty good team who beat Valley Christian twice and who ended SJND season in D1 norcals.
Are all the youngsters returning for Bear Creek (17) (no transfers???)? If so they are a TOP 20 team.
I cant give Valley Christian (18) too much love as it seems when they face off against the big dogs above them on this list they get beat easily. They need to get it done on the court before I become a believer.
Whitney (19) return 12 girls off a pretty good squad
I saw Piedmont (20) play this summer (shorthanded) and I thought they could end up being pretty good.


BUBBLE......

Christian Bros
The rest of the WCAL... Presentation, SI & SHC ... (year in and year out it proves to be the best league in Norcal)


PS**** I'm writing this late and I'm sure I missed a couple of good squads that deserve TOP 20 mention....feel free to let me know

 

[straightline50]

Bear Creek has two frosh and they will be good. Sac High is loaded, both teams above SMS and Antelope. Pinewood and the rest. Would argue best player on the floor, best recruit yes but results I would go Astrom or Jump.

 

[Sjbasket]

I really believe this will be the last run for both PW and Mitty. This is both teams last chance at a open state title run for a while. Coach Phillips took them to the open state title in 17 and was Norcal runner up last year. This up coming season will be last with Haley Jones. Mitty will be a different team with no Ortiz running the show. She ran the floor for that team for the last three years.

Jump and Astrom appear to be set for a monster year. Doc has had them for the last three years and they have tremendous big game experience.

It will be PW and Mitty out distancing the field. This should be the last year they both meet up in CCS final open final and probably NorCal open final.

 

[jstblev]

Come on North Bay I thought we were cool.

Yes, we return the entire team besides one senior from last years section title team. We are looking for more challenging games this season without upsetting old relationships and friends. J.Goodwin, J.Harriel, K.Lesane, A.Spann, the Jordan twins and A.Daffon hardworking and very talented group of young ladies.

 

[northbaybbguru]

Come on North Bay I thought we were cool.

Yes, we return the entire team besides one senior from last years section title team. We are looking for more challenging games this season without upsetting old relationships and friends. J.Goodwin, J.Harriel, K.Lesane, A.Spann, the Jordan twins and A.Daffon hardworking and very talented group of young ladies.

I gave you a TON of love. #9...on the verge of an OPEN bid.... and I CLEARLY stated how talented your squad is.
I'm asking seriously are you going to challenge your team in the preseason?
You cant deny your soft scheduling in the past.
Are you willing to chance a few extra losses in the preseason to prepare your team for a deep postseason run?

Its a VERY fair question.....

 

[SouthBayHoopFan]

Come on North Bay I thought we were cool.

Yes, we return the entire team besides one senior from last years section title team. We are looking for more challenging games this season without upsetting old relationships and friends. J.Goodwin, J.Harriel, K.Lesane, A.Spann, the Jordan twins and A.Daffon hardworking and very talented group of young ladies.

You've done an awesome job Sean. Hope to see your team at the next level this year.

 

[northbaybbguru]

On a side note.....

I've heard a rumor that guard Daylee Dunn has transferred from BOD to SMS....

can anyone confirm or deny?

 

[Passionatedad]

On a side note.....

I've heard a rumor that guard Daylee Dunn has transferred from BOD to SMS....

can anyone confirm or deny?

Haven't heard anything on Dunn, however Amaya Oliver is registered back at SMS.

 

[jstblev]

Yes, you did show some love. Thank you. Remember, Antelope high school is only 10 years old, as we continue to move the program in the right direction, I will look for the best schedule that fits our needs. We are locked into the Elk Grove tournament again with a potential rematch vs Folsom who blew us out the gym last year. We are looking for 3 tougher nonleague games to challenge us.

We only have one senior on this year’s team, we are still a very young group.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

Yes, you did show some love. Thank you. Remember, Antelope high school is only 10 years old, as we continue to move the program in the right direction, I will look for the best schedule that fits our needs. We are locked into the Elk Grove tournament again with a potential rematch vs Folsom who blew us out the gym last year. We are looking for 3 tougher nonleague games to challenge us.

We only have one senior on this year’s team, we are still a very young group.

if you're schedule isn't finished by now, you probably won't play higher level competition as most high quality teams have already finished their schedule. Your program has been in the right direction for a while and you've done a great job. But not playing a top schedule with the team you have is disservice.

 

[letsski]

Yes, you did show some love. Thank you. Remember, Antelope high school is only 10 years old, as we continue to move the program in the right direction, I will look for the best schedule that fits our needs. We are locked into the Elk Grove tournament again with a potential rematch vs Folsom who blew us out the gym last year. We are looking for 3 tougher nonleague games to challenge us.

We only have one senior on this year’s team, we are still a very young group.

"I will look for the best schedule that fits our needs." Enough said!

 

[northbaybbguru]

Yes, you did show some love. Thank you. Remember, Antelope high school is only 10 years old, as we continue to move the program in the right direction, I will look for the best schedule that fits our needs. We are locked into the Elk Grove tournament again with a potential rematch vs Folsom who blew us out the gym last year. We are looking for 3 tougher nonleague games to challenge us.

We only have one senior on this year’s team, we are still a very young group.

Cardinal Newman has an open game still I'm told (and CN only has 1 senior also)....why don't u give Coach Mertle a call and see if u can make it work. Maybe a home and home over the next 2 yrs....seems like a good fit!!

 

[ClayK]

There's still room in the WCJ ... Last year, Antelope played three games that were decided by four points or fewer.

 

[straightline50]

Let the coach schedule his own games and do what is right for his program. With CIF having a moving target known as competitive equity these programs need to do what is best for them.

 

[ClayK]

Absolutely ... scheduling is the most underrated part of coaching, and it was complicated enough before the CIF changes. Of course, those only impact teams with goals that extend beyond section play, but every coach, I think, should pay serious attention to how scheduling affects her players and her program.

 

[basketba11]

Absolutely ... scheduling is the most underrated part of coaching, and it was complicated enough before the CIF changes. Of course, those only impact teams with goals that extend beyond section play, but every coach, I think, should pay serious attention to how scheduling affects her players and her program.

I totally agree Clay with your underrated statement. In my opinion, the schedule more than ever plays a HUGE part of a team's season and could have a tremendous impact on a school's postseason run. Each year the CIF seedings are so inconsistent and not even sure if the MaxPreps SOS formulas help. There are 2 ways for a coach to look at their season: schedule the very best top teams and probably will take some losses against better teams OR make a schedule in which there is a good chance to finish undefeated against good teams but not the top teams. I really do not know which one is better! I think on the surface it makes sense to play stronger teams which can get your team ready for that tougher competition in the playoffs. But the seeding in the playoffs is so big in my opinion, it is a big advantage if a school gets to play home games up until the championship game. The CIF has rewarded teams with higher seeds because of their records, and not SOS. Every year there are screw ups in the seedings that are huge to a school's run in the playoffs. Just my opinion, but not scheduling the toughest top teams to play during the season and finishing with an almost undefeated season can be a benefit. I have seen this happen every year. I am curious what are other's thoughts about this?

 

[ClayK]

One aspect is the makeup of your team. A veteran team that has won big games can deal with losing games to top-flight opposition because they have some history to fall back on. A young team, though, that hasn't had a lot of success needs wins, I think, because confidence is huge for younger players.

And by the way, I hate the phrase "to be the best, you have to beat the best" when it's interpreted as playing really good teams all season long. Maybe with a young team you only play a few tough teams along the way, and then you have a chance against the regional power because the players believe they're good (even if they're not as good as they might think). Again, with a veteran team that has beaten quality opponents, losses might not have the same impact and that team will be primed to play the regional power, so maybe that group gets a tougher schedule.

Of course, you never really know until postseason ...

 

[northbaybbguru]

with competitive equity now for the state playoffs...

IMO....Its CLEARLY better to lose games in the preseason (go 6-6, 5-7 etc...) run off 10-14 games in a row in league beating up on soft competition. Then if u go on to win your section ...The loses keeps your MaxPreps ratings down so u don't get placed too high.

just ask West Campus


and as Clay has said in the past....the results of those tough games should take the guessing out for the committee.....you win or lose your way out of OPEN/D1 or lower

 

[LBJ6]

with competitive equity now for the state playoffs...

IMO....Its CLEARLY better to lose games in the preseason (go 6-6, 5-7 etc...) run off 10-14 games in a row in league beating up on soft competition. Then if u go on to win your section ...The loses keeps your MaxPreps ratings down so u don't get placed too high.

just ask West Campus

Not many teams have the luxury of playing in a league where they can go undefeated in league but you do have a valid point. Pleasant Valley had that set up last year and it worked perfectly for them.

 

[northbaybbguru]

Unless you are an OPEN caliber team where you know your going OPEN and your trying to get home games........

Last yrs seeding in Norcal CLEARLY shows it strategically favorable to have more loses in the preseason. Allowing GOOD teams to be placed lower in Divisions than they should...which is absolutely ridiculous....rewarding teams for losing.

 

[LBJ6]

Unless you are an OPEN caliber team where you know your going OPEN and your trying to get home games........

Last yrs seeding in Norcal CLEARLY shows it strategically favorable to have more loses in the preseason. Allowing GOOD teams to be placed lower in Divisions than they should...which is absolutely ridiculous....rewarding teams for losing.

I really think there is a good system in place. Nothing will ever work out perfect for everyone involved. Look at the NCAA tournament for example. Greatest sporting event in the world in my irrelevant opinion. Always has someone who gets screwed at the end. Whats important is the people making the decsions have their finger on the girls basketball in nor cal. Theres only roughly 10 to 20 guys who truly know pretty much everything about girls basketball in Norcal and I guarentee you none of them are on the seeding committee. Most of those guys are on this message board in some capacity. I hope that changes this year! LBJ6 out

 

[ClayK]

I agree with LBJ6 that the system is a good one ... of course it's far from perfect, and the flaws are obvious.

But then again, having Pinewood and East Side play for the D5 NorCal title every year wasn't ideal either, nor was having Bishop O'Dowd, to name one, always in D3, and SJND on the bubble for D5 every year.

People say split public/non-public, but where does that put Sacramento, a magnet school, or Clayton Valley, a charter school?

One way to make it a little better would be to have an Open division in SJS and NCS, with similar rules to CCS, and maybe a four-team playoff for Northern, Oakland and SF that delivered one team into the Open. (Those sections are an issue no matter what ...)

 

[jstblev]

Great point. Sac High and Vanden took a couple of tough loses in last year preseason. I felt they both got punished and received a lower seed in SJS D2 section seating. Both teams lost in the second round on the road vs Del Oro and Whitney. I bet they both win those games at home. At the end of the season, scheduling is very important for SJS playoff seeding.

I will give Monica a call. That could be a great home and away set up. Then visit my friends in Healdsburg.

 

[basketba11]

Great point. Sac High and Vanden took a couple of tough loses in last year preseason. I felt they both got punished and received a lower seed in SJS D2 section seating. Both teams lost in the second round on the road vs Del Oro and Whitney. I bet they both win those games at home. At the end of the season, scheduling is very important for SJS playoff seeding.

I will give Monica a call. That could be a great home and away set up. Then visit my friends in Healdsburg.

The scheduling is so important for many of these SJS schools for their playoff seeding and can make a big difference in their playoff run. Sac High and Vanden are very good examples in the D2 Section last year. Also St Francis in D2 is another example that I think schedule important. In D1, look at schools like Oak Ridge, McClatchy schedule. These 3 schools continue to play very tough preseason schedules, traveling to top tournaments, playing out of area teams. With easier scheduling, could have much better records reducing their loss total, and probably get much higher seeding in Section and actually have chance to go very far. In both the years McClatchy made state title runs, they got favorable seeding from SJS Section. In the other two years in between the state runs, they got bad seeding and lost early on the road with very good teams that could have made state title runs as well. In my opinion, the SJS Section committee is not doing a good job with their seedings each and every season. They almost promote schools to soften their schedules to get good seeding, it is pretty sad they don't take into account SOS. Why would a coach load up their schedule with top teams in the preseason if there is no reward for this?

 

[cptmycpa]

The scheduling is so important for many of these SJS schools for their playoff seeding and can make a big difference in their playoff run. Sac High and Vanden are very good examples in the D2 Section last year. Also St Francis in D2 is another example that I think schedule important. In D1, look at schools like Oak Ridge, McClatchy schedule. These 3 schools continue to play very tough preseason schedules, traveling to top tournaments, playing out of area teams. With easier scheduling, could have much better records reducing their loss total, and probably get much higher seeding in Section and actually have chance to go very far. In both the years McClatchy made state title runs, they got favorable seeding from SJS Section. In the other two years in between the state runs, they got bad seeding and lost early on the road with very good teams that could have made state title runs as well. In my opinion, the SJS Section committee is not doing a good job with their seedings each and every season. They almost promote schools to soften their schedules to get good seeding, it is pretty sad they don't take into account SOS. Why would a coach load up their schedule with top teams in the preseason if there is no reward for this?

Completely agree with you Basketba11. At the D1 level especially, the Sac-Joaquin Section seeding committee has done a lousy, inconsistent job at seeding. They use MaxPreps rankings too heavily. Teams in weak leagues will have low MaxPreps rankings, (e.g. McClatchy, Sac High), making them have a lower seed in the playoffs. The Sac-Joaquin Section does not seed like the CCS or NCS, unfortunately.

 

[ClayK]

If SJS added an Open, it would help with that, as it wouldn't matter to the top eight where their seed was in the Open because they'd drop into lower division brackets at NorCals, with bracketing done by a different committee.

Of course SJS or any section could wind up dropping what should have been an Open team to Division I, and vice versa. Sometimes teams take a while to figure it out, and sometimes teams just collapse.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

If SJS added an Open, it would help with that, as it wouldn't matter to the top eight where their seed was in the Open because they'd drop into lower division brackets at NorCals, with bracketing done by a different committee.

Of course SJS or any section could wind up dropping what should have been an Open team to Division I, and vice versa. Sometimes teams take a while to figure it out, and sometimes teams just collapse.

have you heard if NCS is going to head towards an open division section platform? I like the idea, but again, don't like that if you're an open team, lose in the first round you could get in over a team that made it to the finals and lost. That's not too fair. Again, no system is perfect that that's not equity...Also, the Norcal seeding was a joke this year. Teams like Dublin going D3, Mt. Eden, San Leandro not able to advance even though they beat Cal and Logan (who went to norcals). Lowell going D5 with an enrollment of over 2k? yah some aspects are really good and others are just stupid. I would LOVE to know who was on the seeding committee...a little transparency would be nice

 

[ClayK]

I agree with transparency -- but I think the NorCal committee members include all the section commissioners and the usual suspects from CIF (eight or nine). The NCS committee is secret, for no apparent reason, as a lot of people know one or two members, I understand.

Now Lowell is an interesting case, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses: If Lowell, a school that draws the best academic students in the City and does not have much of an athletic culture these days, is left in D1, its fate is assured from day one: a low seed, a first-round loss (probably a blowout) and no chance to advance against schools with way more talent. If, on the other hand, Lowell is dropped to its proper competitive level, one of its better teams can go a long way -- or also get beat in a good game.

Looking at their schedule, they were 20-12, with a 29-point loss to South San Francisco, and 30+-point losses to O'Dowd and Pinewood. They also lost by double digits to Marin Catholic and Palo Alto, and were beaten twice, the last time decisively, by Lincoln in the SF playoffs.

I would tend to agree that D5 was too low, but Lincoln, which beat them, lost by 26 in the first round of D4. Lowell had two early wins in NorCals by 12, so it's not like they were overwhelming people, then beat Durham, a team that never played a Bay Area or Sacto team (as far as I can tell) by 17 to get to the state game, where they lost by 26.

So should Lowell have been D1, as enrollment suggests? Since the team that beat them by 16 in the SF finals lost by 26 in the first round of D4, that seems more like punishment than reward. In D5, they blew out the first-round opponent, played two 12-point games, beat a team that hadn't played much tough competition by 17 and then got crushed in the finals.

I'm not convinced Lowell was in the wrong bracket in D5, though maybe D4 would have been better. But to claim they should have gone where their enrollment put them would simply have been unfair. (Note that Pinewood's enrollment made them D5, and how do you think Pinewood does against Durham?)

 

[CW Golden Eagles]

I just disagree with “dropped to its proper competitive level.” Why should large school teams get to drop to lower divisions and compete against schools 1/2 or 1/3 their size? This competitive equity model goes against everything we teach kids about sports. Not everyone gets to compete for a championship, nor should they. That’s not the real world.

When some schools are D1 for one sport and D4 for another sport, what’s that tell you? Perhaps the sport from the same school that dropped down to D4 isn’t meeting the mark? Because obviously if one sport from that school can compete in the division they should be in, then the resources and athletes are in place to be successful. At some point, maybe you just aren’t good enough?

I see small schools in our section get penalized and bumped up 2 divisions because they were so successful at their original divisional placement. Then they have to compete against schools with 2-3 times their enrollment and lose. Why are they being penalized???

And let’s not forget the flip side of schools of 2500 enrollment dropping down to D3 or D4 to compete against schools with 800-1200 students. How is that fair to those smaller enrollment schools???

I don’t have the answer for the public vs private debate. But I think at some point our kids should still be earning their way into championships and not being thrown to the wolves if you’re successful or rewarded for losing for too many consecutive years.

 

[northbaybbguru]

Not everyone wins championships and that's why they are supposed to be special.
Competitive equity allows teams (that have no business winning anything) to play for undeserved trophies.

Small enrollment school teams that work hard and have success get penalized and bumped up.

Large enrollment school team that are average at best get dropped down and win state titles.

Stupid...

Sports is a very similar to life in a lot of ways...

NOT EVERYONE IS GOOD ENOUGH ....there is usually someone bigger and better.....welcome to life.


I HATE COMPETITIVE EQUITY

 

[northbaybbguru]

Competitive Equity is just the predictable evolution of 16 team playoff brackets...

It used to be ONLY league champions made sections with maybe 1 or 2 at large bids.

Now just be .500 and your in...BUT apparently that wasn't good enough (or fair enough) for the average teams that would generally be 1 and done.

So the state threw ANOTHER bone to the average teams....they weren't just satisfied with allowing those teams into sections...now they want to put all of them into the same bracket so someone gets a trophy.....again...so weak....


OK...cue the "everyone deserves a chance at a trophy" apologist replies.....

3...
2....
1....

 

[ClayK]

OK, I coached at Bentley for a long time. A D5 private school with 300 students. We didn't give athletic scholarships or give breaks to athletes on tuition. Our kids practiced two hours a day during the season, and we had a summer program. We had open gyms.

We were in the same NCS division as St. Joseph Notre Dame, and the same NorCal division as Pinewood.

I coached at Campolindo, a D3 school. We were in the same bracket as Bishop O'Dowd, which gives out merit scholarships to athletes. We played them in the NCS and/or NorCals three years in a row and lost every time. The last one they had four players 6-2 or taller who played at the Power 5 level, and a 5-5 point guard who played at San Diego State, plus two other D1 kids who came off the bench. We had one D1 player, one D2 player and one D3 player.

We also lost in NorCals to Sacramento, a public magnet school that blatantly recruits athletes from the entire Sacramento school district. That district has 47,000 students.

So yes, we weren't good enough, at either school. But we also weren't playing the same game. I don't see how you can justify SJND and Pinewood competing against Bentley, or Sacramento or BOD competing against Campolindo. Does that mean championships are only for the rich? Or just for private schools? Or just for charters and magnet schools that can recruit?

 

[personalogic]

Not everyone wins championships and that's why they are supposed to be special.
Competitive equity allows teams (that have no business winning anything) to play for undeserved trophies.

Small enrollment school teams that work hard and have success get penalized and bumped up.

Large enrollment school team that are average at best get dropped down and win state titles.

Stupid...

Sports is a very similar to life in a lot of ways...

NOT EVERYONE IS GOOD ENOUGH ....there is usually someone bigger and better.....welcome to life.


I HATE COMPETITIVE EQUITY

If you are good, you get bumped up until you fail. If you are bad, you get dropped down until you succeed.

I HATE COMPETITIVE EQUITY

 

[ClayK]

>If you are good, you get bumped up until you fail. If you are bad, you get dropped down until you succeed.

As for the first part, that's what those who oppose competitive equity seem to want. You have to earn it, right? You have to beat the best to be the best, right? So shouldn't you eagerly desire to get bumped up until you run into someone better? Then you work harder, and you beat them -- unless of course they work just as hard and have recruited more talent, in which case you keep losing.

As for the second part, very, very few teams are capable of winning a section title regardless of what division they're in. You could drop a lot of D1 teams to D5 and they would not go to state -- in fact, they wouldn't even get to NorCals.

Those who haven't coached at the D5 level don't realize that the good teams there -- and I'm not talking about Pinewood -- are talented, well-coached and aren't going to roll over for an opponent just because it has a much bigger enrollment. Enrollment has a limited impact on winning a D5 postseason basketball game, affecting depth more than anything else. But if a D1 school only has 20 kids come out for basketball, and a D5 school has 18, even that advantage disappears.

 

[CW Golden Eagles]

OK, I coached at Bentley for a long time. A D5 private school with 300 students. We didn't give athletic scholarships or give breaks to athletes on tuition. Our kids practiced two hours a day during the season, and we had a summer program. We had open gyms.

We were in the same NCS division as St. Joseph Notre Dame, and the same NorCal division as Pinewood.

I coached at Campolindo, a D3 school. We were in the same bracket as Bishop O'Dowd, which gives out merit scholarships to athletes. We played them in the NCS and/or NorCals three years in a row and lost every time. The last one they had four players 6-2 or taller who played at the Power 5 level, and a 5-5 point guard who played at San Diego State, plus two other D1 kids who came off the bench. We had one D1 player, one D2 player and one D3 player.

We also lost in NorCals to Sacramento, a public magnet school that blatantly recruits athletes from the entire Sacramento school district. That district has 47,000 students.

So yes, we weren't good enough, at either school. But we also weren't playing the same game. I don't see how you can justify SJND and Pinewood competing against Bentley, or Sacramento or BOD competing against Campolindo. Does that mean championships are only for the rich? Or just for private schools? Or just for charters and magnet schools that can recruit?

Equally, how do you justify dropping a school with a 2500 student enrollment down to D3 to compete against schools with 1000 kids simply because the school of 2500 wasn't winning against the schools of their same enrollment size? Or how to justify making a small town public school of 800 kids jump up two divisions to compete against schools with 1800 kids? More times than not, the school of 2500 that drops down is simply due to that program not putting in the time. Equally, the reason the programs get pushed up 2-3 divisions is because that program is putting in the time. The playing field is even less equal there. Enrollment based divisions aren't a perfect science, but it is a far better starting point than the current "everyone gets to compete for a trophy" mindset.

There will be cases like you stated above where you are putting in the time, preparing and coaching your tail off, and the top of your division is just better. There were 3 years we were shoved up to the Open Division when we weren't even top 25 in the state. We could have made a solid run in D1, but since the Southern Section had a cap of only 4 teams that could go Open, we were the sacrificial lamb and lost by 38 and 32 in the Open Division. Did I feel that was fair? Not at all. Especially when teams far better than us from the Southern Section dropped down to Division 2 and even Division 4 and got to compete for State title runs. But two years later, we were able to win a State Championship in the Open Division. We are the only public school to be in the Open Division the last 5 years. 2 of those years there is no way we should have been in there. But we were. So we played the hand we were dealt and did our best. Two years we were almost running clocked. Two years we were competitive. One year we won it all.

It will never happen, but perhaps one option is to have 5 Divisions for public schools based on enrollment and 3 Divisions of non-public (private, magnet, charter, etc). Some would say it would water the championships down having 8 divisions, but California has over 1500 high schools while many state have less that 200 high schools and have 4-5 State Champions as well.

 

[CW Golden Eagles]

Clay-- your section deals directly with several talented private schools. You see it from a different perspective than what I see down here. We don't have a ton of private schools and the couple we have are low enrollments. Public schools with similar enrollment sizes have far more equitable starting points, yet the small, public schools that are putting in time and doing a great job get punished for it. So we have two different frustrations based on the regions we compete in.

 

[ClayK]

An excellent point ... the state is so large and the situations vary so much that it's pretty much impossible to have a system that works for everyone. What works in NCS probably won't work in the Northern Section, and what works for the Oakland Section probably won't work for the Central Section.

In NCS, for example, we have more than a few large public schools that are not at all competitive, for a variety of reasons, and more than a few smaller schools that are very competitive. Dividing by enrollment just doesn't make sense here, whereas it probably does in other areas of the state.

 

[SouthBayHoopFan]

In NCS, for example, we have more than a few large public schools that are not at all competitive, for a variety of reasons, and more than a few smaller schools that are very competitive. Dividing by enrollment just doesn't make sense here.

Of course it makes sense. The schools that aren't competitive don't go to the playoffs, or lose early. The schools that are competitive make the playoffs and win games. The schools that aren't competitive in basketball might have a good soccer team. The teams that are competitive in basketball might have a struggling volleyball team. Makes perfect sense.

What doesn't make sense is to wait until the end of the sectional playoffs to decide on division placement for the state playoffs. That, my friend, makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[northbaybbguru]

could you imagine.....


***************************************************
PRESS RELEASE!!!

The NBA responding to complaints from fans that the Warriors have ruined the NBA have
restructured the NBA playoffs...

starting in the 2018/19 NBA season....the playoff format will be as such.

the OPEN NBA title

1.best record in NBA
2.2nd best
3.3rd best
4.4th best

1vs 4 best of 7
2vs 3 best of 7

winners play in best of 7 for title

NBA DIV 1 NBA TITLE
5.
6.
7.
8.

5vs8
6vs7

NBA D2 title

9.
10.
11.
12.

NBA D3 title

13.
14.
15.
16.






4 TEAMS GET BANNERS.....

EVERYONE gets a shot at a trophy that makes the playoffs...even the 4 BOTTOM seeds that probably would have gotten swept in the 1st rounds by the TOP 4.




Adam Silver was quoted as saying:

" We feel this new format will keep the fans more engaged into the NBA season. We recognize the frustration of those teams who feel yr in and yr out they have no chance. Plus now those teams in the 17-20 range will actually TRY to make the playoffs (13-16) if they feel they have a chance at a banner. Instead of tanking for the lottery"




****************************************

Immediately after this announcement the NCAA football competition committee said they were going to look into doing something similar after complaints from fans that ALABAMA is winning too much.