NorCal seeding change

[ClayK]

Aside from the fact that it's very likely Clovis West (from the Central Section) will be moved into the NorCal Open bracket come March, there's another big change in the process.

In the past, the section commissioners, in both Northern California and Southern California, would gather together and determine a) which teams would be moved into the Open, b) which teams would fill the other brackets, and then c) do the actual seeding.

This put quite a load on the section commissioners, especially when it came to girls' basketball, as few new really knew that much about the teams involved. This year, though, that will change…

Instead, a statewide committee will do the seeding for all girls' basketball after the section playoffs have concluded. They will seed both the North and South, and will determine who goes into the Open, and who gets placed in what divisions. The committee members will remain anonymous, unfortunately, but presumably they will have more knowledge of girls' basketball than the section commissioners, who couldn't really be blamed for not being up-to-date on every aspect of their sections.

A couple of things might fall out from this new arrangement:

1) Tradition and reputation may not matter as much to committee members who are following this season as opposed to section commissioners who just have a more general idea of what's going on. A program that has traditionally been strong may not get quite the same respect or seeding as in the past if more knowledge about their situation this season is commonplace.

2) Who knows what criteria the committee will use for putting teams in particular divisions, aside from the Open? For example, on the boys' side last year, Long Beach Poly, with 4500 students, was placed in Division II. This year, the Southern Section can designate Long Beach poly is a Division II team throughout its playoffs, but once it gets beyond the section, then this committee can put teams in whatever division it decides. Maybe it will be determined by enrollment, as many sections do; maybe by "competitive equity," whatever that may mean; or maybe by the MaxPreps mathematical formula.

Whatever the result, whatever the process, the one thing for sure is that it will be different than it has been in the past – and there could be major impacts on what teams wind up in the Open, what teams wind up in which divisions.

 

[RespectBBGame]

This great have a Mutual committee doing the seating. this will favor no one in any division. About time this happen in the girls division that CIF let it run by itself. I see the CIF must read the blog too.

 

[Sjbasket]

Clay,

Why not move that central section into the north as a whole? Why just one school and only for post season???

 

[ClayK]

The Central Section would most likely be happy with it, overall, but the issue is geography. Let's say a postseason Division IV volleyball game matched a team from Bakersfield with a team from Yreka -- that would be quite a drive. It's a little easier if they just pick and choose because then they can avoid that kind of distance.

 

[Azanna]

This is a good idea because I do feel that Brookside got robbed last year due to favoritism within the Northern California committee. The Northern California committee should be in charge of the seeding for all the NorCal sections and all the sections in Northern California should run the same. Same start date same rules, same everything all under one banner and not fragmented under different kingdoms.

 

[northbaybbguru]

2 concerns/comments from me re: the new proposal.

1) I completely agree with AZANNA!!! ALL THE SECTIONS SHOULD BE PLAYED UNDER THE SAME SET OF RULES!!!! ALL start the same dates etc.... how is this not already happening????

2) Waiting until after the sections to decide who is in what division level for Norcals makes it hard to scout.
For example..... should a team like CN scout West Campus? a team CN would FOR SURE see in D4 Norcals... or does CN try to guess who will be D1 and advance scout in the preseason teams like McClatchy, SHC, Oakridge etc??? the committee by waiting until after sections to decide who goes where doesn't leave any of those teams(at any level) anytime to scout.

 

[ClayK]

2 concerns/comments from me re: the new proposal.

1) I completely agree with AZANNA!!! ALL THE SECTIONS SHOULD BE PLAYED UNDER THE SAME SET OF RULES!!!! ALL start the same dates etc.... how is this not already happening????

You would have to ask the section commissioners, who have steadfastly refused to agree to one set of rules. CIF is a federation, so it cannot dictate to its sections -- rules must be voted on and passed, and essentially every school has a vote. If no proposal, such as a common start date for practice, gets a majority of votes, the sections do as they please.

The only reason we have common transfer rules is that the Legislature threatened to pass a law if CIF couldn't come up with a statewide rule that everyone would abide by. Since the Legislature doesn't really care that much about how many games basketball teams play, that kind of pressure is unlikely to be applied in this case.

2) Waiting until after the sections to decide who is in what division level for Norcals makes it hard to scout.
For example..... should a team like CN scout West Campus? a team CN would FOR SURE see in D4 Norcals... or does CN try to guess who will be D1 and advance scout in the preseason teams like McClatchy, SHC, Oakridge etc??? the committee by waiting until after sections to decide who goes where doesn't leave any of those teams(at any level) anytime to scout.

SJS does this now, to an extent, but it's really a nightmare. Essentially you'll play the first game blind unless you can find a tape somewhere. And if I understand this correctly -- I'm double-checking -- the top eight teams go to the Open, and then after that, regardless of enrollment or section Division assignments, the 16 next best teams in the eyes of the committee are Division I.

So Pinewood, say, would never play in Division V again, but could be in the Open, Division I or Division II.