Posted: July 14, 2010 |(0) Comments

Nicolet girls basketball coach Corey Wolf is having a busy but enjoyable summer.

A little more than three weeks ago, she gave birth to her and husband (Knights assistant baseball coach) Jeff Wolf's third child.

But don't think that that little arrival into the world means she let slip the ramifications of the recent WIAA Board of Control's decision to expand and change the state basketball tournament from four divisions to five.

It's a decision that drops the talented, senior-laden Knights down into Division 2 this coming winter due to their enrollment being under 1,200 students.

"We had a pretty good idea that this was coming," said Wolf last Friday. "So we (the school) put in an appeal in spring to play at the D1 level (enrollments 1,200 and above). We haven't heard anything back yet, but we do have the appeal in."

The two-time North Shore champions are in that rare position of petitioning to go up a class because they feel they are worthy of it. And, as noted previously, the Board of Control added a division on the lower levels (schools with enrollments of 600 and under will have three championship divisions to work with as opposed to their previous two).

In the process, four schools were taken away from the larger D1 tournament and added to its schedule was a Super Sectional Tuesday after sectional finals but prior to state - a concept that generally threw the larger schools for a loop.

Wolf, like other D1 coaches interviewed, was not thrilled by the idea.

"I've always been a person who doesn't like a great deal of change," she said. "I played in D1 and coached in D1 all my life. Can we adapt? Of course, but it is tough and that's why we've appealed.

"Whatever happens, we'll take it and adjust to it. … Our players are very competitive. When they saw that we might have to move down (a division) they were very disappointed.

"… D1 is a big challenge, but we're ready to accept it."

Tourney gets watered down

Acceptance by D1 schools wasn't immediately on the docket after the decision, as a quick series of indignant e-mails flooded the in-boxes of Board of Control members shortly after the 10-0 decision was made.

"There's an assumption that it's always Milwaukee city schools (making it to state)," said Germantown boys coach Steve Showalter, "but there are a lot of schools like us (large and suburban) battling to get to state (the Warhawks advanced in 2008 and 2009).

"… This just makes it tougher."

Watering down the meaning of a state title in the process.

In going to five brackets, Wisconsin breaks with neighbors Illinois and Michigan, both much larger states and both of which have four championship divisions.

Comments on the Journal Sentinel post concerning the change last month were both sarcastic and uncomplimentary.

"Completely asinine. Are you kidding me?" went one post. "Double the number of teams with 200 to 600 enrollment?! This eliminates half of the best teams in the state tournament - the largest schools."

Nicolet boys coach Paul Hepp understands the argument.

"Yes, there are good players and good teams throughout the state," he said, "but their concentration is centralized in the Milwaukee and Madison areas (where the majority of the schools are of D1 enrollment)."

Regional representation key

But as WIAA officials have pointed out time and again when this argument of not getting all the best players and teams to state in any given sport has come up, its emphasis has always been regional participation as opposed to sheer excellence.

The accompanying document that went along with the WIAA decision emphasizes that point, noting: "This plan provides equal representation at the state tournament in all divisions, e.g. four schools per division. Enrollment is a key part of the plan."

The WIAA's more egalitarian philosophy has in the past led to the creation of basketball power sectionals, tough brackets put together with the idea of driving attendance upward by having an abundance of talented teams involved. These have almost always been located in the Milwaukee area.

And in recent years, due to the push of enlightened school administrations such as those at Germantown and Marquette, those kind of sectionals have had the chance to improve their profile by locating them at Marquette University's excellent Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.

Fewer fans at D1 sectionals?

Coaches interviewed said that the impact and attendance of such sectionals (currently two D1 and one D2 sectional are held at the Al) would be diluted if all the sectional final victory guarantees the winner is an ultra-difficult Super Sectional Tuesday contest just a couple of days after two back-to-back high-level sectional games.

The general thought is that the quality of and the attendance at the sectional games would most definitely suffer because of the Super Sectional concept.

WIAA Associate Director Debra Hauser noted that this new system will be given a few test years to see how it works. An ad hoc committee will be formed to monitor comments and complaints.

She said on the D2 and lower levels, the use of seeding in sectionals will be expanded from its current formula of four regional to two half-sectional brackets in order to create a more competitive atmosphere. Teams can petition for change there if the travel situation becomes too costly.

Overall, everyone is just trying to get used to the idea that the state tournament series will look much different come March 2011.

"The blog arguments are that it is watering it down," said Brown Deer Athletic Director and former boys basketball coach Mike Novak. "That's a pretty radical view of change. Everyone has their favorite traditions and I'm no different. I'm more conservative in nature, but I'm of the view that if you're not part of change that's coming then you're dead in the water.

"I'm hoping that they're doing this for all the right reasons, but I'll still hold my (old traditions) close to my heart."

AT A GLANCE

Where does your school stand? Selected area schools and their positioning under the new hoops plan:

Enrollments based on 2009-10

Brookfield Academy 232 (Division 4); Brookfield Central 1,352 (Division 1); Brookfield East 1,332 (D1); Brown Deer 673 (Division 2); Cedarburg 1,113 (D2); Germantown 1,390 (Division 1); Dominican 387 (D4); Grafton 836 (D2); Hartford 1,611 (D1); Sussex Hamilton 1,275 (D1); Homestead 1,493 (D1); Menomonee Falls 1,547 (D1); Milwaukee Lutheran 737 (D2); Nicolet 1,197 (D2); Shorewood 624 (D2); Slinger 935 (D2); University School 366 (D4); and Whitefish Bay 887 (D2)

Third of three parts

This is the final installment in a series of columns that looked at the decision to expand the state basketball tournament from four to five divisions.