NMAA discuss replay for hoops
Cleveland-Eldorado finish sparks conversation
If there is to be a video replay system at the state basketball tournament for lastsecond scenarios, it likely would occur in 2020 at the earliest.
Among the discussion items at Thursday morning’s meeting of the New Mexico Activities Association’s board of directors was the implementation of replay for semifinal and championship games at the Pit and at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.
There remain some logistical hurdles to clear before this becomes reality.
For instance, the national federation has language that says state associations, like the NMAA, could allow their game officials to look at a replay monitor to determine if a late basket occurred before or after the final horn, and whether it was a 2-point or a 3-point shot.
But at the recent NMAA Commission meeting, the members of that entity were looking to extend the use of replay for the final two minutes of a state tournament game in the final two rounds, rather than just last-second situations.
All of this, of course, became topical after what happened in March, in the Class 6A boys state semifinal game between Eldorado and Cleveland at the Pit.
The Storm won the game on a putback basket that clearly occurred after the final horn had sounded, and Cleveland advanced to the championship game with a 70-68 victory.
There is a replay committee, put together this fall and primarily because of the Eldorado-Cleveland incident, and they are scheduled to meet next week for more talks.
Secondarily, replay at current would only be used for basketball. But if basketball gets such a system, NMAA executive director Sally Marquez said, it is possible
other sports — specifically football — might request something similar.
Video feeds to be used would come from ProView Networks, who broadcast the games for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
STATE QUALIFIERS: One of the other discussion items Thursday involved the number of teams qualifying in certain state tournaments, and whether some tweaking may be required.
Three examples were cited: Class 1A-3A boys soccer, where 12 of the 16 eligible teams made it to state last month; 1A-3A girls soccer, where 12 of 13 eligible teams were in the playoffs; and 8-Man football, where 12 of 14 eligible teams earned a postseason bid.
It is possible, Marquez said, that in the future — no sooner than the next two-year block begins, in 2020-21 — the NMAA might send only a percentage of eligible schools to some state tournaments, rather than applying a flat, predetermined number. The Pine Hill football team was in this year’s 8-Man football playoffs despite a 1-5 record. The Santa Fe Indian School girls soccer team had a playoff game, even sporting a 2-17-1 record.
There was also some talk of updating how teams are seeded and selected, especially in light of last month’s controversy with the Class 5A girls state soccer tournament.
La Cueva, the top-ranked team all season, ended up with a No. 8 seed because it lost (by one goal) a tiebreaker to Eldorado atop the District 2-5A standings. The Bears, according to NMAA bylaw, had to be seeded behind the Eagles in the playoffs. And because Eldorado’s seed was not great (7), La Cueva’s seeding took a huge hit as a result.
Conceivably, the NMAA may look to follow what it already does in basketball. There, in the case of a tie for first place in a district, the NMAA has the discretion to seed teams for state based on an overall résumé, rather than which school had a district tiebreaking advantage. Notably, tiebreaking games in basketball are contested to determine the top seed for the district tournament, nothing more. Technically, they are considered co-champions.
Other notes
Reserve, the 2017 8-Man state runnerup but without a program this year due to a lack of players, asked the board to allow it back into a football district in 2019. The board didn’t even take a vote, which is essentially a no vote. However, the Mountaineers can compete as an independent next year without the board’s approval.
Ejections at football games were up noticeably in 2018 from the previous year. Last year, there were four coaching ejections and 60 player ejections. This year, there were 16 coaching ejections and 69 players disqualified.
Conversely, soccer had a decrease in ejections in both genders. The boys saw four fewer coaching ejections (7-3) and 16 fewer player ejections (62-46). The girls were down with coaches (2-1) and players (18-9) from last year to this year.