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WIAA’s Small Change to Save Cash

This year's state basketball tournaments will take on new look

By Paul Valencia, Columbian High School Sports Reporter
Published: January 19, 2011, 12:00am
2 Photos
The Union boys basketball team hoisted the Class 3A state championship trophy after a win over Enumclaw last season.
The Union boys basketball team hoisted the Class 3A state championship trophy after a win over Enumclaw last season. Photo Gallery

There is an extra detour on the road to the Tacoma Dome this basketball season.

Same for the trip to Yakima, and even Spokane.

Once a team gets to that final destination, the stay will not be as long and there will not be as many opponents.

Yes, a lot has changed in the way the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association will hold its state basketball championships. With the league seasons near the mid-point, here is what to look for when the postseason arrives.

For Southwest Washington teams, the way to advance to those opening-round sites varies by classification.

For Southwest Washington teams, the way to advance to those opening-round sites varies by classification.

Class 4A

There is no traditional district tournament in the 4A Greater St. Helens League this year. With five teams, and with each team facing each other three times in the regular season, officials determined that the regular season champion would automatically become the district champion. The second- and third-place teams will play in a one-game playoff for the No. 2 seed.

The two seeds from the 4A GSHL will then play in the 16-team District 3/4 tournament, with eight teams advancing to the opening rounds of the Hardwood Classic. The 4A GSHL's No. 1 team will have a home game in that tournament.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Jackson HS in Mill Creek; Juanita HS in Kirkland; Puyallup HS; and Richland HS.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Jackson HS in Mill Creek; Inglemoor HS in Kenmore; Rogers HS in Puyallup; and Richland HS.

Class 3A

Five teams will qualify for the district tournament, a step-ladder format. No. 5 will face No. 4 in an elimination game. The winner will take on No. 3, then No. 2, and finally, the No. 1 team from the regular season for the district championship. The final four teams at district will qualify for the 12-team bi-district. Of those 12, five will make it to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Marysville-Pilchuck HS in Marysville; Bellevue College; Auburn HS; and Spokane Falls CC.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Marsyville Pilchuck in Marysville; Bellevue College; Auburn-Mountainview HS; Shadle Park HS in Spokane.

Class 2A

The top three teams in the 2A GSHL will make the eight-team District 4 tournament, and from there, three teams will advance to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Stanwood HS; Mt. Tahoma HS in Tacoma; Tumwater HS; and Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Stanwood HS; Foss HS in Tacoma; Black Hills HS in Tumwater; and Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

Class 1A

The top four teams will advance to the eight-team 1A District 4 tournament, with four teams from there advancing to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Glacier Peak HS in Snohomish; W.F. West in Chehalis; Eisenhower HS in Yakima; and Mead HS in Spokane.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites:Glacier Peak HS in Snohomish; W.F. West in Chehalis; West Valley HS in Yakima; and Mt. Spokane HS in Mead.

Class 1B

The top four teams from the Columbia Valley League advance to an eight-team district tournament. From there, three teams will advance to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys/girls sites: Mountlake Terrace; Timberline HS in Lacey; Eastmont HS in East Wenatchee; and Walla Walla HS.

Class 4A

There is no traditional district tournament in the 4A Greater St. Helens League this year. With five teams, and with each team facing each other three times in the regular season, officials determined that the regular season champion would automatically become the district champion. The second- and third-place teams will play in a one-game playoff for the No. 2 seed.

The two seeds from the 4A GSHL will then play in the 16-team District 3/4 tournament, with eight teams advancing to the opening rounds of the Hardwood Classic. The 4A GSHL’s No. 1 team will have a home game in that tournament.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Jackson HS in Mill Creek; Juanita HS in Kirkland; Puyallup HS; and Richland HS.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Jackson HS in Mill Creek; Inglemoor HS in Kenmore; Rogers HS in Puyallup; and Richland HS.

Class 3A

Five teams will qualify for the district tournament, a step-ladder format. No. 5 will face No. 4 in an elimination game. The winner will take on No. 3, then No. 2, and finally, the No. 1 team from the regular season for the district championship. The final four teams at district will qualify for the 12-team bi-district. Of those 12, five will make it to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Marysville-Pilchuck HS in Marysville; Bellevue College; Auburn HS; and Spokane Falls CC.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Marsyville Pilchuck in Marysville; Bellevue College; Auburn-Mountainview HS; Shadle Park HS in Spokane.

Class 2A

The top three teams in the 2A GSHL will make the eight-team District 4 tournament, and from there, three teams will advance to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Stanwood HS; Mt. Tahoma HS in Tacoma; Tumwater HS; and Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites: Stanwood HS; Foss HS in Tacoma; Black Hills HS in Tumwater; and Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

Class 1A

The top four teams will advance to the eight-team 1A District 4 tournament, with four teams from there advancing to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys sites: Glacier Peak HS in Snohomish; W.F. West in Chehalis; Eisenhower HS in Yakima; and Mead HS in Spokane.

Hardwood Classic first-round girls sites:Glacier Peak HS in Snohomish; W.F. West in Chehalis; West Valley HS in Yakima; and Mt. Spokane HS in Mead.

Class 1B

The top four teams from the Columbia Valley League advance to an eight-team district tournament. From there, three teams will advance to the Hardwood Classic.

Hardwood Classic first-round boys/girls sites: Mountlake Terrace; Timberline HS in Lacey; Eastmont HS in East Wenatchee; and Walla Walla HS.

The place to be for Class 4A and 3A teams remains the Tacoma Dome, but only eight teams will be in each bracket, breaking the long-standing format with 16-team brackets.

Those final games will take place over three days rather than four, and six teams will earn trophies in the modified double-elimination format rather than the eight in previous seasons.

The same format will be in place for the 2A and 1A tournaments in Yakima, and the 2B and 1B tournaments in Spokane.

Before getting to those final sites, 16 teams will advance to state in what is called the first rounds of the Hardwood Classic Tournaments.

Four teams will head to one of four predetermined sites to play off for two spots. The top two seeds at each site will play each other on Friday, Feb. 25. The winner goes to state. The bottom two seeds at each site also play on Friday, with the loser eliminated. On Saturday, the survivor of that game will face the loser of the top-seed game, with the winner advancing to state.

Union boys basketball coach Maco Hamilton said he is not one to complain about change. Instead, he just adapts.

“The best teams will find a way to get there, no matter what type of format is used,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity for the kids.”

Hamilton knows a thing or two about state. He led the Titans to the 3A state tournament the past two years, finishing seventh in 2009 and winning it all in 2010. This season, Union is a Class 4A program.

Hamilton said he is not a fan of the condensed, three-day tournament once a team make it to the dome, but he likes the idea of the first-round games — with the top seeds getting two chances to qualify.

“Everyone still has a shot to get there. It’s cool how it’s seeded,” Hamilton said. “We’re probably going to get the eight best teams to the Tacoma Dome.”

Why the change? Well, money, of course.

Mike Colbrese, the executive director of the WIAA, said the executive board was looking at a way to cut costs.

In the past, the 4A and 3A tournaments were held on separate weeks, taking four days each week. Now, the 4A and 3A tournaments will be on the same site, same days. Instead of paying for use of the Tacoma Dome for eight days, the WIAA is paying for three.

Prairie girls coach Al Aldridge, who has led the Falcons to 27 state appearances, said he is trying to keep an open mind. He said he enjoys the 16-team bracket and he fears that those opening round games will lack the excitement associated with the state tournament.

But within two seconds, he thought about the fact that there will be four tournaments at once in the dome: 4A boys and girls, and 3A boys and girls.

“At the same time, that might be kind of fun,” he said.

Gate receipts have suffered in recent years as attendance dwindled at the state tournaments. Colbrese said the board did not want to hike membership fees and did not want to raise ticket prices. That left reformatting.

“We believe the tournaments needed to be re-energized,” he said.

While many basketball fans are describing those initial games as regionals, the WIAA officially recognizes those playoffs as the first round. The two teams that are eliminated at those first-round sites will be considered state tournament participants.

Aldridge has been around long enough to remember a similar format was in use when Prairie was a 2A program in the 1980s. In 1986, for example, the official Prairie program lists the team finishing among the top-16 after not getting out of what was then called the regionals.

None of the predetermined first-round sites are in Clark County this season, although the county could see Hardwood Classic games in later years.

Colbrese said this first year of the new format will be used to improve the tournaments in the future.

“What worked and what didn’t work? How can we tweak it?” Colbrese said. “Everything will be up for discussion once we get through this year.”

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Columbian High School Sports Reporter