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Its a fact of life in sports now that the multi-sport athlete is getting pushed out in favor of the single sport specialist. I personally find this a little troubling, but it is where we are now in sports. At your school, you may not be able to do both track and basketball.
If the coach is looking at open gym sessions and evaluating 1) your commitment or 2) your playing level or 3) both, you need to be there if you are going to have a prayer of playing ball in his program. Is it fair - maybe not as fair as possible, but all decisions regarding who to select and who to play are subject to a coach's opinions. Will you gain from blaming him for his biases - definitely not. If you couldn't make open gym in spring, you should try to do so in the fall. If you have another conflict in the fall and can't make open gym, expect the same result in winter tryouts - they told you what to do to make it and you didn't do it. If you make open gym in fall and make the team, you may be able to work out an accomodation for track in spring, especially if you establish yourself as an essential element on your team. If your skills are marginal and you aren't essential, don't expect them to invest in your basketball future if you aren't making that same investment by hitting the gym.
This is a good life lesson. Decide what you think want to do and figure out what it takes to do it. Then determine whether it is worth it to you to do what it takes to reach your goal. If it is, do what it takes. If not, adjust your goals and expectations accordingly.
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