The member schools of the NYSPHAA just finished their second 18-game regular season. Next year, those schools will be again limited to just 18 games - down two games from seasons past, down six games from what Monsignor Martin schools can schedule, and significantly down from what most states in this country allow.
I've heard it discussed, read articles about it, and read ranting on blogs. These last two years, when the quality of basketball in WNY is questioned, (whether it's the players aren't as good anymore, we don't have the powerhouse teams we used to have, or there aren't enough marquee games) it always seems to come back to one thing – we have to get those two games back from the state.
I'm sorry, but those two games are gone and we're not getting them back. It's a sad reality, but one that needs to be faced. I could sooner see the state taking more away, rather than restoring the basketball season to 20 games. The biggest impact of the restriction is felt in nonleague scheduling.
With the exception of the charter schools, all public schools in Section VI are part of a league, and depending on which your team belongs to, league play gobbles up either 12 or 14 of the 18-game allowance. In the Niagara Orleans league or the Yale Cup for example, teams play 14 league games. League play began this year in January, but the season starts in the last week of November. That leaves over a month of season, in which you're allowed to schedule four games. One tournament played over two nights, and you're down to two games. If you play in a tip-off tournament, you're left with two games to schedule over the course of 30 days. That's unacceptable! So let's stop accepting it. If this is the fate we are dealt, it's time to work within it.
The only suggestion I've heard is teams face league opponents just once and rotate the home sight annually. I have a solution that I think makes even more sense, and is the best compromise I've come up with to maintain the esablished leagues, while greatly improving the nonleague scheduling dilema.
I'll use the Yale Cup large schools (Yale Cup I) to illustrate this example. Rather than all eight teams playing a home and home against each other, divide those large schools in half – by team strength, by location, etc. – however you want to divide them. Say it's:
1. McKinley, Riverside, Hutch-Tech, & East
2. Bennett, Lafayette, South Park, Burgard
Teams from group one still play a home and home (six games), then group one plays each team from group two just once (four games). Teams could even leave one game on their schedule "open" for a league showcase, which could also serve as a tiebreaker in some league races. In this example, league games are reduced to 10 or 11 games, allowing seven or eight nonleagers. That's four tournaments, one for every weekend in December.
The above formula is designed for leagues with eight teams, which include: Yale Cup I, Yale Cup II, ECIC I, NFL, and N-O.
Leagues with seven teams include: ECIC II, III, & IV, and all four CCAA divisions. Those teams currently play six nonleague games and 12 league contests. If you're okay with six nonleague game, then you're in good shape. If you want more, here's what I've come up with:
– Move one team from CCAA I down to CCAA II and move a team from CCAA III down to CCAA IV. Now CCAA I & III would have six teams (10 league games), while CCAA II & IV would have eight teams and could follow the format above.
That leaves ECIC II, III, and IV all with seven teams. If each league added one team, they'd all have eight teams and could also follow the eight-team league format outlined above. But where do we come up with three teams to add? Well, I can think of three independent charter schools off the top of my head: Oracle, Tapestry, and Maritime. CSAT is a charter school and plays in the N-O. It's not such a crazy concept.
I realize everything I wrote may sound complicated. To me, it's logical and makes perfect sense.
Is it a sensible solution to a situation that isn't going to get any better on its own or is it just a pipe dream? For me, the answer depends on how badly the coaches want more nonleague games to schedule.
Call me crazy, call me brilliant, call me naive…just say something. This is an issue that needs a productive discussion or there will never be any resolution – just a long December. I want reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.
-centercourt
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