Boys' basketball: Playoffs show league dominance

This is the first season of the new format for the Southern Section basketball playoffs, where teams are placed in divisions based on past performance, competitive equity and enrollment, and the early results are that certain leagues could produce multiple champions.

There are 10 leagues with three or more schools still alive into the quarterfinals, topped by the Mission League, which has Loyola, Harvard-Westlake, Crespi, Chaminade and Verbum Dei in four separate divisions. Is that good?

The Trinity League has four teams alive -- Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco. They could win three division titles.

The Foothill League has Golden Valley, Hart, West Ranch and Valencia alive. And the Sierra League has Chino Hills, Glendora, Ayala and Damien.

It means league competition will lose importance if you can finish fourth and go on to win a section title in a weaker playoff division. Welcome to 2009 basketball.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Comments

[Joseph Fauria]

Hey Mr. Sondheimer
I am in total support for this change and think it's a great idea. Yes, CIF will have to dabble a little to find that perfect system, but it will never be. But i do think they're going in the right direction. Now a good program like Crespi has a chance to win a championship after being in a very tough league. As a fairly recent high school basketball player, I am a little biased. And a little bitter, because if this move was a little earlier, i probably would've had some more rings on my fingers =).

-Joseph Fauria

[James Gossett]

"It means league competition will lose importance if you can finish fourth and go on to win a section title in a weaker playoff division than league play. Welcome to 2009 basketball."

Also, that means the past couple of years, there were 9 meaningless CIF titles. IF Div. 1AA was the strongest based on strength of league, the other titles were won in weaker playoff divisions. Two different ways of doing playoffs, same result.

[James Gossett]

Eric -

But it also means smaller sized schools in very strong leagues will have the deserving chance to win a CIF title with schools their own size. Also, Southern Section will be better represented in the state playoffs because smaller sized schools won't get knocked out of the playoffs early against large sized schools. If state playoffs were not based on enrollment, then I could see going to back to strength of league divisions, but until then, they HAVE to be broken up into enrollment sizes. Otherwise there will be too difficult to decide who gets to go to state, just like the past couple of years.