Overtime: High school athletics in Connecticut

(Cayleigh Griffin, a senior captain on the Trinity Catholic High School girls basketball team, has been blogging about her experiences during the season. This is her final entry.)

By Cayleigh Griffin

As the final buzzer sounded on Walsh Court, I glanced up at the scoreboard to see the final score of 61-46…… it was unfortunately not in our favor.

Our second-round game against Hillhouse was the last time Eileen, Clare, Lelia and I would be playing in a high school basketball game. Some people might say that our season ended up being a disappointment, losing in the FCIAC Championship and the second round of states, ending our home-game winning streak; however, I do not perceive it to be that way at all.

Yes, we did not come away with the medals as we had desired, but our journey was jam-packed with excitement, entertainment and fulfillment. After beginning our season 0-2 and faced with the prospect of a less-than-promising showing in the league, we silenced our naysayers by quietly racking up win after win to advance to the top of the pack. We concluded the regular season 17-3 and clinched the second seed in the FCIAC tournament, an accomplishment our team, families, and school could be proud of.

Mackenzie — my sister, my best friend and such a fierce competitor — it has been an amazing two years together. It has been an honor and pleasure to play along side you and I look forward to seeing how much you mature and thrive as a player in your final two years at Trinity. I expect many double-doubles and an FCIAC Championship medal…or two. I’m going to miss you so much next year but I know you will keep the Griffin name going strong on the basketball court.

Erin: Where would we have been without you? While it was a loss for Stamford High when you returned to Trinity, we would have staggered toward the finish line without your gritty and gutsy play throughout the year. Your tenacious play was infectious. This is your team now!! I eagerly await the chance to witness you dominating the point guard position next year and getting your second FCIAC medal. Set the tone for the underclassmen, but nurture and encourage them so they enjoy the unique experience of being a Lady Crusader. I will miss you so much and cannot wait to come back and see you and Kenz next year.

Clare, Eileen, Lelia: Together, we were the “characters.” I think this was the first year we all really looked forward to going to practice. I thought I would never say that but yes, we did enjoy ourselves. After a rather unspectacular start, I think we did a pretty commendable job of getting everyone back on track and focusing. I’ll never forget Eileen’s quirky sayings, or Clare’s way of making everyone laugh. I especially will never forget Lil’s antics, starting on the bus ride to our first scrimmage, singing the national anthem among other things. Our names are on the wall now and we will never be forgotten! I hope the younger players continue on the path we’ve set.

Kelly, Ali, Jovan, and the rest of the team: I’m so proud of all of you. Each one of you put forth your best effort every day and we would not have been as successful without your contributions in practice and during games. Keep up all the hard work and I expect a title next year!

It has been twelve days since I last touched a basketball and I still feel as if we are just on a long break and any moment now Mr. Kriz will blow his whistle and drills will commence in the gym once again (that is, if our gym isn’t flooded as rumor has it).

With the end of basketball season came the end of my high school athletic career. It is so strange to walk through the back door of our home when the school day ends after never coming home since the end of August. I’m expecting to spend my spring working out and possibly doing some volleyball training. Nothing, however, is going to compare to the experience of playing on a high school team.

If I could share one thing with the incoming freshmen, I would say to try out for at least one team. Playing sports for your high school is probably one of the best experiences you’ll have in your four years. I tried out for volleyball as a freshman having never played before in my life and it became the season I always counted down the days until practice started. It has been a whirlwind year….I just can’t believe it is coming to an end.

This will be my final blog entry of the year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my coaches for everything they have done for me and my teammates over the past four years.

Mr. Kriz, Mrs. O’Leary, Kasey, Mr. Pucci, and Coach Marj, thank you for providing me with a foundation to build off of and making my four years at Trinity better than I could have ever imagined. I have great admiration for all of you. It has been a remarkable run and I hope whoever wears #4 in volleyball and #32 in basketball next year continues to work hard and strives to be the best they can be every single day.

Seniors, we left it all out there on the court and that’s all we can ask for. It has been my honor to play with you and share these special moments over these four years. No one will be able to replace the “Om Nom Nom” or Lil’s pregame cheer.

As we say farewell, I am confident the teams that follow will continue to maintain the high level of play that has become synonymous with being a Trinity Catholic Lady Crusader.

Da’Shena Stevens, the current St. John’s and former Trinity Catholic star who was named to the All-Big East team last week, received another honor yesterday. The sophomore was selected as an All-Region 1 nominee for the State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team.

Stevens is one of 52 candidates the selection committee will review before narrowing the list to 40 finalists on Tuesday.

One of two underclassmen that make up the 12-player Region 1 team, Stevens has led the Red Storm to one of its best seasons in history with a 24-6 record heading into this weekend’s opening round NCAA Tournament game against Princeton.

Stevens leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds. She has posted a team-high 23 double-digit scoring games, six 20-point performances and six double-doubles. Stevens is the eighth-leading scorer and ninth-leading rebounder in the Big East.

I spoke to Stevens yesterday and will have a column on her in Saturday’s edition of The Advocate.

Johnny Pritts of the Trumbull High School boys hockey team and Heather Moriarty of the Fairfield Ludlowe girls track team are this week’s winners of the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week award.

Pritts and Moriarty will receive plaques and T-shirts from BlueStreak.

Pritts, a senior forward, scoring the winning goal in the No. 13-seeded Eagles’ 2-1 opening-round win over No. 4 Suffield in the CIAC Division II Tournament, then scored twice in the third period with his team down 4-2 to force overtime as Trumbull rallied for a 5-4 win over No. 5 Avon. Pritts leads the team with 12 goals this season.

Moriarty, a sophomore, finished 12th in the country at the NSIC National Championships at the Armory in New York. She ran the 5k in 18:19, winning her heat by over 20 seconds and setting a new school record. She was the second to finish from anyone in the state and first from the FCIAC.

Next week will be the final weekly award for the winter season.

Nominations will be accepted starting at noon today and run until noon next Tuesday.

Here again are the instructions for nominating an athlete.

For the last 50 hours you have gone through reams of analysis, been yelled at by Dick Vitale (well that has been a lot more than just 50 hours!) and have been given every reason why each of the 65 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament field can be considered a favorite or a sleeper.

And if you are like most people, you digest it all and will go against your better instincts, waiting until the last minute as you overthink your brackets and office pools.

I was determined this year not to follow suit. While I read all the articles — even the Wall Street Journal today has a statistical study on how to pick upsets: go with teams that don’t turn the ball over — I decided to stay true to my instincts.

For the most part. I have three No. 1 seeds in my Final Four, when I only really love one, or perhaps two. Too many of the teams I like a lot play each other in the first or, potentially, second rounds.

Far be it for me to tell you how to fill out your sheets; you probably know better than to listen to me by now anyhow.

So, for your amusement/entertainment/?, here is a little breakdown of my bracket.

MIDWEST

Breakdown: Kansas is the only No. 1 team I feel strongly about, even though it was given the toughest draw of the top seeds. The team has the fewest weaknesses. Ohio State and Georgetown are capable of making it to Indianapolis. Michigan State has a great tournament pedigree but has been hurt by injuries and internal problems. Tennessee is a head-scratcher; a team that could go down early or make a deep run.

Sleeper: This is the region, because of its strength at the top, that I have staying closest to form, with the top three seeds and Michigan State advancing.

First-round upset: San Diego State is hot, and I’m counting on the bad Tennessee to show up.

And the winner is…. Kansas is the best team in the country and will skirt the obstacles.

WEST

Breakdown: This was my most difficult region because it has so many of the sleepers I like, with two double-digit seeds, UTEP and Murray State, I normally would think about winning two games if they weren’t to meet in the second round. BYU is capable of making it to the Elite Eight — I have it going that far. Syracuse is a solid team but, injuries aside, I’ve always thought it was a bit overrated. I think Kansas State has the best chance to beat the Orange — but I have it falling to BYU in the second round.

Sleeper: I like UTEP to get two wins, beating Murray State in the second round, and BYU to take out Xavier in the Sweet 16.

First-round upset: UTEP over Butler and Murray State over Vanderbilt.

And the winner is… Syracuse by default. Tempted to go with BYU but I have a hard time seeing it winning four games, and I think Kansas State won’t be around to squeeze the Orange.

EAST

Breakdown: Proof, for the most part, that I am staying true to my own heart. Washington, which I loved at the start of the year, was the biggest underachiever during the regular season in a really weak Pac-10. The Huskies got hot to win the conference tournament, and I am taking them to win two games. There are a number of intriguing teams here, including Wisconsin, Cornell, Missouri and Montana.

Sleeper: Cornell. No, I am not drinking the Jay Bilas Kool-Aid punch. Despite the Ivy League pedigree, Cornell has played and defeated elite competition all year and will take out an underrated Temple team and then the always-tough-to-face Badgers.

First-round upset: Cornell and Washington will put two more double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16.

And the winner is… Kentucky or West Virginia, West Virginia or Kentucky? My wimp-out pick. My head says West Virginia, but Kentucky would provide the more compelling storyline and I just have a feeling vulnerable youth will prevail.

SOUTH

Breakdown: Duke is the weakest of the No. 1 seeds, while this region has three of the more compelling opening-round games: California-Louisville, Notre Dame-Old Dominion and Richmond-St. Mary’s.

Sleeper: The Atlantic 10 had terrific depth this year, and Richmond, though it lost to Temple in the tournament final, gets the kind of good guard play teams need to advance in the tournament.

First-round upset: Old Dominion’s defense will shut down streaking Notre Dame in a low-scoring squeaker, while Siena is everyone’s favorite upset pick against Hummel-less Purdue.

And the winner is… It is a relative unknown from the second-best conference this year and has one of the most unpopular coaches, but Baylor’s athleticism and superior guard play will allow it to take down Duke in the regional final.

FINAL FOUR

Kansas will defeat Syracuse, Kentucky holds off Baylor, and then Bill Self and the Jayhawks take down a John Calipari-coached team for the second time in three years.

Today is arguably (right ahead of the NFL Draft) the best sports day of the year that has nothing to do with actual games being played, as the draw for the NCAA Tournament is unveiled. By and large, the committee did a good job in picking the top 65 teams. I might have changed a team or two — I would have put Mississippi State in — but nothing worth complaining about.

Tonight is a time for memorizing brackets, doing a little research and getting ready for the office pool and, in my opinion, the closest thing there is to a perfect sporting event.

Just for fun, I am going to fill our a knee-jerk bracket in a little while and then a final one on Wednesday and do a little comparing.

I’ll offer up a little analysis and give you my picks by region, but for now here are some simple initial impressions:

— Boy does the committee love Duke. Winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles is impressive, but the league is watered down and the Blue Devils did not deserve to be rated the third No. 1 seed (an argument can be made for West Virginia and Ohio State, but based on the body of work I don’t have an issue) over Syracuse.

Then the Blue Devils were given the easiest region. Which brings me to….

— Right now I like Baylor coming out of the South and going to the Final Four. A very balanced and athletic team that is more talented than Duke, Villanova and, now, Purdue.

— Kansas, in the Midwest, might be the No. 1 overall seed but has the toughest draw. Ohio State and Georgetown are legitimate Final Four teams as the second and third seeds, Maryland is dangerous, Michigan State is a sleeper and Tennessee is the kind of temperamental team that could get blown out in the first round or make a long run.

— The team that underachieved more than any other in the country is Washington, which has top 15 talent but played poorly in a watered down Pac-10. The Huskies made a good run in the conference tournament and they are the team I really wanted to pick to go deep before the draw came out. They still might be able to do it, but they were given a tough road with a first-round game against Marquette and, if they can get by that, New Mexico.

— Looking to pick up bonus points in your pool? Here are double-digit seeds I like a lot to win one and perhaps two games: Cornell, Murray State and Siena.

— Possible Elite Eight surprises? Richmond and BYU (despite its run of first-round losses).

I’ll probably waffle and change my mind several times between now and Wednesday. Then again, who doesn’t?

Henry Walsh, the father of Trinity Catholic High School boys basketball coach Mike Walsh, passed away last night. He was 89 years old.

The wake will be Monday at Gallagher’s Funeral Home in Stamford and the funeral will be on Tuesday.

Exact details will be in tomorrow’s edition of The Advocate.

The official announcement will not be made for a couple of weeks, but I learned last night the six players who were selected to the All-FCIAC Boys Basketball Team.

They are: Mark Ellis of Stamford, Remy Pinson of Trinity Catholic, Greg Langston of St. Joseph, Willie Gray of Harding, Jerome Parkins of Bridgeport Central and Evan Kelley of Norwalk.

Barry McLeod, who led Central to its first league championship, was selected as Coach of the Year.

The voting figured to be interesting this year in that, after talking to coaches, Langston, Parkins and Kelley were considered the three locks, with a pool of about six players in the hunt for the last three spots. Three of them — Doug DelBene of Ridgefield, Timajh Parker of St. Joseph and Jerry Washington of Central — I’m told were second team picks.

CBS Sports held its annual NCAA Tournament media day yesterday, in which the network’s management and on-air talent sit in a large conference room with reporters and discuss the coverage of the event and weigh in with some opinions. Then things break up for one-on-one interviews.

The event is a lot of fun for anyone who loves college basketball, though it has changed in the past two years. One had to do with the passing of Al McGuire, whose stories were a tremendous source of laughter, and the other the absence of Billy Packer, whose penchant for being outspoken usually dominated the discussion.

Yesterday’s group meeting was the shortest I can remember. I shot a video with Jim Nantz that I posted yesterday and spoke with him and Clark Kellogg for a column I am writing on Nantz that is currently scheduled to run in the paper on Sunday. This is the second time in three years he will be calling the Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament and The Masters; no one has ever been the voice of all three.

Nantz has not worked a college basketball game since last year’s national championship, which will be the overriding theme of the column.

Here are some other notes from yesterday’s event that might be of interest to fans of the sport:

— Though CBS is in the middle of a contract to carry the tournament through 2013, the NCAA has the right to opt out by July 31. There is speculation that if the NCAA decides to do that, ESPN will make a strong run to gain the broadcasting rights.

“Our plan is to carry the NCAA Tournament on CBS as long as we can,” said Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports and CBS News. “Our focus is on this year’s tournament and not next year’s. I think we have a history at CBS of keeping events we like.”

— President Barack Obama appeared on a telecast with Verne Lundquist and Kellogg earlier this season. “If he would like to complete his brackets on CBS we’d love to have it,” McManus said. “We’d like to have him involved, up to and including Jim Nantz’s role.”

— Studio analyst and former UNLV star Greg Anthony said he expects the early rounds of conference tournaments to have a greater impact than usual on team’s chances for NCAA Tournament berths.

“I don’t think there’s been a Friday with quarterfinal round games in the big six conferences where so much is at stake,” Anthony said. “Every league could see some bubbles bursting on Friday.”

While this will be Nantz’s 25th Final Four — the first five as studio host, the last 20 as the lead play-by-play voice — this will be the 50th tournament for the venerable announcer Dick Enberg, who worked the 1961 final as a college graduate. Long-time fans will remember when Enberg, Packer and McGuire worked together as the lead team for NBC.

“It’s amazing seeing the growth of this championship from being a game of the week,” Enberg said. “Al would always look at things from a dollar standpoint, and I remember him saying, ‘Dickie, this sport is going to be big, big big.’ “