Originally posted by Dave2kMA:
Bishop and Prep have had a HUGE impact on the rest of the state.
Regardless of your thoughts on them playing in the 1A, there's no debate that their presence has pushed the rest of the West to put more resources into developing their hoops programs in order to compete. On the other hand, the East doesn't have to deal with schools like those two on a regular basis, so there isn't the same urgency to upgrade their programs.
The best example is just to take a look at the balance in stats for the top teams in the East & West. In the West, the best teams always have 3-4 players averaging at least 7-8 points per game and can get strong contributions from up to 8 or 9 players every game. The East is almost always really unbalanced, relying on one player to average 20-25 ppg with maybe one more in double figures and little depth.
Until that changes, the East will continue to lag behind.