Far from perfect

April 17, 2005

J's World/Jeremiah Bartz

After the release of every all-conference, all-state, all-tournament or All-American team there is always a case for argument. It doesn't matter if it's the Major League Baseball All-Star team, or the Anchorage Daily News/Sportswriters All-State basketball squad.

From the prep ranks to the professional level, there has never been a post-season honorary list that everyone could consider perfect. There is always an omission or an argument that a player on the second team should be on the first team. A program is always over represented or under represented.

The 2005 Daily News All-State hoops squad is no different. If these post-season lists were perfect, Wasilla High School senior Matt Crane, the Northern Lights Conference Player of the Year, would have been listed on the first team, rather than the second.

We know that future all-star squads will also not be perfect, so the key is making enough changes to try to prevent some of the mistakes. And those compiling information for the Alaska all-state teams could eliminate problems and negative feedback by making slight changes.

Some argue coaches, rather than sports writers, should cast the ballots. If sports writers takes the responsibility seriously, they are just as capable of picking a legitimate all-state team as the coaches. A sports writer may not see every team in the state during the course of a year, but neither do most coaches. So why not include votes from both coaches and sports writers?

One problem is the lack off input on these teams. With few media outlets in the state, I would be surprised if there were more than a dozen ballots for the large school all-state team. A large chunk of those ballots come from Anchorage-area media outlets, leaving few votes for the remainder of the schools in the state. The Anchorage media outlets see the Anchorage-area schools on a regular basis, so obviously there is a bias. Now media outlets outside of Anchorage have to show a bias toward the programs in their area, just to have some of those programs recognized. The first time I voted in the all-state poll I tried to pick a true all-state team. Now I find myself listing Valley players first, just so they have a better shot of making the squads. I am not going to put a Valley player, who is third on his bench and averages just six minutes per game, on the list just because it is a Valley player. But if I believe the player is worthy of first or second-team honors, that player will be toward the top of the list. This year, Crane was at the top of my list for the 4A boys and I ranked Colony senior Justin Schwartzbauer second.

And I am not the only person to do this. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner has to be the voice for Interior schools. The Peninsula Clarion has to be the voice for Kenai-area schools.

The other major problem with the all-state team is many confuse it with an all-state tournament team. If a player has a fantastic state tournament, they play themselves onto the all-state team. But what about the other 90 percent of the season?

The criteria for voting on the all-state basketball team should be similar to that of the all-state football squad. Only those selected to the first team of the respective region should be eligible in the all-state voting. With only the best of each region eligible, those conducting the poll could send a list, complete with statistics and notes, to each media outlet with a vote.

Coaches also need to campaign for their players. It's not politics, but sports are political. If I know a Juneau player averaged 18 points and nine rebounds per game and led the Bears to a region championship, I will take that into consideration when I cast my ballot. It's better than seeing that player once and basing my judgment on that one performance. If the Peninsula Clarion or Fairbanks Daily News-Miner knows a Valley player averaged a double-double, that Valley player is likely to get much more support.

Jeremiah Bartz is the Frontiersman sports editor