Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Right off the top, let's make this clear.

I am not a high school basketball coach. 

It's an extremely tough job with long hours, low pay and lots and lots of critics. The coaches in our state deserve to have their voices heard and the survey distributed today by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association gives them that opportunity. 

Although I am not a coach, I've been around the high school basketball game in Wisconsin for a long time, covering it for the past 36 years as editor of the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook in addition to the last 16 years as lead boys' basketball writer for WisSports.net. 

With that in mind, here is how I would answer the questions on the survey distributed today:

WBCA Survey

Please fill out this survey to help us better understand where membership stands on several issues/proposals facing our great game of basketball in the state of Wisconsin. The WBCA was asked by the WIAA to survey members schools and their coaches regarding issues facing high school basketball teams, coaches, and schools in the state. All questions were submitted by members of the WBCA. There were over 80 submissions and the WBCA chose to address questions that were submitted multiple times in order to keep the survey at a manageable length. All the questions in the survey were approved by the WIAA before their release in the survey. There were a number of questions regarding seeding but the WIAA has indicated that seeding will be done electronically next year so those questions were eliminated. Please encourage area and conference coaches to submit their responses.

Jerry Petitgoue, Executive Director WBCA 

Question One

In your opinion, what should be the philosophy of the WIAA with regard to the state tournament:

A) Develop a system to allow flexibility in moving teams to balance the competitiveness in all sectionals.

B) All areas of the state represented at the state tournament as currently done via geographic locations.

I favor A. The WIAA State Tournament should strive to be a showcase for the very best our state has to offer in terms of players and teams. With so many good players and teams concentrated in a few sectionals, many fans never see outstanding individual players and teams as some are eliminated in regional or sectional competition. With the Fox Valley, greater Milwaukee and the Madison area being somewhat close, teams could be moved to avoid situations where the so many of the top teams are included in the same sectional. Of course, this becomes somewhat problematic when taking into account the schools from northern Wisconsin. And it is nice to have teams from the north at the state tournament as well. Many of the answers to this question will depend on the structure the WIAA takes for its state tournament in terms of number of divisions and number of qualifying teams.  

Question Two

Which WIAA State Tournament model listed below do you believe would best serve member schools with regard to the WIAA State Tournament?

A) 5 divisions with 8 teams from each division qualifying 40 teams (multiple sites)

B) 4 divisions with 8 teams from each division qualifying 32 teams (multiple sites)

C) 3 divisions with 8 teams from each division qualifying 24 teams (one site)

D) 5 divisions with 4 teams from each division qualifying 20 teams (one site)

Honestly, I'm not strongly in favor of any of these options. I'd prefer we go back to the 8-4-4-4 model or perhaps go to a format that includes eight teams at Division 1 and four each in Divisions 2-3-4-5. Four or five divisions isn't the big issue for me. Rather, it's getting more of the top teams and players from the larger schools on the state-tournament stage. Multiple locations isn't the answer as splitting the crowds would diminish the feel of one of the top state-tournament experiences in the Midwest. If I have to pick one of the four options listed, I guess I stick with D, which is the current setup.  

Question Three

Do you believe the WIAA needs to address competitive equity as a priority?

A) Yes

B) No

A loaded question that begs to be further explained. What exactly is competitive equity? Once the term is defined, and is determined to be an issue, what are the possible remedies? We've been down the pot-hole filled roads of urban vs. rural, private vs. public, success formulas to possibly move teams up or down a division. There are no easy answers. No one size fits all formula. I feel the WIAA is cognizant of balancing its competitive play. That's why we have conferences filled with schools of similar size and state tournaments with multiple divisions.   

Question Four

Which do you prefer?

A) 5 equal divisions as the state tournament was conducted this year

B) Divisional splits as they were traditionally in the past

C) Tiered divisional breakdowns for basketball? D1 -- largest 64 schools, D2 -- next largest 64 schools, D3-D5 remaining 368 schools divided up equally.

My preference would be to split all schools of 650 students or more into divisions 1 and 2. Largest half in Division 1 and smaller half in Division 2. Give Division 1 eight teams at the state tournament. Divide the remaining schools into the remaining three divisions equally. But that is not an option. So of the three listed, I would favor B. However, I feel the WIAA should modify the B model in terms of how it puts schools into divisions. Using the enrollment figures I mentioned above, the following enrollment breakdowns would be used:

Division 1 -- 76 schools (enrollments from 1,149 to 2,494)
Division 2 -- 75 schools (enrollments from 662 to 1,147)
Division 3 -- 115 schools (enrollments 314 from to 642) 
Division 4 -- 115 schools (enrollments from 175 to 314)
Division 5 -- 115 schools (enrollments from 37 to 175)
 

Question Five

Would you be in favor of changing the sectional lines on a more frequent basis?

A) Yes

B) No

Definitely A. Placing teams from the same conference in different sectionals as much as possible should be a goal. Placing power teams in different sectionals should be another goal. Who determines who the power teams will be for any given year? That's a big question. Maybe each conference could submit a list of its voted-on top two or three teams for each season in the spring and then submit that information to the WIAA. They WIAA could then try to avoid placing those schools in the same sectional. 

Question Six

Would you be in favor of working with WIAA host tournament sites to reestablish the shoot around for teams qualifying for the state tournament?

A) Yes

B) No

Definitely A. The shoot around gives the media a chance to interview players and coaches. More importantly, the shoot around helps the players acclimate to their new surroundings. 

Question Seven

Would you be in favor of the WIAA working to revise the transfer/open enrollment rules?

A) Yes

B) No

Definitely A. More transparency is needed with eligibility decisions for individual players. Waivers granted for Player A but not Player B lead to confusion and anger. I'm not sure what the answer is in this regard, but I do know the WIAA could avoid headaches and bad public relations with more transparency.  

Question Eight

Would you be in favor of the WIAA implementing a shot clock?

A) Yes

B) No

I'd be in favor of A if I knew a shot clock would be implemented properly. I have little faith that would happen. The logistical problems are definite concerns. Who pays for the purchase of the shot clocks? Where are the shot clocks placed in any given gym? Above the backboards? Next to the scoreboard? Who operates the shot clock? How many seconds is the shot clock? How does a shot clock help/hinder officials? How many game stoppages will there be to reset the shot clock? Is there enough table space to add a shot-clock operator? If -- and it's a huge if -- all those questions can be answered, using a shot clock at the prep level does have merit. It could create a new whole round of strategy and leads to a much better flow to the game.  

Question Nine

Should the head coach be included in the meeting with the captains and officials before the game?

A) Yes

B) No

B. Not even sure why this is a question. 

Question 10

Would you be in favor of maintaining 24 games but shortening the season by two weeks?

A) Yes

B) No

I'll go with B without knowing the end game here. The season was shortened by three weeks this season and just a handful of teams managed to get in 24 games due to COVID-19 and the weather. Shortening the campaign by two weeks in the future would make it tough to schedule 24 games and still get enough practice time. This isn't the NBA. Kids need to practice. 

Question 11

Should the WIAA, in conjunction with the WBCA, consider making a coach's behavior toward officials a point of emphasis?

A) Yes

B) No

Without question, A. The majority of high school coaches on the boys' side are well behaved on the sidelines. But there are a few who constantly question officials. That needs to stop. As a good friend of mine always says, there are no games without officials. That is most definitely true. We are currently facing a shortage of officials, in large part because of the constant criticism they encounter. Bottom line, officials must be treated with respect and it starts with the coaching staffs. 

Question 12

Should high school officials be required to attend a clinic every two-to-three years to maintain level?

A) Yes

B) No

Tough question. Do coaches have to attend coaching clinics? Most do, but is it a requirement? Most officials strive to get better. Attending a clinic would help in that regard. But mandating it? That seems a bit heavy handed. 

Question 13

With the expansion to 24 games, would you be okay with teams being able to play in larger tournaments during the season once every four years? (Currently it is an 8-team limit, but some schools would like to see a 16-team limit over the winter break). 

A) Yes

B) No

Yes. Any opportunity for student/athletes to experience something of this magnitude is a positive. And limiting it to once every four years allows for a level playing field between schools with many resources and those without as many resources. 

For the latest and most up to date boys' basketball news and recruiting information, follow Mark on Twitter @wisbbyearbook. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Mark by clicking here.