March 14, 2008 - Though the number one and number two teams in the country are both in California, and both will play for CIF Championships at Arco Arena on Saturday, they won’t play each other.
Number one Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) is classified as a Division III school (roughly 1,000 to 1,500 students), while number two Long Beach Poly is a Division I school (more than 2,000, though in this case closer to 4,000). CIF rules force teams to stay in their enrollment-based divisions, presumably to prevent small private schools from recruiting by denying them the opportunity to play against the bigger schools in postseason.
The Irish, the top-ranked team in the country and winners of 55 straight games, will play Magnolia, which has lost six games and is a huge underdog. The undefeated team is still reeling, however, from the loss of Terrell Rogers — father of star forward Tierra Rogers — who was shot and killed across the street from the gym during halftime earlier this year.
Long Beach Poly will play Berkeley, a very good team that hasn’t been close to the national rankings all season. The Yellowjackets have lost to Long Beach Poly in the last two state finals, including last year’s 58-52 defeat.
A Long Beach Poly and Sacred Heart final would have drawn a better crowd and Long Beach probably would have preferred a rematch. For that matter, Magnolia and Berkerly would probably have been a better game for each school.
And it would cap off a wonderful season of California girls’ basketball if the state championship not only decided the national championship – but rules are rules, and the two teams will only be able to watch each other rather than play each other.
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