Nevada high school sports alignment robs teams of true state championship experience
The game at Orleans Arena had been over for about 30 minutes, but there was still a certain buzz in the air created by one of the greatest high school basketball games in Nevada history.
The operator didn’t turn off the scoreboard showcasing the final score: Bishop Manogue 45, Bishop Gorman 44.
That 2011 state tournament, in which Canyon Springs of North Las Vegas eventually won the championship, reaffirmed everything there is to love about prep sports: Any given team can pull off an upset.
But Bishop Manogue of Reno won’t be defeating perennial power Gorman this year. That’s because Gorman, Liberty and Coronado became so good at basketball that officials with the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association decided to cut the cord in realignment.
Those large-enrollment Las Vegas schools were relegated to an all-southern Nevada classification. At 8 p.m. today, Gorman will battle Liberty in the “state semifinals” at the Thomas & Mack Center. Coronado and Liberty at 4:40 p.m. will play in the other semifinal.
Reno schools are playing in a lower classification, meaning the tournament on the UNLV campus is nothing more than the Las Vegas city championship.
That takes away from the pageantry of the state tournament, which annually brings athletes from all corners of the state to a single venue for meaningful game after meaningful game. It’s when Elko can win a state championship minutes before nationally ranked Gorman takes the floor looking to accomplish the same goal.
Many state associations nationally conduct their tournaments in NBA arenas or college campus sites, which for athletes hailing from small population communities is the thrill of a lifetime.
In Nevada, the state tournament is also when athletic directors get together for annual planning meetings and seminars. That will again happen this week on the UNR campus, where the state’s other classifications are getting together for the state tournament.
What’s even more confusing is how the playoffs were organized.
Arbor View, Coronado, Gorman and Liberty had to win one playoff game to reach the semifinal round. And the Gorman-liberty game won’t end until 10 p.m. Thursday, meaning players have only a few hours to hustle home to prepare for the next day — school starts at 7 a.m. and the championship game is 7 p.m.
It was even worse in the all-southern Nevada football classification. Gorman won the championship by winning just two playoff games, and those were 17 days apart.
It’s proven to be difficult to satisfy the needs of every school in realignment. The process of determining what classification to place teams took many months and meetings, especially because Reno schools simply were done losing by lopsided scores to Gorman and Liberty.
But it’s not always been that way.
Reno schools are playing in a lower classification, meaning the tournament on the UNLV campus is nothing more than the Las Vegas city championship.
Bishop Manogue should have lost to Gorman by 20 points that night in 2011. In 2006 Reno High also beat Gorman in the state tournament.
It’s a shame other Reno schools won’t have a chance to see how they measure up.
But, athletic directors at those schools were nearly unanimous in wanting out, believing a state title against a second-tier of Las Vegas schools was equally valuable.
We’re sure glad Karen Weitz didn’t share that mentality.
Reno schools won the girls basketball state championship for two consecutive decades until the Weitz-coached Centennial Bulldogs broke through in 2002. Centennial has gone on to win 14 state titles.
You didn’t hear Weitz, her athletic director or any other
Las Vegas programs asking to be aligned away from Reno schools during their dominating run. Instead, they found ways to get better.
We can all agree on the merits of prep sports, which allow our children to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and help them further enjoy the high school experience. They learn accountability, teamwork, time management and a healthy way of life through exercise.
They also learn that not everyone is going to win a championship. It’s perfectly fine to lose a game, get back up and try again the following week or year. Remember, not every team is going to hoist a trophy.
Here’s hoping the realignment committee will take a long look at how it manages future high school postseasons.
The committee members should mimic what’s being done in California, where officials at the end of the regular season piece together a playoff bracket based on results. That would create an even playing field and bring excitement back to the last week of February.
It would also address the biggest misstep in Nevada’s realignment, where successful Las Vegas teams are playing for a city championship and receiving a state championship trophy.