NEO DI Districts (East)

cardzfan1234

cardzfan1234

Well-known member
Let's use this thread to discuss the three DI NEO districts on the "East" pod. These 37 teams will be divided up into three district brackets, with a maximum of 16 teams per bracket. Here is the list of the teams: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1veMJSxApusgkSNo4LKd9rbdGuPgA6ujgh2zp8hGzj0Q/edit#gid=0

Power rankings for the East (based mostly on NEOhsSports rankings)

1) Canton McKinely (6-2)
2) Jackson (10-1)
3) Mentor (3-0)
4) Brush (3-4)
5) Hoban (6-1)
6) Solon (4-2)
7) University (5-2)
8) Walsh Jesuit (7-2)

Others: Green, Hoover, Boardman, Nordonia, GlenOak

Mentor is one of the late starters, having just played their first game of the season on January 6. Jackson had a hot start with ten straight wins, but their loss over the weekend to McKinely gives the Pups the edge. Brush is high on talent and strength of schedule, but their record leaves a lot to be desired. Still, they are a team good enough to make a big run.

The politics of the vote itself will be interesting when that time comes. No league will have more "muscle" than the Federal League, with all seven of their members included. The WRC also has seven teams, but besides Brush (who has already announced leaving the WRC), the teams in their league will not be among the top dozen or so teams. Historically, the teams in the WRC showed no extra favoritism toward Brush in the vote. Several teams are independent (Walsh, Hoban, University, Massillon), so that doesn't usually help their familiarity.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. With a maximum of 16 teams per district, it is theoretically possible to see districts very unbalanced. We might see one with 14 or 15 teams while another only has 10. I'm all for it. Coaches will pick the draw that is most favorable, whatever that path might look like. Technically, it is possible for two districts of 16 with the third having just five. I know that is really, really difficult to imagine it happening. I wouldn't be shocked if there was a district of just 8 or 9 though.
 
 
Cardz,

if it's like what they did for soccer in the fall, the brackets will be pre-determined in terms of size with no district having more than the other (12, 12, and 13 for D1 East).

The biggest challenge with such a large footprint is that the voting teams aren't as familiar with each other, and without mandatory score reporting there's the question of how much homework the coaches will do in terms of their voting.
 
why are you saying a district bracket may only have 8 or 9 teams ??... im confused by that

would it not just be 3 brackets like bucksman said with 12 , 12, and 13 teams in each bracket ??
 
bucksman said:
if it's like what they did for soccer in the fall, the brackets will be pre-determined in terms of size with no district having more than the other (12, 12, and 13 for D1 East).

The biggest challenge with such a large footprint is that the voting teams aren't as familiar with each other, and without mandatory score reporting there's the question of how much homework the coaches will do in terms of their voting.
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Same thing for volleyball. D1 split into East (38 teams) and West (33 teams) which then broke down into 6 districts of 12, 13, 11, 11, 11, and 11 teams.
 
Breaking it up into even districts would make more sense, so I am sure you are correct. I just was basing my (likely incorrect) assumption on the language consistently used in the media release: "maximum of 16 teams."
 
bucksman said:
The biggest challenge with such a large footprint is that the voting teams aren't as familiar with each other, and without mandatory score reporting there's the question of how much homework the coaches will do in terms of their voting.
Click to expand...

Good point. Coaches will see records, but not to the detail that a coach can find in football with a tool like Joe Eitel handy. Just for example, Jackson and Brush likely will have very little knowledge of what the other brings to the table. That is why I brought up the advantage of the teams from the Fed and to a lesser extent, the WRC. Having six other league members (along with other local familiar teams in county) voting along with you should make a difference for teams like Jackson, McKinley, Green, Hoover, and possibly Brush. Half of the 37 teams are from Stark/Summit counties, giving those schools a clear advantage in familiarity as Cuyahoga was mostly sent out west.

A breakdown by county:

Summit: 10
Stark: 8
Lake: 6
Cuyahoga: 5
Mahoning: 2
Portage: 2
Ashtabula: 1
Geauga: 1
Trumbull: 1
Tuscarawas: 1
 
Each coach (team) is permitted space on the website to discuss their resume (schedule). They can comment or justify schedule, strength of schedule, rankings, injuries, etc. It is then up to the other coaches to read the team biography if they are unfamiliar with a team. I would hope that coaches are not lazy and would take a few minutes to learn about other teams.
 
Some additional insight from Josh Weir at The Repository.

"The Northeast District Athletic Board will utilize a revamped tournament alignment this postseason that should lead to some interesting and unique matchups at the sectional and district levels, especially in Division I.

Instead of set fields in each district, teams in each division across Northeast Ohio are divided into east and west groupings. The teams in each grouping will seed all the way through from first to last, then pick their preferred spot wherever they like in available districts in descending order on Feb. 7.

For example, in boys Division I, Green and all the Stark County teams are in the east grouping, which includes 37 teams stretching from Ashtabula Lakeside to Dover that will make up three separate district tournaments. Lakeside vs. Dover — roughly two hours from each other — could be sectional game in theory.

This format increases the importance of a higher seed because of the potential travel involved (each game is played at higher seed). That's magnified more in this year of COVID since there isn’t a neutral site for the district games. No team wants to be playing for a district championship on its opponent’s home floor.

There also is the possibility — in boys Division I for example — of running into a Mentor, Solon or Brush at the sectional or district level.
“You're going to have to beat good teams in Northeast Ohio, no matter where,” [Massillon head coach Josh] Hose said."

IIRC, though, in Volleyball some district brackets consisted of teams from both the East and West groupings.

www.cantonrep.com

Area boys and girls basketball coaches react to new Northeast District tournament format

Competitive balance the goal with expanded basketball district fields, which brings Northeast Ohio more in line with Columbus and Cincinnati areas.
www.cantonrep.com www.cantonrep.com
 
NEO - Board-what a bunch of screwballs.

With limited funding (fewer ticket sales) this is what they come up with.

More inline; similar to Columbus and Cincinnati. Both of those areas are more compact
with much fewer outliers.

:>---

SALT
 
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I think if you're going to go the "super district" route, combining the pairs of districts (Eastside, Westside, Akron/Canton) makes the most sense. This is putting together teams as far as 2 hours away in the same potential bracket. They tried that experiment for two years, but that more reasonable idea ended. I expect this to have even bigger travel issues, which will likely mean a return to the typical NEO format in a couple years. Just my two cents.
 
Mentor is playing just their fourth game of the season tomorrow. Who knows how many games they will be able to get in before the vote. But due to their reputation (coach, star player, team success), I think other coaches will give them the benefit of the doubt. Any reason to believe that we will see anything other than Jackson, McKinley, and Mentor as the #1 seeds?
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Mentor is playing just their fourth game of the season tomorrow. Who knows how many games they will be able to get in before the vote. But due to their reputation (coach, star player, team success), I think other coaches will give them the benefit of the doubt. Any reason to believe that we will see anything other than Jackson, McKinley, and Mentor as the #1 seeds?
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Wow I didn't realize Mentor has only played 3 games. Jackson and McK make sense as #1 seeds, it is going to be interesting with Mentor. Some coaches may try to position themselves over Mentor because of the lack of games similar to what happened in college football. Who have they played and who is left on the schedule? That will make a difference.
 
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wack7 said:
I would think barring any more stoppage Mentor could get 10 games in before the seeding process
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Yes, if all games go on as scheduled they should play 10 games. The next seven include McKinley, Solon (twice), Brunswick, Benedictine, and Elyria (twice).
 
Mentor and McKinley were/are scheduled to play at the McKinley Classic on January 31. Is that still on? That would be a pretty big one in determining the top seeds.
 
We are roughly ten days from the draw. Not too much has changed. Anything other than Mentor and the top two Fed teams (Jackson/McKinley) getting the #1 seeds would be surprising.

Brush had a nice weekend with a convincing win over Riverside (their biggest challenger in the WRC) and a Sunday afternoon win against Central Catholic. Unfortunately for them, their two best players (Elmore James and Tyler Williams) were injured during the game. The severity of their injuries will dictate how things go for them.

Mentor picked up their season again with three wins this week. Jackons (14-1) has played nine more games than Mentor. Their only loss has been a 79-51 rout by McKinley. The Pups are 9-3 and undefeated in Fed League play.

Solon (lost to Medina, beat Twinsburg this weekend), Hoban, and Walsh remain in that next tier of teams with Brush.

This week's big games include Walsh/Hoban (Tuesday), Mentor/Solon (Wednesday), and McKinley/Moeller (Sunday)
 
cardzfan1234 said:
We are roughly ten days from the draw. Not too much has changed. Anything other than Mentor and the top two Fed teams (Jackson/McKinley) getting the #1 seeds would be surprising.

Mentor picked up their season again with three wins this week. Jackons (14-1) has played nine more games than Mentor. Their only loss has been a 79-51 rout by McKinley. The Pups are 9-3 and undefeated in Fed League play.
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That McKinley-Jackson score was 71-59.
 
Mackinbiner said:
That McKinley-Jackson score was 71-59.
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Ok, that's much more reasonable. I was going by MaxPreps...which was been typed in error on the part of McKinley or Jackson? Not sure who inputs the data for MaxPreps, but I would assume a coach or admin. The score shows up like that on both McKinley and Jackson's MaxPreps pages. Either way, that win gives McKinley a lot of brownie points. But a 12-point win not as much as a 28-point win.

Due to the lack of games Mentor has played as well as the number of Stark teams in the vote, I get the hunch that McKinley and Jackson will get the top two seeds. Mentor probably the 3rd seed. But honestly, I'm not sure how much it will matter as each of those three teams should be the top seed at their respected district. From there, the "real vote" will show itself. Teams like Walsh, Hoban, Brush, Solon, etc. will get to decide whose bracket they want to place themselves in. That will tell us more than the vote will.
 
What I'm not sure about is how the district winners will be aligned at the regional level. The link below shows that two NE districts will play against the winner of the NW districts (Region 1). The other 4 NE districts will play together in their own region (Region 2). Will only the DI West districts have the option to play the NW district winners or will this option be available to NE districts too? I would guess it will be just the three West districts that have the option to join Region 1 while the three East and the remaining West will be in Region 2.

 
cardzfan1234 said:
What I'm not sure about is how the district winners will be aligned at the regional level. The link below shows that two NE districts will play against the winner of the NW districts (Region 1). The other 4 NE districts will play together in their own region (Region 2). Will only the DI West districts have the option to play the NW district winners or will this option be available to NE districts too? I would guess it will be just the three West districts that have the option to join Region 1 while the three East and the remaining West will be in Region 2.
Click to expand...

The diagram is pretty clear ~

NEO East: District 1 + 2 + 3 will be in Region-2

NEO-West: District 4 will be in Region-2

NEO-West: District 5 + 6 will be in Region-1 (along with the 2 NWO District winners.

There is an out!
The Commissioner was authorized to move individual games or pre-draw pairings
to minimize travel when deemed appropriate

ALSO: Please note the dates and times.
Region 2 has 1 site / 2 games in the semi-s / same night
- The sites have not yet been announced.

:>---

SALT
 
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cardzfan1234 said:
What I'm not sure about is how the district winners will be aligned at the regional level. The link below shows that two NE districts will play against the winner of the NW districts (Region 1). The other 4 NE districts will play together in their own region (Region 2). Will only the DI West districts have the option to play the NW district winners or will this option be available to NE districts too? I would guess it will be just the three West districts that have the option to join Region 1 while the three East and the remaining West will be in Region 2.

Click to expand...

I was thinking that the 3 west districts would be predetermined in which one goes to Region 2 and two go to Region 1, and then its up to the the rest of the teams to fill it in.

I'm guessing the top 2 West seeds will pick the brackets that feed into the regional with the two Toledo districts then the no. 3 seed gets the one that feeds into the other 3 NEO Region.
 
ohiopup said:
The diagram is pretty clear ~

NEO East: District 1 + 2 + 3 will be in Region-2

NEO-West: District 4 will be in Region-2

NEO-West: District 5 + 6 will be in Region-1 (along with the 2 NWO District winners.

There is an out!
The Commissioner was authorized to move individual games or pre-draw pairings
to minimize travel when deemed appropriate

ALSO: Please note the dates and times.
Region 2 has 1 site / 2 games in the semi-s / same night
- The sites have not yet been announced.

:>---

SALT
Click to expand...

This makes sense. So, looks like the west districts are pre-determined.

I can see where the "out" could come into play. Let's say that Lorain is District 4 that is supposed to go to Region 2 (with the three NEO East Districts) and they win that. Then, say Shaker Heights (which is in the West grouping) is in a district 5 that is to go to Region 1 (with the Toledo districts) and they win that, I could see that being flipped and Lorain moving to Region 1 and Shaker moving to Region 2.
 
Going into the "west" meeting, teams will be informed that district 5 and district 6 will play each other in a regional semi that feeds to a regional final against the two district champions from the NW, and that district 4 will draw one of the "east" portion of NE D1 district champions.

Going into the "east" meeting, teams will be informed that district 1 and district 3 will play each other in a regional semi, while district 2 will play one of the "west" district champions.

Teams will be able to make choices based on that information, as well as the behavior of other teams in the group.
 
bucksman said:
Going into the "west" meeting, teams will be informed that district 5 and district 6 will play each other in a regional semi that feeds to a regional final against the two district champions from the NW, and that district 4 will draw one of the "east" portion of NE D1 district champions.

Going into the "east" meeting, teams will be informed that district 1 and district 3 will play each other in a regional semi, while district 2 will play one of the "west" district champions.

Teams will be able to make choices based on that information, as well as the behavior of other teams in the group.
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And, for full disclosure, they will also know that the winner of Region 1 will play the winner of Region 3 and the winners of Region 2 and Region 4 will play each other in the State Semi-finals.
 
Mackinbiner said:
And, for full disclosure, they will also know that the winner of Region 1 will play the winner of Region 3 and the winners of Region 2 and Region 4 will play each other in the State Semi-finals.
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In that case, the Region 1 and 2 winners wouldn’t meet until the state final. So in theory, we could see two West teams meet in the final.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
In that case, the Region 1 and 2 winners wouldn’t meet until the state final. So in theory, we could see two West teams meet in the final.
Click to expand...

That has been possible several times in the past. Ed's/Iggy around 20 years ago pops into mind when it actually happened.
 
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