sandiego cif news

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SoCalHoops High School News

CIF-SS Gets Smaller By Five; Tarantino
Moves To Bishop's--(Apr. 27, 2000)

According to a published report in yesterday's San Diego Union Tribune, written by Steve Brand, the Southern Section just got a little bit smaller as five schools, located out in the middle of the desert in the southern end of the Imperial Valley, have decided to switch over to the San Diego Section. The schoos had complained about travel expense and their lack of success competing for playoff spots in the Southern Sectoin, and last month, the Southern Section granted permission for the schools to seek admission to the San Diego Section of CIF.

The schools which will leave the Southern Section are Brawley, Calexico, Central (El Centro), Palo Verde (Blythe) and Southwest (El Centro). The San Diego Sectino Board of Managers voted to place these schools in the San Diego Section's Southern Conference, and to place the schools in a new Imperial Valley League. Which schools ultimately comprise the league will be determined later by officials from the Southern Conference. The five schools will participate in the San Diego Section in all sports and are immediately eligible for participation in the playoffs.

In another interesting move, the San Diego Section's Board of Managers voted to allow schools to move up a division for the playoffs in football if they desire to do so. This comes in stark contrast to the recent move by the Southern Section to prevent such "move-ups" thus requiring schools to stay within their enrollment-based divisions for the playoffs.

In other San Diego prep news, the Union Tribune's Tom Shanahan reported on Tuesday that Tom Tarantino, who four years ago resigned from his position as coach of the nationally acclaimed boys' program at St. Dominic's in Long Island, N.Y., to become the head coach at Carlsbad, has once again switched schools, this time taking the head coaching job at The Bishop's School in La Jolla, taking over for Fentriss Winn, who up until this past season had coached both the boys' and girls' teams. Winn will continue to coach the girls' team.

The move comes just two months after Carlsbad won its first CIF-San Diego Section Division I title, and nearly upset Long Beach Poly in the first round of the State playoffs. Bishop's, described by the Union Trib as "an exclusive private school in La Jolla," competes in Division IV with an enrollment of 430. According to Shanahan, "Tarantino leaves behind what may be the county's preseason No. 1-ranked team. The Lancers return three starters in 6-foot-4 junior Tim Crenshaw, a third-team pick on the Union-Tribune's All-County team; 6-4 guard/forward Derek Stockalper, one of the top sophomores in the state; and sophomore point guard Greg Nelson. Carlsbad also is opening a new gym next year. Recent transfers by public school players to private schools have strained the relationship between public school and private school coaches. Public school coaches will be watching to see if any Carlsbad players end up at Bishop's. 'That's not going to happen,' Tarantino said. 'The people at Bishop's have made it clear to me that academics comes first. I loved the (Carlsbad) players and we had a great season. The new coach that Carlsbad hires is walking into a great situation.'

Carlsbad thus has an immediate opening for a new boys' coach. Interested applicants can contact Athletic Director Bob Pierce at (760) 729-9291.