Arizona basketball coaches are open to Open Division playoffs
The Open Division is off to a great start in football and has the Arizona Interscholastic Association ecstatic over attendance and the attention the games are getting.
The crowds were much larger than the usual big-school quarterfinals during last week’s Open Division quarters at Chandler, Scottsdale Saguaro, Peoria Centennial and Tucson Salpointe Catholic.
Excitement should ramp up tenfold this Saturday for the semifinals and on Dec. 7 for the final.
So the AIA should roll that momentum into basketball season. It won’t happen this year.
But next year, for the start of the next two-year scheduling block, why not?
Goodyear Millennium is expected to roll to 5A championship this season in both boys and girls basketball.
But they won’t be able to say they’re the best, even if they think they are, because somebody in 6A (could be Cesar Chavez, Desert Vista, Perry) and maybe even 4A (Tucson Salpointe Catholic jumps out) will claim they’re the best.
An Open Division for boys and girls basketball is worth considering.
At least, the AIA could measure the interest from the schools.
Many coaches, responding to emails sent by The Arizona Republic, responded positively for having an Open Division in boys and girls basketball with some conditions.
Some suggested not limiting it to just the big conferences (6A, 5A and 4A), but for all conferences.
Other coaches suggested having their conference tournaments played out, then picking eight teams from those and running an Open Division state tournament, which doesn’t have to be spaced out into four weeks like football, but could be run on successive days.
Phoenix Horizon boys basketball coach Jerry Conner, who opened Shadow Mountain’s program in the 1970s, likes the idea.
“I think it would be intriguing to have schools from all classifications possibly being in the playoff,” he wrote.
Aaron Trigg, head boys coach at 2A Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep, called it a fun idea, but he believes it may not be necessary for basketball at this point, because, even during Tempe Corona del Sol’s and Shadow Mountain’s run of dominance, they were challenged in their respective state tournaments.
The AIA decided to use an eight-team Open Division for football this year mainly because of the way the so-called “destination” schools, such as Chandler and Saguaro, were dominating at their respective conferences. Even Centennial in 5A.
“I think competitively it’s not necessary (for basketball),” Trigg said. “I’d probably rather see some sort of Tournament of Champions, where all state champions, plus possibly a couple of atlarge teams, play in a tournament after the state finals.
“Possibly the top 2 teams from 4A-6A, plus two state champions from 1A-3A. I would like for the small schools to have an opportunity to compete with larger schools, so I would hope it wouldn’t be limited to 4A-6A schools, if a smaller school proved its ability to compete well at that level.”
The small-school reservation schools, especially for girls, have shown in the past that they can play with anybody in the state at any level.
When Chandler Seton Catholic’s girls teams were winning titles at 3A, they looked good enough to win at higher levels. Seton now plays in 4A.
“I think anyone, 1A to 6A, should be eligible to compete in the Open Division, or you really can’t call it an Open Division tournament,” said Kent Senzee, head girls basketball coach at Oro Valley Canyon del Oro.
“I think 3A’s Sabino would be very competitive in the Open Division the next two seasons.
“To that point, if Seton Catholic would have stayed down in 3A the last six to seven year, they would have probably won an Open Division a few times.”
Seton girls coach Karen Self believes her school already has sought playing against teams from higher classifications in 4A with an enrollment under 575 students.
“Certainly we all want to seek the highest level of competition in order for our athletes to improve,” Self said. “However, for us, we are already seeking a higher division by playing up in 4A with less than 575 students in the school.
“I would rather see a state championship by division and then a tournament of champions for those who want to play in it. With six divisions, you could give the highest power-point teams a bye and extend the playoffs by a week.”
Self said it is a difficult question, because she’s not sure there is the disparity in talent and depth that is found in football.
“I think the Open Division is meant to combat stacked teams due to recruiting,” she said.
“I agree there is a recruiting problem in girls basketball, but it doesn’t create the same difficulties that football creates.”
Only one week into the Open Division football playoffs, it’s already been proven that it works with two 4A teams (Saguaro and Salpointe), advancing against two 6A schools (Hamilton and Chandler).
“In basketball, just like football, there are a small number of schools who have far more to work with in terms of players and resources than the vast majority of other schools,” Buena boys basketball coach Dave Glasgow said.
“Example: Salpointe being in 4A is pretty crazy. They were at the highest level for decades. They get kids from not just all over Tucson, sometimes from all over Southern Arizona.”