I’m not a believer in predicting the outcome of high school games, but here is a brief analysis of the FCIAC Boys Basketball Tournament, which begins tomorrow at Fairfield Warde with four quarterfinal games.
It is hard to see the champion coming anywhere except from the top three seeds — Trinity Catholic, Bridgeport Central and Stamford are 1-3 in that order — with Warren Harding being a possible wild card.
It is also difficult to see any first-round upsets tomorrow, with the possible exception of St. Joseph against Harding, though on a large court the Cadets lack of speed is going to really be a handicap.
The unbeaten Crusaders, the state’s top-ranked team, are clearly the favorites. Tevin Baskin is playing the best ball of his career, as evidenced by the 32 points he put up on the Cadets and 35 against Central this week. Eric Jean-Guillaume is the perfect complement on the perimeter, while sophomore forward Takari Smalls is among the league’s most underrated players.
The one question mark is the status of guard Remy Pinson’s ankle injury. Without him, Trinity is without a valuable ballhandler. The Crusaders turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter against Central’s pressure Wednesday night, one reason their 25-point lead got whittled down to eight.
The Hilltoppers have been consistent throughout the year, and their defensive intensity rivals Trinity’s for the league’s best. And Jerome Parkins is capable of taking over: after being shut out he scored 23 points in the final 11 1/2 minutes against Trinity to fuel the really. No one will be surprised if Central is cutting down the nets Wednesday night at Sacred Heart.
The same is true for Stamford, whose only two losses have been to Trinity and Central. Nothing happened in either game to think the Black Knights could win a rematch against either team. Chris Evans and Baskin have been the league’s most valuable players this season, while Michael Tiscia is a heady point guard. From there, the Black Knights have five or six role players and two or three have stepped up each game. They will need that again to win the title.
Harding is the asterisk team in all of this. It was inconsistent during the regular season, but as with any Charlie Bentley-coached team, no one doubts the Presidents have the capability to get hot over the next four days and go all the way.
Expect few surprises tomorrow at Warde. If, as expected, form holds, it will set up three great games at Sacred Heart to follow.
