Is there anybody out there who does not believe Bridgeport Central and St. Joseph will be meeting a week from tonight for the FCIAC boys basketball title? It is hard to find anyone.
In one of the weakest seasons in recent memory, Central, the No. 1 team in the state and top seed, and St. Joseph, the second seed, stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Is there anyone in the field that will create a seismic stir and upset either school along the way? If so, which team is the sleeper? Which player will be the most influential in the tournament, which begins Saturday with four quarterfinal games? Is there a first-round upset out there? And which team will emerge as the champion?
Here’s an analysis:
Team to beat: Bridgeport Central. Until defeated on the court, the Hilltoppers have to be considered the favorites. Their only loss was an opening-game forfeit to Staples for using an ineligible player. The team has a go-to star in Jerome Parkins, an explosive guard in Jerry Washington and no real weaknesses.
Players to watch: Greg Langston and Andrew Victoria. I’m throwing out two people, one for his influence during the regular season and one for his need during the playoffs. I thought the Cadets were a distant second to Central early in the season, and maybe they were. Part of the problem was a lack of team speed. The other was Langston trying to do too much. In the first two games I saw him play, Langston spent too much time on the wing with his arms extended, waiting for the ball.
I don’t know if St. Joseph coach Vito Montelli said something to Langston, or he did it on his own, but he realized subjugating his game was in the team’s best benefit. I don’t think he was being selfish as much as he felt he needed to carry the team on his own.
Now Langston is part of an ensemble, and the Cadets are all the better for it. There is a lot of talent on the team, and players like Timajh Parker and Oscar Assie have been allowed to step up and play more prominent roles.
Langston is still very much an impact player. By shooting and scoring a little less, the Cadets have become a better team.
Assuming we get the expected Central-St. Joseph final, the Hilltoppers will have the advantage in team speed, but will need to bang with St. Joseph’s strong inside game. That is where Victoria, Central’s 6-foot-9 center, comes in. Victoria doesn’t have to score a lot, but he has to rebound and defend well in the paint.
Sleeper team: Harding. It is hard to see a champion coming from someone other than Central or St. Joseph. The only team that might be able to pull off the surprise is the Presidents. Laquan Mendenhall seems to spend as much time in coach Charlie Bentley’s doghouse as on the court, and Harding needs him running the offense to have any chance. As we will see in the next entry, Harding is the most mercurial team in the league and does not have much size, but if it can play consistently for three games, it has the best chance to pull off what would be a major surprise.
Best chance for a first round upset: Stamford over Harding. As stated, Harding has the most schizophrenic personality in the tournament, and could just as easily lose in the quarterfinals as go all the way. Stamford underachieved during the regular season; though it lacks a true point guard, any team with a threesome like Mark Ellis, Marc Guirand and Jethro Anilus should have performed better.
In the teams’ regular season meeting, Stamford had trouble with turnovers in the first half, played a great second half until the final minute and was on the verge of winning on the road, then lost the ball three times in the final 60 seconds, and the game.
The Black Knights are going to have to handle Harding’s pressure. They probably don’t have the pieces to make a run that would likely mean having to defeat Harding, St. Joseph and then Central to defend their title, but a quarterfinal win would not be that stunning.
And the champion is……Bridgeport Central: The axis of power in the FCIAC has moved from Stamford to the Bridgeport area this year. I really wanted to pick St. Joseph because it is playing so well, and Central has made a habit of underachieving in the conference tournament. But on Warde’s large court, I am going to give a slight nod to Central’s speed over St. Joseph’s size.
Dave,
You know your FCIAC hoops. Who would have thought that Trinity doesn’t even get mentioned ?
I believe that either TCHS or SHS will pull of a HUGE upset in the first round. Trinity played St. Josephs tough both times and comes in to the game with nothing to lose and will be loosey goosey , plus Walsh is a better tactician than the other Coach there.
AS for SHS , if they can handle the ball and avoid turnovers and stay in the game, they too have a decided advantage on the sideline.
These are my opinions. I know that both Stamford teams will show up tomorrow and play their fannies off…..
Comment by Full Disclosure — February 26th, 2010 @ 9:15 am
Full: I would not totally discount Trinity because of the emotional component, but St. Joseph is playing too well right now.
Comment by Dave Ruden — February 26th, 2010 @ 9:30 am
Dave,
I was suprise that Harding lost yesterday. I thought that they would get into the 2nd round. Nothing against Stamford, but I thought Harding had an edge. St. Joes is playing great basketball right now.
Greg L. does not have to do it by himself. He has some very good players around him. If they meet Central in the final, I think it’s going to be a very close game. I have to go with Central in the end.
I also thought TC girls would have taken the title home yesterday. It seem they were playing better each and every game towards the final. I guess Gorman from St. Joes, was a little too much for TC yesterday. In all, TC should be proud that they got to the finals. St, Joes was a little better yesterday.
Comment by Donald C — February 28th, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
Donald: I wasn’t surprised by Stamford winning. It played yesterday the way I figured it would all season. Harding has been up and down all year.
I didn’t see the girls final, but I figured it was a game that could go either way. St. Joseph apparently played better in the closing minutes.
Comment by Dave Ruden — February 28th, 2010 @ 3:58 pm
Stamford’s win should come as no surpise. Moriarty outcoached Bentley. As for Trinity game, very surprised a kid would still be in with 3 fouls in the first half.
Comment by Full Disclosure — March 1st, 2010 @ 11:00 am
Jimmy Mo did not outcoach Mr. Bentley and if Harding won Mr. Bentley would not have outcoached MO.
Comment by gman — March 2nd, 2010 @ 8:30 am
I beg to differ Gman….Bentley is the most OVER rated coach in the FCIAC with all that talent at Harding year in and year out.
Comment by Full Disclosure — March 2nd, 2010 @ 11:04 am
I’m with Gman on this one. I don’t think anyone outcoached anyone in that game. I don’t see how SHS beating Harding was an upset. Harding’s talent was down this year.
Comment by Dan — March 2nd, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Full Disclosure — Let me see if I understand your position. You think Mike Walsh is a great coach, but you think Charles Bentley is over rated?
Year in and year out Harding teams may not be the most talented, but they are disciplined and display great sportsmanship. I can remember Harding winning a FCIAC title game without hitting a shot from outside 15 feet. That is coaching my friend. Bentley preaches TEAM over individualism…We need more coaches out there like him.
Comment by norm treglia — March 2nd, 2010 @ 4:24 pm
Mr. Bentley is an excellent coach and gentleman.
Comment by gman — March 3rd, 2010 @ 8:08 am
As a kid, Charile Bentley was my coach in a summer basketball league in Bpt. He not only taught me how to play the game of basketball, but to be a better person. Mr. Bentley is a great man, and a great basketball coach. He has had some of the best teams and players come out of Bpt.
Comment by Donald C — March 3rd, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
In the Class M it looks like Sheehan vs. Trinity Catholic in the final at Mohegan Sun arena. Bloomfield could surprise Trinity in the second round. Most people feel Bloomfield is the team to beat but the Trinity guard play is far superior to Blommfields.
Comment by gman — March 4th, 2010 @ 9:39 am
Bloomfield could surprise Trinity? Definitely have that one backwards.
Comment by Dave Ruden — March 4th, 2010 @ 9:57 am
Dave,
Why is Trinity in Class M ?
You are right Bloomfield is the higher seed no ?
Comment by Full Disclosure — March 4th, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
Bloomfield is one of the top teams in the state.
Comment by Dave Ruden — March 4th, 2010 @ 3:08 pm
Full,
The “Class” a team plays in for basketball is based on the # of boys in grades 10 – 12. For a “school of choice” like TC or SJ, that number is multiplied by 2. There are also bonus factors for reaching the semis/final/champs in previous years.
A team may opt up to “LL” from any division, but you can only move all the way to LL, you don’t get to choose your division.
The details can be found in the tournament packet, on the CIAC website. It’s a pretty good resource and there is one for each sport.
http://www.casciac.org/tournament_packets/bbb0910.pdf
Comment by Dr. Von Nostran — March 4th, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
Bloomfield is a vey good team,however, they don’t play the competition that Trinity faces. Remember that Trinity lost to a very strong ST.Josephs team at ST. Joes at the buzzer when trinity lost a star player.
Trinity should be playing up in a higher class because they have a big advantage over the other schools. If they need a guard they can go out and get a guard-if they need a center they can get a center. It is all legal. As the coach of HILLHOUSE said last year ” Trinity should play with the big boys”
Comment by gman — March 5th, 2010 @ 8:22 am
GMan,
I totally agree with you. You make valid points. In fact when you have the success that Trinity has enjoyed over the past decade and a half you would think the Coach and AD would automatically put their team in LL no matter what. Great points !
So really the best team in the State is the one that wins the LL title right GMan ?
Comment by Full Disclosure — March 5th, 2010 @ 12:44 pm
Dave,
The CIAC is instituting a new rule that any coach who insults a refereee either in the print or electronic media will be fined or suspended.
This is because of the controversey that Hillhouse coach Carolina caused last month when he was lambasting the Officials who work Xavier games.
This rule will apply to all coaches in every sport–boys and girls.
Through my travels around the country to other states it is my opinion that the Northeast coaches are the worst behaved and abusive to officals. The other states won’t
tolerate such borish behavior. Congratulations to the CIAC for doing the right thing. I know you have been at odds towards the CIAC regarding some of their policies but I think you will be on board with this decision.
Comment by gman — March 7th, 2010 @ 9:07 pm
I saw. Have to digest this a little more before I decide how I feel about it. CIAC and legislation never work well in the same sentence for me.
Comment by Dave Ruden — March 7th, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
Dave LOL …. GMan poor sportsmanship is not acceptable correct, but when a question is asked by said media what should the coach do,
for example “So what do you think happened when Joe Smith picked up his 3rd foul and the refs called it flagrant ? ”
“Well I don’t think it was the right call”
will that get the Coach suspended ? by the way, how can you fine someone ? These guys are working for free practically. While the refs are all getting paid….
Comment by Full Disclosure — March 8th, 2010 @ 3:48 pm