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Hoops district experience revamped
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McDonald’s Ken Greaver (34) goes up for a shot over Lowellville’s Paolo DePasquale during a game in McDonald.
By STEVE RUMAN
sports@vindy.com
When area coaches met on Feb. 9 to map out the brackets for the upcoming high school basketball tournaments, McDonald was awarded a second-seed in the Division IV Struthers district.
With its placement, the Blue Devils are afforded the luxury of knowing they won’t have to face top-seeded Wellsville unless both reach the district final.
This year, the high ranking in the tournament draw includes an added incentive.
For the first time in school history, McDonald will begin its tournament trail on its home court. The Blue Devils will host Sebring on Feb. 25 in a sectional semifinal. Should the Devils win, they will host a second tournament game three days later.
McDonald’s home-court advantage is part of the restructuring of the tournament, which was approved last fall by the Northeast Ohio District Athletic Board.
The new format gives home-court advantage to the higher-seeded team in all sectional-round games. District semifinal and final games will be played at neutral locations.
Northeast Ohio is the second of six districts to adopt the home-court procedure. The Central District has utilized the practice of awarding home games in the two sectional rounds since 2012.
While McDonald head coach Jeff Rasile is thrilled to be opening the tournament on his home court, he — like many area coaches — has mixed feelings about the new tournament format.
“One of the great aspects of our tournament used to be the fact that all the little schools got the experience of playing in a unique, unfamiliar venue,” Rasile said. “In our case, it was Struthers, which is unlike any Inter-Tri County League facility.
“There is a special feel to tournament basketball played at a neutral location,” Rasile said. “That’s going to be taken away from the majority of players.”
Poland coach Ken Grisdale, whose team will host a sectional final game following a first-round bye, said he is “up in the air” regarding his thoughts on tournament home-court advantage.
“Obviously, we’re thrilled to be playing a game at Poland,” Grisdale said. “You can never have enough home games, and our players and fans will love it.”
“But there are drawbacks,” Grisdale said. “For every positive, there seems to be a negative, so we’ll just have to give it a chance and see how it plays out.”
Grisdale noted that when first- and second-round games were played at a central location, fans, coaches and players were afforded the opportunity to attend every contest of any given sectional. This year, the area’s sectional semifinals and finals will all be played on the same night in each division.
“It will hinder the opportunity for coaches to scout possible upcoming opponents,” Grisdale said. “For fans, it will very much limit the amount of games they can attend.
“If you want to follow the Division II tournament, you will only be able to watch two first-round games. In the past, you could have watched seven or eight.”
Canfield coach Todd Muckleroy likes the fact that “teams are rewarded for success,” and noted that the new format places added value on the 22-game regular-season schedule. He credits the Northeast Ohio District Athletic Board for “thinking outside the box” and believes that home-court advantage will create added excitement.
“The gyms will be packed with fans from both schools,” Muckleroy said. “That will create a lot of energy, and it will put a lot of pressure on the home team to succeed.
“I think the new format will create a lot more drama in the early rounds,” Muckleroy said. “Financially, I don’t think it helps the home team, but for the fans it will be an interesting change.”
In fact, finances are what is likely behind the new format. In previous years, the Ohio High School Athletic Association rented a neutral facility for sectional-round games, and also covered the cost of game employees and security.
Schools hosting a sectional-round game are given $400 by the OHSAA to cover the expense of game workers, such as ticket sellers, ticket takers, scorekeepers and clock operators. The schools do not receive rental reimbursement from the OSHAA.
Niles athletic director Marc Fritz, whose Red Dragons will host a sectional semifinal game against Hubbard, said schools will be lucky to see a financial gain by hosting a contest.
“Make no mistake about it, we thrilled to have a game on our floor,” Fritz said. “It’s a chance to show off our new gym, and it’s something completely new for the tournament. It will create a lot of excitement with our players and students, and with the whole community.
“But from a financial standpoint, schools will be very lucky if they can break even,” Fritz said. “Financially, there is very little incentive to host.”
Last year, Warren Harding High School hosted the Division IV district tournament, which included the sectionals.
Twelve games were played on eight nights during a 12-day span. In addition to paying the financial costs of running the tournament, the OHSAA paid a $300-per-game rental fee to the Warren School District.
In contrast, Warren will be home to just three tournament games this year — the district semifinals and final — as host of the Division II district.
“If you compare the two years, the OHSAA is saving a great deal on rental fees, so you can see why they would welcome this change,” Warren Athletic Director Paul Trina said. “For various reasons, attendance at high school sporting events continues to decline overall, and I think the state is just looking for ways to cut their losses like everyone else.”
However, like others, Trina believes the change also will change the feel of postseason play.
“Sadly, eight of the 12 schools in our Division II district will not get to play at Harding,” Trina said. “Because of that, I think a lot of the tournament flare will be lost for a lot of these players.
“The early-round games where all these schools converged on one location was what made the tournament special,” Trina said. “There was a great deal of camaraderie among all the players, coaches and fans who all showed up at one place.”
Despite his concerns, Trina is willing to take a wait-and-see approach toward the new format.
“We’ll just have to take step back and look how this change affects the overall tournament,” Trina said. “Two weeks from now, I think we’ll all have a better feel for this new concept.”