Trinity Catholic's Tremaine Fraiser will now be a key player for the team in the postseason.
Has there been a more intriguing end to the FCIAC boys basketball team in recent memory? With three games remaining, just three teams have wrapped up playoff spots and two more are all but in. The league champion will come from the quintet — there will be no low-seed sleeper cutting down the nets this season.
But other than St. Joseph being No. 1, the rest of the pecking order up top is very much in question. And below, there are nine teams separated by two games competing for the last three spots. None has an easy remaining schedule. Norwalk will try to keep its league playoff hopes alive tonight at home against Westhill. Stamford and Fairfield Warde, currently in a tie for eighth place, meet in a critical game; the loser will be in big trouble.
Even Fairfield Ludlowe stayed alive with its shocking win at Ridgefield Monday night. The Tigers, who still have to face St. Joseph and Westhill, have gone from the team everyone loves to the one everyone wants to draw in the playoffs.
Trinity Catholic, after blowing a 12-point second-half lead to Westhill and coming back with a decent performance in a win against Wilton, has more personalities than Sybil.
It’s great for the league that there are going to be important games every night the rest of the way. It is possible the abacus might have to come out late a week from tonight.
Here are a few reflections:
— It is amazing how much the opinion of Ridgefield has swung the last two weeks. The Tigers are still a dangerous team, but one that has had some flaws exposed after feasting on what was primarily an easy early schedule. How will they match up against teams with greater athleticism and that have a strong presence inside? From talking to coaches, of the five top teams, Ridgefield has emerged as the one opponents would most like to play and feel is the one most likely, as a year ago, to make an early FCIAC Tournament exit. The Tigers are going to probably have to beat either St. Joseph or Westhill to erase that perception. They also have to watch sliding into the 4 or 5 spot and playing one of the other playoff favorites.
— Anyone heard of the name Tremaine Fraiser? You will. Up until last week, Fraiser was the star of the Trinity Catholic junior varsity team who never got any varsity time and even had his name spelled incorrectly in the varsity scoring book. Now Fraiser has become a key part to the Crusaders’ hopes. Tyler Walston and Aaron Spence are no longer with the team, which hurts it inside, but Fraiser, who scored 21 points in his coming-out party in the blowout of Bassick, adds a different dynamic. Though he is like a wild pony and will make some youthful turnovers, coach Mike Walsh can use Fraiser some at point guard. That would free Schadrac Casimir, a solid outside shooter, to get some more open looks. Jason Boswell could play some inside, where he could be a more dominant presence; he is a strong rebounder but is often on the perimeter. This is still the hardest Crusader team to figure, but Fraiser’s emergence makes them more versatile.
— Fifteen of the 19 schools, unbelievably, are still mathematically alive — including Wilton, which has nine losses. I have seen all but three of the 15, some just once. Which are the two — I’m assuming Bridgeport Central will get in — I would least want to play if I’m a higher seed? Norwalk and Danbury have the most athleticism, but have been disappointing the second half of the season. Stamford has been up and down, but Jim Moriarty has demonstrated he is one of the league’s top coaches by getting the Black Knights this far. Because of Moriarty, I would put Stamford and Fairfield Warde, which has the talent to pull off a first-round upset.
— I am going to figure out how to do a poll on this, but who would be the six players you would vote to the All-FCIAC team? There are a few obvious choices, but there is a whole group of players that are pretty much equal in talent. I reserve the right to change my mind a week from now, but here’s my ballot: Chris Walters and Tony Dobbinson of Westhill; James Jennings and Timajh Parker of St. Joseph; Kurt Steidl of Ridgefield and Demetrius Thomas of Bassick. My most valuable player right now: Walters. Coach of the Year: Moriarty, if Stamford qualifies. This is certainly a debatable subject so feel free to weigh in. I’ll figure out a vote for next week.
The Starting 5
1. ST. JOSEPH (17-0): Would a late-season loss be beneficial to the Cadets as they get ready for the postseason?
2. WESTHILL (12-5): The Vikings might be the fifth seed right now, but they are playing as well as anybody outside of the Cadets.
3. TRINITY CATHOLIC (13-5): Very reluctant to pick the Crusaders this high, but I’m counting on Fraiser to be the spark the team needs right now.
4. BASSICK (13-4): Thomas may be the one player in the league capable of putting a team on his shoulders and carrying it to the finish line.
5. RIDGEFIELD (14-3): Which is the real Tigers team? We will find out over the next seven days.
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