There are plenty of times where one high school basketball team is much better than the other. In the case of what happened in Inland Southern California, one coach is paying the price for his girls’ basketball team being so much better than their competition. Michael Anderson of San Bernardino Arroyo Valley was suspended by his school for two games after a 161-2 win over Bloomington on Jan. 5 while leading 104-1 at halftime.
The O.C. Register reported that the two coaches met before the game and Anderson told Bloomington coach Dale Chung that he wanted to run his full offense for a half and Chung agreed. While running the full offense for a half seems fine on the surface, Anderson should have noticed when the lead was 50 or 60 that it was time to call off the dogs.
There is also a shot clock in high school basketball in California. Anderson should have just have his kids hold the ball and let the shot clock run out by early in the second quarter and not allow their opponents to get embarrassed like this. The suspension is exactly what should have happened. Sportsmanship is a big deal at the high school level. Anderson obviously didn’t have any when it allowed this score to happen.
[Editor’s note: I, Wyatt, completely disagree with Andy’s sentiments here. Put the bench in or something, but don’t hold the ball. That’s just embarrassing for both teams.]
