Jim Moriarty
Friday night’s entry of the Trinity Catholic-Stamford boys basketball rivalry was initially one to forget, a sloppily played game on both sides, until the Black Knights’ Kenny Wright’s clutch 3-point shot with two seconds left in regulation tied the game. The Crusaders pulled away in overtime for the win.
Then Stamford coach Jim Moriarty set off some postgame fireworks when, before I could ask a question, he gave me the following quote: “We don’t match up with this team, they are 7-1, 6-6 recruits, $70,000 in scholarship money, the best team money can buy. Them and St. Joseph.”
Moriarty was referring to Paschal Chukwu (7-1) and Jason Boswell (6-6), the latter a transfer to the school this year from New Jersey.
Because of the inflammatory nature of the comments, I asked Moriarty if he really wanted me to print what he said.
“Sure, go ahead,” he said.
I ended up not using it in my story for the Advocate but did send his words out over Twitter. Several people wanted to know why I didn’t use the quote in my game story — and from my conversation with one person, my sense is that Moriarty also wanted it to make print, though we haven’t spoken since.
Because we are dealing with high school athletes, and because Moriarty’s words would overshadow what the Trinity players accomplished and the effort the Stamford players gave, we decided to deliver them via social media.
So what to make of it all? This gets to the public-private school debate, which along with the 50-point rule is the most contentious issue in high school sports in Connecticut. Moriarty has expressed this sentiment before — and, ironically, he is a graduate of Trinity, back when the school was known as Stamford Catholic.
Moriarty was understandably extremely frustrated after Friday’s game. Moriarty, who usually loathes playing anything but a straight-up man defense, saw his packed in zone work to perfection. Stamford, not as talented as in recent years, gave its coach about everything he could ask for, and if not for some late turnovers might have pulled off the upset.
Moriarty’s feelings on Trinity and St. Joseph — and on the advantages private schools, which can draw from a regional area, enjoy — are well known throughout the FCIAC. I will estimate at one point or another about half of the league coaches have discussed the issue with me. Of that number, half agree with Moriarty, and the other half have resigned themselves to the landscape and feel Moriarty only brings up the subject after losses to one of the two schools.
Whether you agree with him or not, or the method of his delivery, Moriarty does bring to the surface a sticky issue that is usually discussed only in back rooms.
I’m asked about it often. I don’t have a viable solution, just a collection of thoughts:
— If you tell me there should be separate leagues because private schools have an inherent advantage, I can’t argue with you. They do. The counterargument is that the same thing goes on in communities with more than one high school (Stamford-Westhill, Norwalk-McMahon). I know of cases where this was true. The difference is what Trinity and St. Joseph can do is legal.
— With so few private schools, and most of them spread out, having a private school league in Connecticut is not viable.
— As much as public school coaches bristle, there would be a lot of good rivalries — Trinity and the two Stamford schools — lost. I wonder if they would want those shelved.
— For those who say keep the regular season as is and then have separate state tournaments, that makes no sense. You can’t play the postseason by different rules. And the CIAC forces private schools to move up in class, though that has proved to have little impact.
— This is a controversy almost exclusive to boys basketball, in part because it is the second-most high profile sport, after football, and because just one player can have a dramatic impact on a team.
— A prominent Stamford citizen, talking about Trinity, once told me that the school should be going after the best basketball players, as well as the best students, the best musicians, the best in all areas because that is how the school stays viable.
— This is the point that leads one to be labeled an apologist. A lot of good basketball players go to the private schools because they represent the best opportunities to play at the next level. Basketball aside, I have seen at Trinity a lot of good players go on to productive careers because of doors that otherwise would not have been open to them. That might not be an adequate explanation for solving the basketball disparity, but it is worth noting because we lose sight that students are supposed to be going to school to get an education and being prepared to lead productive lives.
The bottom line is this is a problem without a solid solution. And coaches like Moriarty are going to continue to raise the point until one is found.
The game of the year
Tuesday night’s game between St. Joseph and Trinity Catholic has been billed as the FCIAC’s game of the year. Some of the luster has been lost with the Crusaders suffering a pair of losses.
Still, this is one of the league’s best rivalries and a pivotal game.
The Cadets have been rolling over opponents — their closest league game was a 40-point win — though none of them currently has more than two wins. James Jennings has been consistent running the attack, and Qunicy McKnight and Timajh Parker have thus far been an unstoppable inside-outside combination. St. Joseph also remembers last year’s FCIAC playoffs, when it was top-seeded and blew a 20-point second-half lead and lost to the Crusaders in the opening round.
Trinity, except for overtime against Stamford, has struggled the last two games. Its games with the Cadets are almost always close.
The keys for the Crusaders are the same ones that are going to determine their success the rest of the season. Boswell, who has been a victim of being hyped too much in the preseason, has to relax and play his game. He has 20-point, 10-rebound talent, but has been overly tentative. And Aaron Spence and Tyler Walston have to step up like they did Friday night against Stamford and make contributions. They have the ability to elevate the Crusaders with consistent play.
Prediction: Based on the last two weeks, the Crusaders appear not to match up well. But they always play St. Joseph tough, especially at home. They will keep the game close until the Cadets pull away at the end. ST. JOSEPH 74, TRINITY 66.
Who do you think is going to win? Leave your comments below.
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